Cooperative Projects & Presentations September 2009

Far too much of education is aimed at pouring basic facts and skills into students. High-stakes tests dictate what is taught and measure whether educators are successfully “teaching” students. In the constructivist model, students are active participants in constructing their own learning. According to Kagan, cooperative projects are “perhaps the purest form of constructivist education. As students construct their projects, they are simultaneously constructing meaning and understanding.”

In the real world, people work on real projects, and people frequently work in teams. There is an important place in education for the transmission of content knowledge. But there is also a place for students to be creative, solve real problems, and construct their own understanding of the world.

Project Principles Structuring facilitates the construction of knowledge for all students. Students without good teamwork skills need a step-by-step teacher-led project. As they become more skilled, less direction and structuring from the teacher is required.

PIES When PIES are applied to projects, conditions are created that promote active engagement and inclusion for all students thus ensuring the project is cooperative learning and not group work.

Team Project Steps The teacher announces the team project. The teacher assigns roles and resource access. Students work in teams to create the project. Step 2 is what distinguishes Team Projects from group work.

Role Assignment Each student will have his/her own unique project specific role. Roles can be switched and rotated based on task completion or time. Roles should be displayed prominently.

Resource Access Decide who on each team can use which resource. Access to the resources may be dependent on a student’s role.

Assigning Roles T-Chart Allocating Resources T-Chart Introducing a Project Roles and resources should be reviewed prior to starting the project. Suggestion: Use T-Charts Assigning Roles T-Chart What to Do What to Say Allocating Resources T-Chart Materials Who Uses It

Structures for Sharing and Presenting Projects During the planning or in the process of creating a team project, students should have the opportunity to hear other teams’ ideas or see how others have solved a problem. If the only opportunity to view other’s projects is after they are completed, it’s too late to implement improvements.

Sharing Project Plans Teams Post – Each team has a designated spot on the whiteboard to plan. Team Whip – Teams prepare a short statement of project plans. One person from each team stands and shares the plans. Team Stand-N-Share – Teams share one item at a time from their planning lists. Recorders from other teams can add the idea to their lists if it is new.

Sharing Project Process One Stray – One person “strays” to another team and view the project and reports back to his/her own team. Three Stray – Three teammates group “stray” to another team. One person stays behind to answer questions about his/her team’s project. Roam-the-Room – Everyone stops working and go from project to project together in teams.

Sharing Products and Presentations Number Group Presentation – Students number off from 1-4. All 1’s go to Team 1, 2’s to Team 2, etc. In each new group, there is one student whose team created the project and presents it to the group. Groups then rotate to the next project. When finished, students return to their original teams to discuss.

Sharing Project and Presentations (After) Team Presentation – Each team makes a timed presentation to the class in which all teammates present equally. For example, if a team has 4 minutes for their presentation, each student is responsible for sharing one minute.

Management Tips Use a Timer: allot time in advance, break project into timed segments, display time, give a 5 minute warning, stick to the allotted time. Prepare Sponge Activities: have an activity ready for teams that finish early. Teacher Consultation: visit with teams as they work, check progress, ask questions, offer suggestions

Team Project/Presentation Feedback What I liked best about your project… One idea for improvement is… One think I liked about your presentation is… One thing I learned from your presentation… A question I have is…

Project Ideas - Math Measure the area of the classroom Graph the number of buttons the classmates are wearing Design a flowchart for long division Write a story about a math problem Design a poster illustrating a concept

Project Ideas - Science Perform a science experiment Design a brochure describing a planet Map the causes and effects of a natural disaster Draw the stages of… Design an experiment

Project Ideas – Language Arts Create a book report Write a brief story with comprehension questions Create a persuasive presentation or commercial Write an argument why adjectives are more important than adverbs and vice versa

Project Ideas – Social Studies Create a time line for an event Write a biography for a historical character Debate a social issue Record an interview with a historical figure

Summary Cooperative projects are the epitome of constructivist education. Doing projects and receiving direct instruction is the difference between learning about something and really learning something. In the process of a cooperative project, students discover facts and concepts for themselves. Learning is lighting the fire for discovering truth and constructing meaning.

Credits Content: Kagan Cooperative Learning Clipart: Phillip Martin http://www.phillipmartin.info/clipart/homepage.htm