EDP 621, Summer 2002

Goal: To help build a stronger community within the classroom. That is, to help further instill the characteristics of a community: Security, Open Communication, Mutual Liking, Shared Goals or Objectives, Connectedness and Trust.

Grades: Beginning learners of the judicial system

Abstract: The classroom is to become a courtroom. The students will use their knowledge of the judicial system and apply it to the case in hand. The students will have to use appropriate terms. This is a great project because it will create trust among the students while they also get to help each other out in any way possible.

Materials: The classroom will be fine. It will be set up as a courtroom. The audience can be some of the faculty members.

Procedure:

The students will work together, without the assistance of the teacher, to come up with an imaginary, appropriate trial. That is, the trial must relate to school, such as a student cheating in a class.
Once the students come up with a trial they would like to work with, the teacher will give the students a list of facts relating to the trial. Then, the teacher will pick, at random, a heterogeneous grouping of a defense, a defendant, witnesses, all the appropriate aspects of a courtroom. The jury will consist of faculty members.
Once all the appropriate aspects are selected, the students (two sides) will have three class period to talk and work together to come up with their arguments. The students have to defend their respective sides.
The trial will last three days, with each side having an equal amount of time for their arguments.

Note: The teacher is the only one who knows what the true verdict should be.

Positive Interdependence: The students must work together in their teams to be successful and achieve their common goal. These students will depend on each other help if they are unaware or need help with some of the terms. Thus, they are developing great teamwork skills along with building class cohesiveness.

Individual Accountability: Each team member is responsible for understanding the material to help their team. But, they are also allowed to help each other.

Social Skills: Each person has a speaking role, as in a real courtroom. Thus, the students must be consistent with each other. They must listen to each other, give help to each other and clarify things. This creates great referent power among the students, as each has the ability to show their strengths. Also, this plan builds great leadership skills among everyone as each of the students work together.

Face-to-Face Interaction: This is also accomplished when the students are working in their groups building their cases as well as when they are presenting their sides.

Heterogeneous Grouping: The teacher will put the girls’ names in one hat and the boys’ names in another hat. Then, the teacher will select a name from each hat and those will be the groups. The defendant will be chosen by putting all of the names in one hat and choosing one.

Processing: This will be done at the end of each day to see what aspects of the trial each side must work on. Finally, once the trial is finished, the teacher will tell the true result of the trial and the class will go over what they learned.

Evaluation: This will be achieved by seeing how well the groups worked together and if they did their best to defend their respective sides.

This is a great cooperative lesson because it creates a friendly, working community within the classroom. The students don’t have to feel the pressure of a test, as they are allowed to work together and build trust and friendships amongst each other.