Cobb County School District

Cooperative Learning Models

 
Round Robin Brainstorming

  1. Class is divided into small groups (4 to 6) with one person appointed as the recorder.

  2. A question is posed with many answers and students are given time to think about answers. 

  3. After the "think time," members of the team share responses with one another round robin style.

  4. The recorder writes down the answers of the group members. The person next to the recorder starts and each person in the group in order gives an answer until time is called.
Carousel Brainstorming

  1. Write a series of questions or topics on separate sheets of paper.

  2. Divide students into small groups (3-5) and have each group stand in front of a sheet  of paper.

  3. Assign a role to each group member, e.g., recorder, encourager, monitor, etc. and assign each group a question.

  4. Ask each group to discuss its ideas/responses to the question. Responses are written down on the chart by the recorder.

  5. After a specified time, each group rotates to the next sheet of paper, reads the ideas and adds additional ideas. Be sure to rotate the role of recorder.

  6. Continue until all groups have visited each paper.

  7. Participants then walk around the room reading all of the posted ideas.

Jigsaw Method

  1. Students begin in “home” groups. Each member of the home group selects or is given a different reading/topic assignment

  2. The home group splits into expert groups. There is one expert group for each reading/topic. The expert groups read and discuss their particular reading/topic.

  3. The home group comes back together, with each member sharing what he or she has learned with the other group members.

http://www.jigsaw.org/
Numbered Heads Together

  1. Number students off from 1 to 4 within their teams.

  2. Call out a question or problem. (Example: Where do plants get their energy?)

  3. Students in teams put their heads together to discuss the answer. They must make sure everyone on the team knows the answer.

  4. Randomly call a number from 1 to 4 (use a spinner, draw popsicle sticks out of a cup, roll a die, etc.)

  5. On each team, the student whose number was called writes the answer on the team response board. They may not receive any help from their team at this point! They place the response board face down when ready.

  6. When all teams are ready, have the designated student stand and hold up their response board to show their answer. Check each team's answer for accuracy.

  7. Repeat with additional questions as time allows.
Group Investigation
 

  1. After the teacher presents an introduction to the unit, the students discuss what they have learned and outline possible topics for further examination.

  2. From this list of student-generated topics, each learning group chooses one and determines subtopics for each group member or team.

  3. Each student or group of students is responsible for researching his or her individual piece and preparing a brief report to bring back to the group.

  4. The group then designs a presentation (discourage a strict lecture format) and shares its findings with the entire class.
Think-Pair-Share

  1. Students spend a few minutes thinking about and jotting down responses to a question or problem.

  2. Students form pairs to discuss their responses.

  3. Each pair summarizes and shares its comments with the entire class.
Three Step Interview
 

  1. Divide the class in to groups of 4.

  2. The students form pairs within their groups of four and conduct paired interviews based on question posed by the teacher.

  3. The students switch roles. Those who were interviewers become interviewees and vice versa.

  4. The group of 4 form a round robin, with each person sharing information learned in the interviews. This strategy encourages more equal participation in group discussions and gives more students an opportunity to talk.

 

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