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Hi to everyone!
My name is Rosa Mongiello . I'm a French teacher in a lower secondary school in San Marcellino ( CE ). This is my first CO-LAB experience and I hope it will be strongly positive for my future teaching, Good work to everyone .

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I chose to do this course because I'm interested in learning more about collaborative teaching

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WHAT IS COLLABORATIVE LEARNING ?

Collaborative learning involves a series of strategies in which students are encouraged to work together, usually in small groups, in the development and construction of knowledge in an effective way, in which all contribute, in the same way, to knowledge. Learning is student-centered and the teacher is a mediator / facilitator of the process. In my classes  I often use collaborative learning using digital tools because I think that ICTs are very useful, motivational and are an excellent help in collaborative work. Collaboration  between groups contribute to the total knowledge; all together are responsible in the construction of knowledge and for the totality of the work.

Evaluation is always difficult, especially when working in groups and collaboratively. To evaluate a work, I use several processes: I have observation grids, grids with parameters known to the students regarding the quality of work, presentation of the work to the class and self-assessment .Self-assessment and peer engagement require students to reflect on their work, to understand what they have done well, and how they can improve.

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HOW CAN YOU DESIGN COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN YOUR CLASSROOM?

I absolutely agree with what Professor Butler said of everyone speaking the same language when it comes to collaborative work. In my school I work collaboratively with my colleagues, we create learning scenarios together, I think we speak the same language, at least the vast majority of us, which is part of the same project ( eTwinning project for exemple). I agree with the 4  big ideas in collaboration: Are they working together? Do they have shared responsability? Do they make substantive decisions? Is their work interdependent? These questions left by the Professor Butler are the questions I put to myself when students begin to develop a project, a learning, a group work. At the beginning of the school year, I always start with small exercises, where I observe the way of working. Through these small jobs, usually associated with technology, students acquire application-level knowledge. When I start working with my students, I prefer that they choose the group they want to work with, because I believe that they group by affinity, which leads them to work more collaboratively, later on I can decide the groups or group them randomly because I also believe that the diversity of capabilities is positive. The teacher has a very important role, the direct observation in the group and the consequent feedback throughout the work are fundamental. There will come a time when the students did not need so much of the support of the teacher and become experts in the resolution of work and problems . In collaborative work  students work individually and in groups;they have shared responsibility; they do make substantive decisions together about the content, process, or product of their work.

FIRST ACTIVITY :
My first activity is is a CLIL activity about food and health. The aim of this lesson is to understand the connection between food and health. Students work in small groups and each group work on the study of  components of  food in order to learn the importance and the benefits of trying out of eating a variety of food  and how to create balance. Step 1 : I show my students a video by the European Food Information Council  and after the video I ask my students some questions. Step 2 : I show my students a PADLET page and the FOOD PYRAMID and I explained them the importance of a balanced diet. Step 3 : I propose my students some acivities such as crosswords. Step 4 : real task . Students have to make their balanced lunchbox .  In this activity my students work together in groups; they interact with peers; they  shared responsibility and they make substantive decisions together about the content, process, or product of their work and their work is interdependent.

SECOND ACTIVITY :

In this natural disasters lesson plan, students use BrainPOP resources to identify and explore various types of natural disasters. Students will explain whether natural disasters are weather-related or geology-related. Next, they’ll research a self-selected or teacher-selected natural disaster using BrainPOP resources, and complete a graphic organizer explaining the cause/effect relationships behind the selected disaster.

LESSON PROCEDURE : Show the Natural Disaster of Rigopiano avalanche on You Tube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI63lJrMqT0

Ask students what they think about natural disasters and if they ever wondered what caused them? Have they noticed that certain natural disasters cause or trigger other natural disasters? Build background knowledge by talking about disasters that have been mentioned recently in the news.

FREE DISCUSSION : Give students a copy of the Activity page . Have them guess the name of each natural disaster pictured and write their answers. Provide several minutes for them to complete the 'Think About It' section and then facilitate a class discussion on student responses, tying recent natural disasters to the dialogue. Play again the movie for the class. Pause as needed for discussion and for students to fill in their activity sheet.

GROUP ACTIVITY : Students research and record informations, prepare material to share with other students, they work on cards, puzzles, games and they partecipate in cooperative group activities

DESIGNING :  Students , in pair or in group, create a poster on natural disasters

DISCUSS : Students discuss about WHY it mignt be important to have instruments to predict natural disasters. WHAT sort of organizations do we have to cope with serious disasters? WHAT would happen without these services. The teacher shows them a video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmqtw2E4rDo

FINAL EVALUATION Students take the related quiz to test their understanding

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21 CLD COLLABORATION RUBRIC

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HOW CAN YOU ASSESS COLLABORATIVE LEARNING?

This module looks at how to effectively assess collaborative learning. The module starts with an introductory video on the principles of assessment for improving collaborative learning, which is later followed by a video on how to assess collaborative learning using rubrics and checklists.
https://youtu.be/vFuGqf4AtDI

The CO-LAB Guidelines for Assessing Collaborative Learning (developed by Doctor Luis Valente, from the University of Minho) is the key reference document for Module 3

We also hear from teachers in Greece, Portugal and Italy concerning their personal experiences of assessing students’ collaborative work in relation to different aged student groups, subjects and contexts. In their videos the teachers put forward specific questions for our collaborative learning expert, related to the challenges they have faced in assessing collaborative learning. In the final video of this module we hear directly from Doctor Luis Valente, who offers some answers to our teachers’ questions.

3 - Learning objectives

1. Understanding the principles of assessing collaborative learning

2. Identifying the various challenges teachers face in assessing collaborative learning and the tips, tools and solutions available to them

3. Understanding the value of using rubrics and checklists for assessing collaborative learning, and how to construct them

4. Appreciating the importance of involving students in the definition of assessment tools used for collaborative learning

5. Beginning work on one or more lesson plans integrating collaborative learning and assessment using the Learning Designer

I read the the COL-AB ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES
http://www.europeanschoolnetacademy.eu/documents/10180/0/CO-LAB+Guidelines+for+Assessing+Collaboration/0c5184cb-3650-48f0-bfe0-51434fe39d80
I see some videos
-   "A sports teacher's experience of assessing collaborative learning "

In this video we hear from a physical educator in Greece, who talks about her experience of assessing the collaborative learning of 6- to 11-year-olds. We also learn about the refugee project she implemented with students and how she used various assessment methods to track their progress in developing collaborative skills.
-  " An ICT teacher’s experience of assessing collaborative learning

Collaborative teaching & learning | Assessing students’ collaborative learning "

In this video we hear about the experiences of assessing the collaborative learning of 15- to 18-year-olds from an ICT teacher in Portugal. He explains his experiences with two eTwinning projects, which not only have student collaborative learning at their core, but also teacher collaboration. We hear his opinion on the benefits of collaborative learning and assessment and the challenges he has faced, together with some tips on how to overcome them.

I see Anna Laghigna video about collaborative learning and student peer reviews

https://youtu.be/Y495vnlX6aY
I share my ideas on the Padlet pages and finally I see the video  "Collaborative teaching & learning | Expert answers to teachers’ questions on assessment "
In this video the collaborative learning and assessment expert, Dr. Luis Valente, uses the questions posed in the teacher videos featured earlier in this module and earlier in the course as a starting point. He offers some answers and suggestions related to the challenges teachers describe concerning diagnostic assessment, peer assessment, differentiating individual participation in group work, discreet assessment, and the use of Mind Maps, Concept Maps and Infographics.

Final activity of module 3  - Create my lesson plan

The final learning activity is to create a lesson plan using  the Learning Designer and share it.

Guidelines for designing a lesson plan implementing collaborative learning

1. The lesson plan includes learning activities specifically designed to develop students’ collaborative learning skills.

Students are required to work in pairs or groups

Students have shared responsibility

Students make substantive decisions together

Students’ work is interdependent

It is essential that the nature of the collaborative activities is fully described in the lesson plan, and clearly refers to one or more of the four dimensions mentioned above.

2. The lesson plan incorporates appropriate assessment tools to assess the collaborative learning activities mentioned, preferably including the student in the design of at least one of the tools.

Rubric to assess a group

Rubric to assess group members individually

Checklist for self-assessment of students’ collaborative skills

Checklist for peer assessment of students’ collaborative skills

Digital tools facilitating self- and peer assessment of collaborative learning

Mindmaps and infographics to assess group work and facilitate peer assessment

3. The lesson plan is well aligned with its learning outcomes: activities and assessment clearly link with the defined learning outcomes and allow the teacher to determine by the end of the lesson(s) if the objectives have been achieved.
4. The lesson plan is balanced: there is a good mix of activities with at least four different Teaching Learning Activities used (TLAs in the Learning Designer) and none of the Activities, except in the case of collaboration, taking up more than 35% of the time (see the pie chart for this).

THIS IS THE LINK OF MY LEARNING DESIGNER : https://v.gd/ZQ0tmY
THIS IS THE LINK OF THE LEARNING DESIGNER I REVIEWED : https://v.gd/c2vyiw

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Collaborative teaching & learning | Collaborative learning and student peer reviews

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Collaborative teaching & learning | Collaborative learning and student peer reviews

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I liked Anna’s video “ Collaborative teaching & learning | Collaborative learning and student peer reviews”  because she applies many tools throughout the learning process. In m y experience I’ve used Animoto and Padlet and I liked them very much because these tools give students the opportunity to collaborate. In fact in my classes I encourage interaction and collaboration and I always ask students to work in groups and to exchange ideas and notions to help each other.  My students enjoy working together and learn collaboratively. While my students work in groups, I move around to help if they need explanations and check whether they are proceeding in the right direction. We mainly use Padlet  to communicate and exchange feedback or links and suggestions. I have developed also the use of rubrics to help my students self-assess .

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HOW CAN TEACHER COLLABORATION FACILITATE COLLABORATIVE LEARNIN?
Content of the module

This module 4 is all about teacher collaboration. Teachers  need to model collaboration in order for students to take it seriously and to recognize its value. We know from recent European research  that more opportunities for teacher collaboration are sorely needed. Such opportunities could include building networks, providing virtual spaces to interact in, and developing a collaborative school culture between teachers, students and the wider community. In this module the benefits and challenges of teacher collaboration are discussed, along with the skills required and the school conditions needed for effective collaboration to take place. We also hear about how technology can facilitate teachers working together.

Learning objectives

1.    Appreciating the benefits of teacher collaboration and how best to take advantage of them, as well as the challenges involved, and tips and tools for overcoming them

2.    Understanding the skills needed by teachers for effective collaboration, as well as the conditions needed at the school level for teacher collaboration to flourish

3.    Understanding how technology can facilitate teacher collaboration

4.    Using the Learning Designer to finalise the development of one or more lesson plans integrating collaborative learning and assessment, along with elements of teacher collaboration

5.    Peer-reviewing the collaborative learning lesson plans of two other course participants

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I think that  ‘co-teaching rotation’ collaboration model mentioned by Valentina is a very interesting approach. The art of collaboration requires thoughtful consideration on the part of teachers. Collaborative teachers have to spend time before and after school to coordinate their efforts; they need to bring their best skills and practices to the team while remaining flexible to adapt to new methodologies that can benefit student learning. In this way, teachers continue to grow in their professional skills and students gain understanding from a variety of instructional approaches. Collaboration is not always a concept that is greeted with open arms. Educators who have had success working in isolation may view this process as an invasion of their pedagogy and a waste of time. I would like to ask the experts and my peers on the course, how we might convince such colleagues of the importance of teacher collaboration. Perhaps we can start by showing them experiences and evidence of collaboration not only improving teacher performance, but also student performance.
Last year in my school I collaborated numerous times with colleagues on eTwinning  projects, and I think  that collaboration is a wonderful teaching tool. Teachers have the opportunity to assess and differentiate their teaching for students more readily and they can learn new pedagogical techniques from one another to expand their teaching repertoire. Cooperative teaching experiences also provide mutual support and assistance for planning and implementing lessons, assessing students’ progress, sharing professional concerns, and addressing students’ learning needs.

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I Think that technologies have a great potential in order to improve students competences. New technologies are efficient instruments to engage students’ attention and to motivate them. I often use digital resources in my subject lessons and, particularly, I use ANIMOTO. I often use ANIMOTO because it lets you take your photos and video clips, add text and a music track and turn it all into a video. You can emphasise certain photos or allow the program to do it randomly. Share your video by email, embed it in a wiki/blog or upload it to uTube. It’s very good !!! I think that that the role of videos in a classroom will be dealt with, both for learners and for teachers , considering the new role of the learner as an active user of the web and as a content generator. As for the teachers’ perspective, video clips can play an important role in a teacher-training pathway, both for Initial Teacher Education and for Continuous Professional Development.

In a CLIL lesson collaboration and communication channels are precious because they are useful to improve language skills and they provide learners of authentic material : this is a way to improve students’ vocabulary.

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MODULE 4 :  The benefits and challenges of teacher collaboration

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MODULE 4 :  The benefits and challenges of teacher collaboration

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I totally agree with Professor Deirdre Butler when she speaks about the various benefits of teacher collaboration including the usefulness of peer reviews, collaborating in a safe environment, and building an effective community of practice. She also highlights some of the challenges involved and the need to find opportunities for collaboration both inside and outside of school, and for collaboration to take place across subjects and themes. I believe it is very important  to collaborate with one another, to get feedback from one another and to have real, meaningful, authentic learning tasks.
What are the challenges of teacher collaboration?
It’s a really positive experience, but sometimes it is difficult to find time to collaborate with one another. Difficult to align your timetables; sometimes schools can’t build in time for teachers to collaborate within the school environment. But perhaps it would be useful if people looked at the technology and tools that are available, that you could collaborate outside of the school environment. I often use eTwinning platform ,for example,  that brings together teachers and students  from all over Europe, for example from Poland, Estonia, Portugal and Ireland, but also teachers from all over the world who will be participating. It’s a wonderful collaborative opportunity for people to work on learning activities.

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MODULE4 :  How technology can facilitate teacher collaboration

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MODULE4 :  How technology can facilitate teacher collaboration

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In this video
https://youtu.be/v1kKBNHBrMM
we hear from Professor Deirdre Butler and Majella Dempsey (a teacher trainer from Maynooth University) about how technology can facilitate teachers working together. We hear about the usefulness of various communication platforms and MOOCs, as well as the need to move away from an understanding of teacher collaboration just being about sending and displaying, to one that is more about processing, analyzing and sharing.I think that the use of digital technologies  can play a crucial role in teaching and learning, because they  engage students and motivate them in a learner-centered perspective .
Digital technologies have a great potential and they  are efficient instruments to engage students’ attention and to motivate them. I often use digital resources in my subject lessons

And it  is fantastic because I can collaborate not only with teachers within my own school  but also with people all around the world. For example, the cloud itself has brought opportunities for teachers  to share documents, share video – share anything we want, using things like eTwinning platform,  VoiceThread, Padlet. Teachers  can come together like we never could do before, and share wonderful experiences across learning, designing deep learning environments.

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This is the link to my LD
https://v.gd/ZQ0tmY
This is the review received By Lúcia Rodrigues date 30-10-2017 14:05 :

Your theme choice is very interesting. I also approach that theme in my classes.

The use of the technologies of information is an element of the students' motivation.

The quizz is a fast and effective form of evaluation.

I consider that the partition of the times dedicated to the discussion, investigation and cooperation is balanced.

The time is enough so that the students can accomplish the tasks.

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MODULE 4 :  Review my colleague  Snježana Kovačević

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MODULE 4 :  Review my colleague  Snježana Kovačević

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Dear Colleague Snjezana Kovacevic,

Your lesson plan is complete and presents a good variety of learning activities. Descriptions are clear and easy to follow.

Learning activities explicitly link with the defined learning outcomes.

I love the idea of using  the initial video to convey the main concepts, and I like the role of the librarian as facilitator that guides students during their work : excellent use of cooperative learning !

All the activities are well balanced.

Assessment activities focus on collaborative skills of students.

Congratulation! You did a great work!

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MODULE 4 :  Review my colleague Mariana Gonçalves dos Santos Loureiro

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MODULE 4 :  Review my colleague Mariana Gonçalves dos Santos Loureiro

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Dear Colleague Mariana Gonçalves dos Santos Loureiro  ,

your lesson plan is accurate and engaging. It presents a rich description of learning activities.

There is a good mix of activities and it satisfies needs and requirements of all learning styles and all kinds of students . I love the idea of a fictional story about the animals that children choose! This task provides evidence that each student has acquired the expected competence.

Students do have shared responsibility and they do  make substantive decisions together about the content, process, or product of their work. I believe that the partition of the times dedicated to discussion, production and collaboration is well balanced. I like the role of the teacher that guides students and assesses them.

Congratulation! You did a great work!

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....and finally....I'm happy and satisfied....

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....and finally....I'm happy and satisfied....