4. INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY
1. POSITIVE GROUP INTERDEPENDENCE
If you do well, I do well. Students in a group share the same goal
and resources (e.g., one activity sheet for each pair of
students). Each as a specific role to play, and those roles are
rotated. Students talk together about the work, encouraging each
other to learn.
2. RECIPROCAL SENSE-MAKING.
Build on your partner's ideas. Students strive to understand and
elaborate upon the viewpoints of their partners. They engage in a
mutual process of constructing ideas.
3. COGNITIVE CONFLICT, THEN CONSENSUS.
Two heads are better than one - in fact, sometimes two wrongs can
make a right.
4. INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY.
All must learn. Each student is accountable for understanding the
concepts.
SOME ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS:
DEVELOP EFFECTIVE COLLABORATIVE SKILLS:
Teach and model conflict resolution skills such as negotiation,
compromise, and cooperative problem solving.
Encourage perspective taking: putting yourself in the other
person's shoes.
INDIVIDUAL MOTIVATION AND SENSE OF COMPETENCE #1:
Provide social feedback to enhance children's sense of competence.
Point out students strengths in regard to solving a problem,
working with peers, etc. Encourage students to provide the same
types of information to partners. Be specific and concrete,
especially with younger children.
Provide models of perceived competence and intrinsic motivation.
Pair children who have a low sense of efficacy or poor persistence
with partners who are more confident and persistent.
INDIVIDUAL MOTIVATION AND SENSE OF COMPETENCE #2
Use short-term goal setting and performance-contingent reward when
structuring individual tasks. Help students to set attainable
goals and teach them how to break tasks into manageable steps.
Provide rewards for performance throughout the session, not just
following completion of a project. Encourage students to evaluate
their performance and that of their partners and to praise each
other.
INDIVIDUAL MOTIVATION AND SENSE OF COMPETENCE #3
Teach children coping strategies for handling failures. Emphasize
optimistic thinking and persistence. Working with a partner can be
beneficial because one child can neutralize the discouragement and
negative thinking of the other.
Insure adequate skill development to foster success. Make sure
students have the prerequisite academic and social skills.
RESPONSIBILITIES WHICH TEACHERS MUST MAKE CLEAR
- Work together, explaining fully to each other.
- Try to make sense of your partner's explanations.
- Ask specific questions when requesting help.
- When asked a question by your partner, you have a
responsibility to help.
- Welcome conflicts of ideas; then work toward consensus.
- Encourage each other.
- When disagreeing, criticize ideas, not people!
DEVELOP EFFECTIVE COLLABORATIVE SKILLS;
- Emphasize the importance of social support. Provide help
to peers. The goal is for ALL students to learn and be
successful.
- Teach specific communication skills including:
- Active listening,
- asking and answering questions,
- providing explanations,
- and effective debating techniques.
This WWW site has been constructed by Lawrence W. Sherman. I wish
to acknowledge the support of the Center for Human Development,
Learning and Teaching AND the Department of Educational
Psychology. Please send any comments and suggestions about this
home page to Lawrence W. Sherman.
This Document was last modified on Tuesday, January, 15 2002 at 14:45:48
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