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Motivating students is one of the major challenges teachers face on a daily basis. Conceptualized as students' energy and drive to engage, learn, work effectively, and achieve their potential at school, motivation and engagement play a large role in students' interest and enjoyment of school (Martin, 2006). Understandably, both also play huge roles in academic achievement (Martin, 2001; Martin & Marsh, 2003). Consequently, those students who are motivated by and engaged in learning tend to perform considerably higher academically and are better behaved than unmotivated and un-engaged peers (Fredricks, Bulumenfeld, & Paris, 2004).

While much motivation is intrinsic to the student, teachers also play a vital role in the motivation and engagement of their students. A significant portion of student engagement and achievement has been explained by teacher- and classroom-level variables (Hill & Rowe, 1996). Therefore, the purpose of this article is to briefly discuss the importance of motivation and engagement on student learning and behavior, the role teachers play in motivating and engaging students, and suggestions for doing so.

Student Engagement and Motivation: Impact on Learning and Behavior

Student engagement, described as the tendency to be behaviorally, emotionally, and cognitively involved in academic activities, is a key construct in motivation research (Thijs & Verkuyten, 2009). Consequently, compared to less engaged peers, engaged students demonstrate more effort, experience more positive emotions and pay more attention in the classroom (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004). Further, engagement has also been associated with positive student outcomes, including higher grades and decreased dropouts (Connell, Spencer, & Aber, 1994).

Teachers' Impact on Student Engagement and Motivation

Teachers play a vital role in their students' engagement and motivation (Hill & Rowe, 1996). Although much is intrinsic to the student, research has found that teacher's play a vital role on their students' motivation and engagement. Specifically, Martin (2006) found that a teacher's enjoyment and confidence in teaching, pedagogical efficacy, and affective orientations in the classroom have a positive impact on student engagement and motivation.

According to Bandura (1997), confidence is akin to self-efficacy. Those teachers who are confident, or self-efficient have demonstrated: a) the ability to generate and test alternative courses of action when initial success is not met; b) enhanced functioning through elevated levels of effort and persistence; and c) enhanced ability to deal with a problem situation by influencing cognitive and emotional processes related to the situation (Martin, 2006). Conversely, according to Bandura (1997) teachers with low confidence tend to dwell on their deficiencies and view situations as more difficult than they really are. Inadvertently, teachers high in confidence (self-efficacy) are more likely to engage in pedagogy that is characterized by positive, proactive, and solution-focused orientations, resulting in increased student motivation and engagement.

Teachers' enjoyment of and confidence in teaching have been shown to positively impact their affective orientation towards their students (e.g., positive student-teacher relationships); resulting in increased student motivation and engagement. Teven and McCroskey (1997) found that students who believe their teacher is caring also believe they learn more. Further, positive relationships with teachers predict enhanced social, cognitive, and language development in younger children (Kontos & Wilcox-Herzog, 1997). According to Flink, Boggiano, and Barrett (1990) those teachers who support a student's autonomy tend to facilitate greater motivation, curiosity, and desire to be challenged. Finally, positive relationships with teachers are associated with emotional, cognitive, and behavioral engagement in the class (Connell & Wellborn, 1991).

Tips for Enhancing Student Engagement and Motivation

The following tips are provided in an effort to provide teachers with suggestions on how they might proactively begin the school year in an effort to improve and cultivate student motivation and engagement.

Recognize and enhance one's mental and physical stability. Teaching is a stressful job, and it is imperative that teachers take care of their mental and physical selves. Teachers should engage in activities that are relaxing and physically challenging. Having an outlet to alleviate stress will radiate within the classroom and positively enhance student-teacher relationships. When teachers feel good about themselves, they have more patience for and better interaction with students. Possible outlets for stress include: yoga, running, work-outs with weights, healthy eating, dance, biking, or meditation.

Ensure the classroom environment is welcoming to students from all cultures. To be engaged, students need to feel that they are in an environment where they are accepted and affirmed. Ensure the classroom is warm and inviting to all.

Enhance students' self-belief. Research shows that students engage when they act as their own learning agents working to achieve goals important to them. They must believe they can learn and know how to deal with failures and learn from those experiences. Incorporate problem-solving activities and provide discussions when failures occur. Allow students control over learning. This helps them develop confidence and commitment to learning.

Survey students to obtain information about their likes and dislikes. Understanding what students like and dislike will provide suggested areas in which teachers can connect with the student (e.g., favorite books, movies, video games). Information collected from the survey can be utilized as a motivator for academic and behavioral engagement or as a means of building rapport with the student (e.g., a topic for conversing).

Allow students to work autonomously, enjoy learning relationships with peers, and feel they are competent to reach their goals. Allowing students to work autonomously and with others, developing their sense of competence, results in increased student motivation. This focuses on the cultivation of intrinsic motivation, which fosters self-determination that leads to engagement.

Create learning opportunities that are active, collaborative, and promote learning relationships.Â Active learning in groups, peer relationships, and social skills are key components to engagement and motivation.

Create educational experiences for students that are challenging and enriching and that extend their academic abilities. Easy learning activities and assignments are not as effective at engaging students as activities and assignments that challenge them. When students are reflecting, questioning, conjecturing, evaluating, and making connections between ideas, they are engaged. Teachers must create rich educational experiences that challenge students' ideas and stretch them as far as they can go (Zepke & Leach, 2010).

Recognize that teaching and teachers are central to student engagement. Keeping up with the educational research through involvement in professional development activities (reading journals, attending workshops or webinars, etc) is key for teachers to remain current in the field using effective, research-based strategies, and techniques.

Motivating students and encouraging engagement is not an easy feat for teachers. While much of the motivation is intrinsic to the student, teachers play a vital role and can be proactive in cultivating student engagement. Increased student engagement and motivation is key to academic and behavioral success.

About the Author

Tammy L. Stephens, Ph.D., is a former assessment consultant for Pearson. Prior to working at Pearson, Dr. Stephens worked as a special education teacher (working with students with emotional/behavioral disorders), an educational diagnostician, and an assistant professor at Texas Woman's University. Dr. Stephens has presented on issues related to assessment and intervention at the local, state, national, and international levels. She is also published in several books and educational journals.

References

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman & Co.

Connell, J., Spencer, M., & Aber, J. (1994). Educational risk and resilience in African-American youth: Context, self, action, and outcomes in school. Child Development, 65, 493-506.

Connell, J., & Wellborn, J. (1991). Competence, autonomy, and relatedness: A motivational analysis of self-system processes. In M. R. Gunnar, & L. A. Sroufe (Eds.), Self process in development: Minnesota Symposium of Child Psychology (Vol 29. pp. 244-254). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Fredericks, J., Blumenfeld, P., & Paris, A. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concepts, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74, 59-109.

Hill, P., & Rowe, K. (1996). Multilevel modeling in school effectiveness research. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 7, 1-34.

Kontos, S., & Wilcox-Herzog, A. (1997). Influences on children's competence in early childhood classrooms. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 12, 247-262.

Martin, A. (2006). The relationship between teachers' perceptions of student motivation and engagement and teachers' enjoyment of and confidence in teaching. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 34(1), 73-93.

Martin, A. (2001). The student motivation scale: A tool for measuring and enhancing motivation. Australian Journal of Guidance and Counseling, 11, 1-20.

Martin, A., & Marsh, H. (2003). Fear of failure: Friend or foe? Australian Psychologist, 38, 31-38.

Teven, J., & McCroskey, J. (1997). The relationship of perceived teacher caring with student learning and teacher evaluation. Communication Education, 46, 1-9.

Thijs, J., & Verkuyten, M. (2009). Students' anticipated situational engagement: The roles of teacher behavior, personal engagement, and gender. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 170(3), 268-286.

Zepke, N., & Leach, L. (2010). Improving student engagement: Ten proposals for action. Active Learning in Higher Education, 11(3), 167-177.

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Tammy L. Stephens, Ph.D., Guest Author, Review360 Pearson

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Encouraging Positive Student Engagement and Motivation: Tips for Teachers | Pearson Blog

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Motivating students is one of the major challenges teachers face on a daily basis. Conceptualized as students' energy and drive to engage, learn, work effectively, and achieve their potential at school, motivation and engagement play a large role in students' interest and enjoyment of school (Martin, 2006).

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What does the Every Student Succeeds Act require?

School ratings based on the performance of all groups of students

States must set goals for increasing the percentage of students who reach state standards in reading and math and for raising graduation rates. These goals have to be set for all students, and for low-income students, students from major racial/ethnic groups, students with disabilities and English learners, respectively. They must require improvement for all groups and faster improvement for the groups that have been behind, meaning that, if the goals are met, gaps between groups will narrow.

Each state must then rate schools based on how they perform on these goals and other indicators, for all students and for each student group. If any group of students in a school is consistently underperforming, the school's rating has to reflect that fact.
Here are the required indicators:

Academic achievement: A measure of how schools' proficiency rates in reading/language arts and math for all students and each student group compare with state-set goals. For high schools, states can also include student growth as part of this indicator. When calculating proficiency rates, states have to count most students who do not participate in the assessment as not proficient.

Another academic indicator: For high schools, a measure of how graduation rates for all students and each student group compare with state-set goals. For elementary and middle schools, this measure may include individual student growth or another statewide, valid, and reliable indicator of student learning.

English-language proficiency : A measure of the progress that a school's English learners are making toward English proficiency. (This measure is for the English learner group only.)

Additional indicator of school quality: Another valid, reliable, and statewide indicator of school quality, which may include measures of postsecondary readiness, student engagement, or school climate. The indicator must measure these results for all students and each student group.

States will determine exactly how much each indicator will count in school accountability ratings, but the first three indicators (academic achievement, another academic indicator, and English proficiency) must each carry substantial weight, and together, carry much more weight than the additional measure of school quality.

In addition to including these indicators, states must also explain what will happen to a school's rating if fewer than 95 percent of all students, or of any group of students, participate in the state assessment.

Supports and intervention when students overall, or any group of students, are struggling

The Every Student Succeeds Act specifies three categories of schools that must receive support and intervention:

Comprehensive Support and Improvement Schools: This category includes the lowest performing 5 percent of Title I schools and all high schools with graduation rates below 67 percent. For these schools, districts must develop improvement plans, which may include a review of district- and school-level budgeting. The state has to review and approve these improvement plans and set "exit criteria" for these schools (i.e., levels of performance that they have to reach to no longer be identified in this category). If a school fails to meet these criteria within no more than four years (the state can set a shorter time frame), the state has to intervene.

Targeted Support and Improvement Schools: These are schools where one or more groups of students are consistently underperforming, as noted in the ratings. These schools must develop improvement plans, which have to be approved by their district. If schools fail to improve within a district-determined number of years, the district has to require additional action.

Additional Targeted Support and Improvement Schools: These are schools that have one or more groups of students whose performance would place them in the bottom 5 percent of Title I schools. Like Targeted Support and Improvement schools, these schools are required to put together improvement plans that must be approved by their district, but these improvement plans also have to address resource inequities. In addition, states must set exit criteria for these schools, and if schools don't meet these criteria in a state-determined number of years, they become Comprehensive Support and Improvement Schools.

What key questions should equity-minded advocates be asking?

What are aggressive but achievable goals, especially on new assessments aligned with college- and career-ready standards?

Beyond tests and graduation rates, what indicators will add to the picture of school performance for all students as opposed to masking important outcomes?

What's a rigorous definition of "consistently underperforming" for student groups, especially on indicators for which there aren't clear goals?

What are the appropriate supports and interventions for the lowest performers? For schools with underperforming groups?

What time frames for supports and interventions allow time for improvement activity to take hold, but don't allow students to languish?

1. For the purposes of the accountability system, states have to calculate proficiency rates by dividing the number of students who score at the proficient or advanced levels by the larger of two numbers: a) The number of students who took the test, OR b) 95 percent of students who were supposed to take the test.
2. When used on this page, the term "district" refers to both traditional public school districts and charters.

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accountability for raising achievement and closing gaps

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What's in the Every Student Succeeds Act? - Accountability - The Education Trust

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School ratings based on the performance of all groups of students States must set goals for increasing the percentage of students who reach state standards in reading and math and for raising graduation rates. These goals have to be set for all students, and for low-income students, students from major racial/ethnic groups, students with disabilities and English learners, respectively.

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Cite this guide: Brame, C.J. & Biel, R. (2015). Setting up and facilitating group work:
Using cooperative learning groups effectively. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved [todaysdate] from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/setting-up-and-facilitating-group-work-using-cooperative-learning-groups-effectively/.

Many instructors from disciplines across the university use group work to enhance their students' learning. Whether the goal is to increase student understanding of content, to build particular transferable skills, or some combination of the two, instructors often turn to small group work to capitalize on the benefits of peer-to-peer instruction. This type of group work is formally termed cooperative learning, and is defined as the instructional use of small groups to promote students working together to maximize their own and each other's learning (Johnson, et al., 2008).

Cooperative learning is characterized by positive interdependence, where students perceive that better performance by individuals produces better performance by the entire group (Johnson, et al., 2014). It can be formal or informal, but often involves specific instructor intervention to maximize student interaction and learning. It is infinitely adaptable, working in small and large classes and across disciplines, and can be one of the most effective teaching approaches available to college instructors.

What can it look like?

Informal cooperative learning groups
In informal cooperative learning, small, temporary, ad-hoc groups of two to four students work together for brief periods in a class, typically up to one class period, to answer questions or respond to prompts posed by the instructor.

Additional examples of ways to structure informal group work
Think-pair-share
The instructor asks a discussion question. Students are instructed to think or write about an answer to the question before turning to a peer to discuss their responses. Groups then share their responses with the class.
Peer Instruction
This modification of the think-pair-share involves personal responses devices (e.g. clickers). The question posted is typically a conceptually based multiple-choice question. Students think about their answer and vote on a response before turning to a neighbor to discuss. Students can change their answers after discussion, and "sharing" is accomplished by the instructor revealing the graph of student response and using this as a stimulus for large class discussion. This approach is particularly well-adapted for large classes.
Jigsaw
In this approach, groups of students work in a team of four to become experts on one segment of new material, while other "expert teams" in the class work on other segments of new material. The class then rearranges, forming new groups that have one member from each expert team. The members of the new team then take turns teaching each other the material on which they are experts.
Formal cooperative learning groups
In formal cooperative learning students work together for one or more class periods to complete a joint task or assignment (Johnson et al., 2014). There are several features that can help these groups work well:

The instructor defines the learning objectives for the activity and assigns students to groups.

The groups are typically heterogeneous, with particular attention to the skills that are needed for success in the task.

Within the groups, students may be assigned specific roles, with the instructor communicating the criteria for success and the types of social skills that will be needed.

Importantly, the instructor continues to play an active role during the groups' work, monitoring the work and evaluating group and individual performance.

Instructors also encourage groups to reflect on their interactions to identify potential improvements for future group work.

This video shows an example of formal cooperative learning groups in David Matthes' class at the University of Minnesota:

There are many more specific types of group work that fall under the general descriptions given here, including team-based learning, problem-based learning, and process-oriented guided inquiry learning.

What's the theoretical underpinning?

The use of cooperative learning groups in instruction is based on the principle of constructivism, with particular attention to the contribution that social interaction can make. In essence, constructivism rests on the idea that individuals learn through building their own knowledge, connecting new ideas and experiences to existing knowledge and experiences to form new or enhanced understanding (Bransford, et al., 1999). The consideration of the role that groups can play in this process is based in social interdependence theory, which grew out of Kurt Koffka's and Kurt Lewin's identification of groups as dynamic entities that could exhibit varied interdependence among members, with group members motivated to achieve common goals. Morton Deutsch conceptualized varied types of interdependence, with positive correlation among group members' goal achievements promoting cooperation.

Lev Vygotsky extended this work by examining the relationship between cognitive processes and social activities, developing the sociocultural theory of development. The sociocultural theory of development suggests that learning takes place when students solve problems beyond their current developmental level with the support of their instructor or their peers. Thus both the idea of a zone of proximal development, supported by positive group interdependence, is the basis of cooperative learning (Davidson and Major, 2014; Johnson, et al., 2014).

Cooperative learning follows this idea as groups work together to learn or solve a problem, with each individual responsible for understanding all aspects. The small groups are essential to this process because students are able to both be heard and to hear their peers, while in a traditional classroom setting students may spend more time listening to what the instructor says.

Cooperative learning uses both goal interdependence and resource interdependence to ensure interaction and communication among group members. Changing the role of the instructor from lecturing to facilitating the groups helps foster this social environment for students to learn through interaction.

Is there evidence that it works?

David Johnson, Roger Johnson, and Karl Smith performed a meta-analysis of 168 studies comparing cooperative learning to competitive learning and individualistic learning in college students (Johnson et al., 2006). They found that cooperative learning produced greater academic achievement than both competitive learning and individualistic learning across the studies, exhibiting a mean weighted effect size of 0.54 when comparing cooperation and competition and 0.51 when comparing cooperation and individualistic learning. In essence, these results indicate that cooperative learning increases student academic performance by approximately one-half of a standard deviation when compared to non-cooperative learning models, an effect that is considered moderate. Importantly, the academic achievement measures were defined in each study, and ranged from lower-level cognitive tasks (e.g., knowledge acquisition and retention) to higher level cognitive activity (e.g., creative problem solving), and from verbal tasks to mathematical tasks to procedural tasks. The meta-analysis also showed substantial effects on other metrics, including self-esteem and positive attitudes about learning. George Kuh and colleagues also conclude that cooperative group learning promotes student engagement and academic performance (Kuh et al., 2007).

Springer, Stanne, and Donovan (1999) confirmed these results in their meta-analysis of 39 studies in university STEM classrooms. They found that students who participated in various types of small-group learning, ranging from extended formal interactions to brief informal interactions, had greater academic achievement, exhibited more favorable attitudes towards learning, and had increased persistence through STEM courses than students who did not participate in STEM small-group learning.

The box below summarizes three individual studies examining the effects of cooperative learning groups.

What are approaches that can help make group work effective?
Preparation Articulate your goals for the group work, including both the academic objectives you want the students to achieve and the social skills you want them to develop. Determine the group conformation that will help meet your goals.
In informal group learning, groups often form ad hoc from near neighbors in a class.

In formal group learning, it is helpful for the instructor to form groups that are heterogeneous with regard to particular skills or abilities relevant to group tasks. For example, groups may be heterogeneous with regard to academic skill in the discipline or with regard to other skills related to the group task (e.g., design capabilities, programming skills, writing skills, organizational skills) (Johnson et al, 2006).

Groups from 2-6 are generally recommended, with groups that consist of three members exhibiting the best performance in some problem-solving tasks (Johnson et al., 2006; Heller and Hollabaugh, 1992).

To avoid common problems in group work, such as dominance by a single student or conflict avoidance, it can be useful to assign roles to group members (e.g., manager, skeptic, educator, conciliator) and to rotate them on a regular basis (Heller and Hollabaugh, 1992). Assigning these roles is not necessary in well-functioning groups, but can be useful for students who are unfamiliar with or unskilled at group work.
Choose an assessment method that will promote positive group interdependence as well as individual accountability.
In team-based learning, two approaches promote positive interdependence and individual accountability. First, students take an individual readiness assessment test, and then immediately take the same test again as a group. Their grade is a composite of the two scores. Second, students complete a group project together, and receive a group score on the project. They also, however, distribute points among their group partners, allowing student assessment of members' contributions to contribute to the final score.

Heller and Hollabaugh (1992) describe an approach in which they incorporated group problem-solving into a class. Students regularly solved problems in small groups, turning in a single solution. In addition, tests were structured such that 25% of the points derived from a group problem, where only those individuals who attended the group problem-solving sessions could participate in the group test problem. This approach can help prevent the "free rider" problem that can plague group work.

The University of New South Wales describes a variety of ways to assess group work, ranging from shared group grades, to grades that are averages of individual grades, to strictly individual grades, to a combination of these. They also suggest ways to assess not only the product of the group work but also the process. Again, having a portion of a grade that derives from individual contribution helps combat the free rider problem.
Helping groups get started Explain the group's task, including your goals for their academic achievement and social interaction. Explain how the task involves both positive interdependence and individual accountability, and how you will be assessing each.
Assign group roles or give groups prompts to help them articulate effective ways for interaction. The University of New South Wales provides a valuable set of tools to help groups establish good practices when first meeting. The site also provides some exercises for building group dynamics; these may be particularly valuable for groups that will be working on larger projects.

Regularly observe group interactions and progress, either by circulating during group work, collecting in-process documents, or both. When you observe problems, intervene to help students move forward on the task and work together effectively. The University of New South Wales provides handouts that instructors can use to promote effective group interactions, such as a handout to help students listen reflectively or give constructive feedback, or to help groups identify particular problems that they may be encountering.

Assessing and reflecting

In addition to providing feedback on group and individual performance (link to preparation section above), it is also useful to provide a structure for groups to reflect on what worked well in their group and what could be improved. Graham Gibbs (1994) suggests using the checklists shown below.

The University of New South Wales provides other reflective activities that may help students identify effective group practices and avoid ineffective practices in future cooperative learning experiences.

References

Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., and Cocking, R.R. (Eds.) (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Bruffee, K. A. (1993). Collaborative learning: Higher education, interdependence, and the authority of knowledge. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Cabrera, A. F., Crissman, J. L., Bernal, E. M., Nora, A., Terenzini, P. T., & Pascarella, E. T. (2002). Collaborative learning: Its impact on college students' development and diversity. Journal of College Student Development, 43(1), 20-34.

Davidson, N., & Major, C. H. (2014). Boundary crossing: Cooperative learning, collaborative learning, and problem-based learning. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 25 (3&4), 7-55.

Dees, R. L. (1991). The role of cooperative leaning in increasing problem-solving ability in a college remedial course. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 22(5), 409-21.

Gokhale, A. A. (1995). Collaborative Learning enhances critical thinking. Journal of Technology Education, 7(1).

Heller, P., and Hollabaugh, M. (1992) Teaching problem solving through cooperative grouping. Part 2: Designing problems and structuring groups. American Journal of Physics 60, 637-644.

Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., and Smith, K.A. (2006). Active learning: Cooperation in the university classroom (3 rd edition). Edina, MN: Interaction.

Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., and Holubec, E.J. (2008). Cooperation in the classroom (8 th edition). Edina, MN: Interaction.

Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., and Smith, K.A. (2014). Cooperative learning: Improving university instruction by basing practice on validated theory. Journl on Excellence in College Teaching 25, 85-118.

Jones, D. J., & Brickner, D. (1996). Implementation of cooperative learning in a large-enrollment basic mechanics course. American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference Proceedings.

Kuh, G.D., Kinzie, J., Buckley, J., Bridges, B., and Hayek, J.C. (2007). Piecing together the student success puzzle: Research, propositions, and recommendations (ASHE Higher Education Report, No. 32). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Love, A. G., Dietrich, A., Fitzgerald, J., & Gordon, D. (2014). Integrating collaborative learning inside and outside the classroom. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 25(3&4), 177-196.

Smith, M. E., Hinckley, C. C., & Volk, G. L. (1991). Cooperative learning in the undergraduate laboratory. Journal of Chemical Education 68(5), 413-415.

Springer, L., Stanne, M. E., & Donovan, S. S. (1999). Effects of small-group learning on undergraduates in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 96(1), 21-51.

Uribe, D., Klein, J. D., & Sullivan, H. (2003). The effect of computer-mediated collaborative learning on solving ill-defined problems. Educational Technology Research and Development, 51(1), 5-19.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1962). Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

This teaching guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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Group work: Using cooperative learning groups effectively

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by Cynthia J. Brame and Rachel Biel Print Version Cite this guide: Brame, C.J. & Biel, R. (2015). Setting up and facilitating group work: Using cooperative learning groups effectively. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved [todaysdate] from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/setting-up-and-facilitating-group-work-using-cooperative-learning-groups-effectively/. Many instructors from disciplines across the university use group work to enhance their students' learning.

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twin rivers unified school district (school district)

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21st Century Skills: Collaboration – Shared Goals

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Lesson Overview Students learned about collaboration and cooperation, shared goals and responsibilities by participating in a team building activity. After the team building activity, students put their collaborative knowledge to work with a life science lab. The students extracted DNA from strawberries and they collaborated in a discussion analyzing, comparing and contrasting the methods of extraction.

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The successful leader build a good teamwork

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http://leadership-co21.blogspot.com/p/le.html the construction of great leaders have the ability to build strong teamwork

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Impact Newsletter: Teamwork: Key to Success for Teachers and Paraeducators

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The changing landscape of public education has had a significant impact on the roles of the personnel who serve in our schools. Teacher shortages, increasing numbers of English language learners, and the rising enrollment of students with disabilities and other special needs are just some of the factors that make the need for a dynamic school team more necessary than ever (Gerlach, 2002).

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What Is Collaborative Learning? Definition From a Teacher

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Read this article for a definition of Collaborative Learning and an overview of its forms, goals, and uses as well as the scope of its use in your classroom. This teaching methodology is gaining in popularity because it makes your students your partners in the learning process.

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What does collaboration in education really mean? Recently, while attending a large education conference, I was struck by this comment from a marketplace expert, the word collaboration is all over this event.

We need another word!" I was quiet for a moment, while I nodded in agreement that the word collaboration was certainly in and on everything at the event. I don't know if another word is needed, but we certainly need to know what collaboration really means, because I don't think most educators, or marketplace experts really do. And I think that may be where the problem lies.

Collaboration in its simplest, and most understandable form, is getting individuals, who may or may not have similar interests, to work together in an organized endeavor to a satisfying and most appropriate group end. Now, while we hope that all the individuals feel the group end is satisfying, it can't always be guaranteed, so therefore another "C" word needs to be learned as well, and that is compromise. That can be a bit more difficult for individual group members, but certainly is the part of collaboration that makes groups go far beyond just going through the working-together motions.

If that is still a bit difficult to understand, try this: Place a big piece of oak tag in front of a group of individuals, toss an assortment of crayons or markers onto it. Give the group the task of working together on something that has a group outcome. They decide what that outcome is as a group. What you're really asking is for individuals to collaborate, join together as a group, to solve a problem-together. What you may discover quickly is that deciding on the project becomes the problem. You may also discover that the oak tag becomes divided into individual sections where individuals work on individual solutions. That is not collaboration.

That sort of group work is common, and it happens even with the best interactive technologies in classrooms every day. The reason for this is that in our effort to individualize learning, we've forgotten to define, or integrate the collaborative, groups of individuals working together. If you're an educator, who is fortunate enough to have personalized computing devices in class, do a simple check. Ask whether you are still teaching as if your students were seated in rows? Even if students are not in rows, are you still teaching as thought they were? Are you working completely with individuals as a teacher, or are you allowing those individual to interact with each other, and not just with you as teacher? If done well, those sorts of interactions, or collaboration, have a much larger impact than working on oak tag. Personalized technology in the hands of every student can make the entire class a fluid and ever-changing collaborative environment, but unlike oak tag, there can't be any edges or group boundaries.

This is a next step in thinking for many teachers, who are already breaking barriers in personalized classroom instruction, and can be one that is much more difficult. For those who haven't thought along these lines, yet, it should at least be a thought, and then an eventual goal. It's far easier to assess an individual than a group, and individual assessment is usually the one that gets the most attention and scrutiny by administrators-and used during parent conferences, as well as in most very archaic grading systems. For that reason, most interactive instructional technology in schools hasn't gone beyond simple answer responses and last century slide shows. The key words there are simple, easy, and fast. Working in groups collaboratively for the best possible outcomes is not simple, it takes time, and unfortunately assessment for doing it well has taken a back seat to simple, easy, and fast.

Whether educators are looking at collaboration as putting individuals into individual groups to work separately, or classrooms, as learning environments with flowing and ever-changing groups, we have not begun to touch the possibilities in talk, blog posts, or education professional development. Part of this is because collaboration isn't simple, and it actually requires more thinking, preparation and time to do. Collaboration continues to get lost in marketing catch phrases like, "easy, faster, and even 1:1, and personalized." The word collaboration is not the problem; it's our lack of doing collaboration right that is the problem.

Might I suggest, if you're a teacher doing a wonderful lesson, and only a few out of an entire classroom of students are engaged, maybe you're still teaching in rows, and bit of real collaboration is needed. And I don't mean sitting students in small groups around oak tag. That just waters down the problem to smaller classroom problem groups. Seek ways to create that fluid collaboration within a classroom that takes advantage of individual expertise. You'll not only discover the wonderful in individuals, but also the most complete and wonderful collaborative success in larger groups. We haven't begun to address true collaboration in learning, and it's about time we do.
This is a repost. The original post appeared on Connected Learning Today. About the Author:
Ken Royal is an educator with 34 years of classroom/school and instructional technology teaching experience, as well as a blogger on all things education and education technology. Teaching accomplishments include: 4-time district teacher of the year, Connecticut Middle School Teacher of the Year, as well as Bill and Melinda Gates award for Technology School of Excellence. He is a Promethean storyteller. Follow @KenRoyal on Twitter.

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collaboration in education using technology

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What Does Collaboration in Education Really Mean?

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What does collaboration in education really mean? Recently, while attending a large education conference, I was struck by this comment from a marketplace expert, the word collaboration is all over this event. We need another word!" I was quiet for a moment, while I nodded in agreement that the word collaboration was certainly in and on everything at the event.

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Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning

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I am unabashedly proud of my pedagogical article resource file. I've been collecting good articles on teaching and learning since the early '80s. I use the file almost every day, and in the process of looking for a particular article, I regularly stumble onto others whose contents I remember when I see them but have otherwise forgotten.

I ran into just such an article recently. It's old, published in 1986, but it was the first article I remember reading where the content of the discipline (in this case sociology) was used to explain certain instructional dynamics. Actually, there's a whole genre of pedagogical scholarship that does this, not just in sociology but also in many disciplines.

In this article, Billson compares the classroom to a small group. She applies the principles of small group dynamics as they are studied and understood in sociology to what happens in the classroom. And she does so for this reason: "Deeper awareness of small group processes can enhance the teaching effectiveness of college faculty through improving their ability to raise student participation levels, increase individual and group motivation, stimulate enthusiasm, and facilitate communication in the classroom." (p. 143) I'd say those outcomes are still of interest to most of us.

So what principles of small group dynamics might help us better understand what's happening in our classrooms? Billson identifies and discusses 15-four are highlighted here.

Principle 1: Every participant in a group is responsible for the outcome of the group interaction. Billson acknowledges that the major responsibility does belong to the professor, but she maintains that students share a "significant responsibility" as well. (p. 144) She recommends discussing that responsibility with students and explores the possibility of letting students plan certain segments of the course or maybe offer input as to the weight of the course's various assignments.

Principle 4: When people feel psychologically safe in a group, their participation levels will increase. This isn't a particularly new or novel idea, but it's something professors often take for granted. Most of us do feel safe in the classroom. We've been going to college classes for years. For students, classrooms don't feel as comfortable. They can be made to feel safer when students are known by names, when their first attempts to contribute garner positive feedback, and when the professor avoids sarcasm and ridicule.

Principle 8: The leader of any group serves as a model for that group. "The way in which professors play their role, including how they present expectations of students, carry out responsibilities, and handle privileges implicit in the professorial role, has a profound effect on how students enact their role." (p. 147)

Principle 13: A group will set its own norms of behavior and will expect conformity to them. These norms may extend to the professor. The same policies and procedures can be used and yet classes respond to them differently. In some classes, students argue at length about exam answers. In other classes, they want assignment deadlines extended. In many classes, a designated few become the only students who participate. Professors need to be aware of these norms and if they work against course goals, they should be discussed openly with students.

Although "small group" isn't a label that feels like it fits classes with more than 100 students, even large classes exhibit many features typical of groups. Applying these principles can result in classroom climates where learning is a more likely outcome. I'd say Billson was way ahead of her time in identifying what helps to make classrooms learner-centered.

Reference: Billson, J. (1986). The college classroom as a small group: Some implications for teaching and learning. Teaching Sociology, 14 (July), 143-151.

Reprinted from What Classes and Small Groups Have in Common The Teaching Professor, 26.3(2012): 6.

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What Group Dynamics Can Teach Us about Classroom Learning

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I am unabashedly proud of my pedagogical article resource file. I've been collecting good articles on teaching and learning since the early '80s. I use the file almost every day, and in the process of looking for a particular article, I regularly stumble onto others whose contents I remember when I see them but have otherwise forgotten.

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by Susan Verner 108,266 views

For some students, nothing will give them the push they need to share in a group. For most others, though, small changes in your leadership style and your expectations can be just what they need to open up and contribute to the conversation. Here are just a few ideas to help you get those silent students starting to share in your next group discussion.

How to Encourage Student Participation

1. Sometimes during discussions, students may not understand what type of answer you are looking for. A simple way to encourage these students to speak is by giving a model answer. Answer your own question and show your students what type of answer they should give you. This gives them a grammatical structure on which to base their own ideas and removes some of the intimidation that they might otherwise feel.

2. Make sure you are not falling victim to a common mistake among teachers, especially inexperienced ones. Do not be afraid of silence. The next time you lead a class discussion and no one seems to have an answer to the question, time yourself and wait a full sixty seconds before breaking the silence. Sometimes an uncomfortable silence will be just what a hesitant student needs to speak up. For other students, that small amount of time can be enough for them to gather their thoughts and formulate what they would like to say before they open their mouths. If the teacher is filling in all the conversation spaces, your students are not likely to interrupt and it may appear that they do not want to participate in the discussion.

3. Be careful what and how much you are correcting. If you are correcting pronunciation and grammar and content all at the same time, it is not surprising that your students may feel too intimidated to open up! Focus your corrections on one issue so your students feel as though they can speak without being overwhelmed with their mistakes. Also, encourage your students that their opinions are welcome even if they are not in agreement with yours or their fellow students'.

4. Don't put students on the spot. Calling on a student who is not ready to speak will only increase his or her anxiety and will often cause that person to retreat even further into his or her shell. By refraining from putting pressure on unready students, you take away that fear factor. Though this alone may not get a quiet student talking, it will help create an atmosphere conducive to speaking.

5. Make sure your students know they have freedom to fail during group discussions. This does not mean that you want your students to underperform. What it does mean is that you are not going to criticize your students for making a mistake. When students know that there is freedom to be imperfect, the intimidation level of group discussion will decrease and that in turn will free your not so perfect students to speak.

6. Let your students work together. Sometimes intimidation and a fear of speaking in front of one's peers is enough to shut down students who are unsure of their speaking abilities. For those who might be more willing to talk when only one person is listening, designate one speaker for each group to share with the class and ask the remaining students to share with the designated speaker. Because you eliminate the fear of sharing in front of the entire class, your students may be more willing to participate in their discussion group.

7. Think about how you are grouping your students together during discussions. If you have some students who are more talkative than others and who also have a tendency to dominate a discussion, put them in a group together. Put all of your quietest students in a group of their own as well. By doing this, you force your more quiet students to engage in the discussion as no one else will be steering it for them.

8. Something as simple as where your students are sitting in a group can contribute to how much they share during discussions as well. If you are leading, make sure your most talkative students are sitting directly to your left and right if you are in a circle. Likewise, seat your quietest student directly in front of you. If you are not leading the discussion, designate a facilitator for each group and arrange your students' seats in the same manner. The amount of eye contact that each person receives from you or the facilitator can have an influence on how much that person speaks during the discussion.

These ideas are not going to solve every student's hesitancy to share in groups, but they will get you started moving in the right direction if you have students who struggle to participate in discussions.

The first step toward open discussion is to give your students the model they need and the time to formulate their own ideas for sharing. Then by creating an atmosphere that encourages discussion and not perfection, your students will be less intimidated to share in class. Finally, by strategically grouping and seating your students in their groups, you will create a physical environment in which your students will be willing to share. I hope these tips will help improve participation in your class discussions and encourage your students feel more comfortable when they do speak in class. Ultimately, each person's participation comes down to him or her, and you cannot force an unwilling student to participate in class. Do what you can to make your class more open to discussion and then challenge your students to step up to the plate and use the language they are trying to hard to acquire!

P.S. If you enjoyed this article, please help spread it by clicking one of those sharing buttons below. And if you are interested in more, you should follow our Facebook page where we share more about creative, non-boring ways to teach English.

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8 Simple Tips to Encourage Student Participation During Group Discussions

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by Susan Verner 108,266 views For some students, nothing will give them the push they need to share in a group. For most others, though, small changes in your leadership style and your expectations can be just what they need to open up and contribute to the conversation.

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Call it "active learning," or "classroom participation" -- every teacher wants to know how to motivate students to particpate, and how to nurture more involved students and fewer apathetic ones. With a little extra planning, that is possible.

Below are four common reasons students don't participate and techniques to solve those problems and spice up your lessons.

Maybe it needs to be repetitive because the students don't really "get it," or maybe you're reviewing for a test. In any case, they're tuning out.

Solution #1: Assess their prior knowledge.

This could be as simple as asking students, "What do you know about (topic)?" and writing their responses on the board. You could also try a pre-test or a graphic organizer like a K-W-L chart . The goal is to find out what they already know (or think they know). You create buy-in for the students because they feel smart, and you can tailor your lesson to the information they don't know or don't remember correctly.

Solution #2: Try skills grouping.

Divide the class into groups based on what skills they need to practice - not forever, but for a class period or two, so they can focus on what they really need help with. So have a group that works on multiplying fractions, one on dividing fractions, and one on converting fractions to decimals. Make a group of "already got 100% on the test" kids and give them an extra credit activity or let them preview the next lesson. Then take time to move between the other groups and help them review. You'll have more students engaged in the lesson and they'll get specific, focused practice time.

Solution #3: Let them teach each other.

Especially good when reviewing before a test: divide the class into groups and give each group a topic. Set some guidelines and then let them teach each other. Encourage them to do interesting activities - write tests for each other, design review games, etc. - and evaluate each group on the accuracy of their content, the creativity of their approach, and how well they work together as a team. This is also a great way to discover how to motivate students.

This is really half the problem. The other half - especially with older students - is their fear of "looking stupid" by asking questions.

Solution #1: Allow anonymous questions.

Put out a "question box" where students can submit questions any time. Give each student an index card and ask them to write something about the reading assignment they did for homework. If they don't have a question, instruct them to write a comment on the reading. Collect the cards and use them to lead a class discussion. You'll easily recognize what parts of the reading confused a lot of students and they won't feel embarrassed.

Solution #2: Allow them to work together.

We can't do this all the time; individual students need to be assessed. Ask yourself: is the goal of this activity for them to learn the content, or for them to be assessed? If you want them to learn the content, why not let them work together? When they bring in their homework, do a quick survey for completeness, then put them in pairs and let them review the homework together. Encourage them to make changes if their partner's answer looks right. When they've finished, review as a class. Students may be less embarrassed to share a group's answer than their own and you may be able to complete the review more quickly.

Solution #3: Try a jigsaw approach.

No, we're not talking about puzzles or scary movies. If you're introducing new, difficult content, divide the class into groups and ask each group to master only one portion of it at a time. If, for example, you're teaching the American Revolution, have one group focus on the Continental Congress, one on Washington's Army, one on French support for the war, and so on.

Ask them to do a reading on their topic - to become the class "experts" on that subject. Then split up the class into new groups that include one "expert" on each topic. Ask these new groups to work together to write an essay or complete a worksheet that requires information about all the topics. They will teach each other in the process. Learn more about the Jigsaw Approach.

Problem: There's too much information to present in too short a time.

Sometimes there's no way around it: you simply have to get a lot of information out there in a short amount of time. So you opt for a lecture and just want your students to absorb the content. Instead, they fall asleep or stare out the window. What can you do?

Solution #1: Keep it "bite-sized."

Remember: research shows the average student's attention span is as long as her age. So even high school kids can only handle about 15 minutes. If you have a lot of information to convey, re-arrange your lesson plans so you never lecture for more than 10-15 minutes.

Break up large concepts into smaller sections - give a brief lecture, then do an activity to help it "sink in." Repeat this process over several days. You'll increase participation - and improve comprehension, too.

Solution #2: Keep them busy.

Don't allow students to stare into space while you talk. Give them something to stay connected. Try "fill in the blank" lecture notes. Delete key words and phrases in your lecture notes to create a "fill in the blank" worksheet. Then ask students to fill in the worksheet while you lecture. Another fun variation - lecture bingo .

Solution #3: Look into the future.

Before a lecture, give students a prediction activity. For example, tell them you will be lecturing on Shakespeare and ask them to predict what you will say, or give them a set of true/false statements and ask them to take their best guess.

As you lecture, instruct students to compare their guesses with what you actually say.

When the lecture is over, have a class discussion and evaluate how accurate student predictions were.

Problem: The lesson emphasizes the teacher, not the students.

Solution #1: Keep them busier than you are.

The traditional classroom of yesteryear had the teacher at the front of the room, droning on while students doze. Re-imagine your classroom as a place where students are busier than you are.

Keep the "sit still and let me talk to you" moments as brief as possible; get those kids working! Give them worksheets, activities, discussions, and projects. That doesn't mean you get to sit around -- you will still be busy, moving from student to student or group to group, correcting, evaluating, or providing feedback. But now everyone is busy and involved.

Homogeneous grouping? Heterogeneous grouping? Tracking? Forget the buzz words: having students work in groups is one of the best ways to increase student participation. Don't keep them in the same groups all the time -give them a chance to be the "smart kid" who can help someone one day and the kid who needs help the next.

Take a traditional worksheet or activity and give it to students in groups. Offer a reward to the group who finishes first with the most answers correct and watch them go! Note: it helps to have additional prizes available to keep groups motivated after the first group "wins." Even high school students enjoy these competitions.

Solution #3: Give them a voice and a choice.

Do students ever get a "say" in your classroom? Of course you need to make most decisions, but there must be some things you could leave up to them - whether it's what color chalk you use today or how long they practice a specific activity.

Kids tune out because they feel like their ideas don't matter. Show them their opinions are important and they'll pay better attention and speak up more in class.

There will always be some unreachable student who won't respond, even with these efforts. But if you give these a try, you may be presently surprised at the previously unreachable students who just might join in!

How do you encourage participation in your class? In what ways did you discover how to motivate students? Share in the comments section!

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top 12 ways to increase student participation

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Top 12 Ways to Increase Student Participation

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Call it "active learning," or "classroom participation" -- every teacher wants to know how to motivate students to particpate, and how to nurture more involved students and fewer apathetic ones. With a little extra planning, that is possible. Below are four common reasons students don't participate and techniques to solve those problems and spice up your lessons.