Using Collaborative Learning Activities - PowerPoint Presentation

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Using Collaborative Learning Activities

Teacher Professional Development

Building Resilience in Children and Young PeopleSlide2

Using Collaborative Learning ActivitiesWhat are Collaborative Learning Strategies?

‘Collaborative learning strategies’ are dialogic in nature and involve student-to-student interaction, rather than just teacher-student interaction Include activities such as: role-play and simulationsmall group problem-solving discussionscritical-thinking tasksskills development exercises themed games Such strategies are central to SEL, life-skills, sexuality and drug education programs(Cahill 2006)Slide3

Using Collaborative Learning ActivitiesCollaborative learning strategies are central to effective

SEL programs Collaborative learning strategies help students to build skills (rather than just learn new knowledge)Collaborative learning strategies help students to think about the challenges that they may encounter in their lives Good SEL programs give students an opportunity to learn and apply their skills and to rehearse for future situationsSlide4

Using Collaborative Learning ActivitiesTeacher use of collaborative learning strategies

Collaborative learning tasks require a high level of facilitation from the teacher as they must organise and moderate students’ interactions both with peers and with the taskThe teacher is a significant element and variable in the delivery of a programWhen the collaborative learning tasks are not used, the SEL program does not deliver the same outcomesThe most successful program have provided teachers with training in how to deliver the SEL learning activitiesNatvig et al. 2003 Slide5

Using Collaborative Learning ActivitiesBuilding teacher confidence in using collaborative learning strategies

Some teachers and students who are less accustomed to working via collaborative learning tasks may wish to spend additional time setting up group agreements and norms, and provide some explicit coaching on the use of team skills in group workThe introductory lessons provided in the secondary materials can be used to build a positive group atmosphere and establish some group agreements with new classes. They could also be adapted for use in the primary classroom though most teachers will have already set up classroom rules and expectationsThe games provided in each topic can be used to help the class learn to mix well with each other and to develop social good will whilst also developing SEL skills Slide6

Promoting Positive RelationshipsGroup Activity: Qualities that I admire

Allocate each pair a scenarioAsk them to: restate the problem in their own words, choose who this person could ask for help, work out what they could say to the person they approach for help, and work out what they could do or say if the person being asked for help was too busy or was not helpfulAsk participants to design and prepare two short role-plays, one in which they show a good response from the help-giver and one in which they show a poor response from the help-giverArrange for participants to show their role-plays. Ask them to note what the player has done well in asking for help. Also ask: what does it take to ask for help?This activity is adapted from the Level 3-4 Building Resilience learning materials (Topic 6: Help-seeking, Activity 2) 

Example scenario 1 : You’ve been away sick and don’t know how to do the assignment. Who will you ask for help? What could you say?Example scenario 2: You don’t know how to use the new reporting system. Who will you ask for help? What could you say?Slide7

Using Collaborative Learning ActivitiesIndividual Activity: Help-seeking scenarios

(Adapted from Level 3-4)Choose one of the scenarios below and answer the questions:What could he or she do?Who could he or she ask to help?What could friends do to help?Gina finds that her mobile phone has been stolen from her handbag while everyone was in class

Tim’s little brother is being bullied at school, and now while they are walking to school, he has started crying because he is scared it will happen againThis activity is adapted from the Level 3-4 Building Resilience learning materials (Topic 6: Help-seeking, Activity 2) Slide8

Using Collaborative Learning ActivitiesParticipatory Pedagogy

Participatory learning strategies are integral to the effectiveness of health education programs Herbert, P. C., & Lohrmann, D. K.(2011) Participatory learning strategies are the exception rather than the norm in within general teaching practice Natvig, G. K., Albrektsen, G., & Qvarnstrom

, U. (2003). When the participatory learning tasks are not used, the program does not deliver the same outcomes Stead, M., Stradling, R., Macneil, M., Mackintosh, A. M., & Minty, S. (2007). Slide9

Using Collaborative Learning ActivitiesParticipatory method works even when

not addressing specific health contentUse of participatory learning strategies is not the norm for most teachersIn this study only 15% of the pupils reported that they were often/very often engaged in small group tasks Those students who got to do participatory work:built connectedness to school, exercised their social skillsdeveloped greater levels of confidence that their teachers and their peers can be a source of help when they experience violence or distress

Natvig, G. K., Albrektsen, G., & Qvarnstrom, U. (2003) Slide10

Using Collaborative Learning ActivitiesPlay and SEL learning

Young children develop SEL skills through their free play with peersPlay can provide a medium for becoming more self-aware, empathic and motivated as well as becoming more able to manage feelings and develop and deploy social skills Woolf A. (2013)Slide11

Using Collaborative Learning ActivitiesGames for SEL

Collaborative games are a powerful way of developing social and emotional learning in young peopleThe social and emotional skills needed to play successfully with others are those needed to succeed at work and in adult lifePro-social skills involve regulating negative emotions, taking turns and sharing, support orientations to others that are fair, just, and respectful Hromek, R., & Roffey, S. (2009) Slide12

Using Collaborative Learning ActivitiesCircle Time

Can provide a space for students to talk together about important issues, and to think creatively and reflectivelyCircle time can be used as a time for group discussion, co-operative team games, songs, stories and relaxationMany of the early primary activities have a ‘circle time’ componentSlide13

Using Collaborative Learning ActivitiesCircle Time (continued)

Key principles of circle time: Respect: rules emphasise respect for individuals and their contributionDemocracy: equal opportunity for all to participate Community: promotes a whole class ethos where everyone is responsible for each otherInclusion: everyone is welcomeChoice: no one is pressured to participateAgency: rather than telling students what to do, provides a framework for students to take responsibility Reflection: games and activities designed to encourage reflection

Creativity: wide scope for creativityPositive emotionality: activities structured to facilitate positive emotions in studentsFun: Focus is on feeling good, safe and supported, increasing a sense of belongingRoffey, 2006Slide14

Using Collaborative Learning ActivitiesSample positive sharing ideas from Foundation and Level 1-2

Brief examples from the lessons:At Foundation level: ‘Arrange for students to share their pictures in circle time. Ask those who felt they learnt more about each other from the activity to put their hands up. Remind them that learning about how others feel is a good friendship skill.’At Level 1 /2: ‘Arrange for students to post their letters in the classroom post-box to be read at circle time over the following days or weeks.’Slide15

Using Collaborative Learning ActivitiesGroup Activity:

The Connections Game – a focus onpartnership skills (Adapted from Level 1-2 SEL materials) Find a partnerWork together to keep a chopstick ‘held’ between your index fingers (each person in the pair should have their index finger in contact with one of the two tips of the chopstick, so that the chopstick is horizontal to the ground)Move around the room, experimenting with turns and moving up and down, without dropping the chopstick Gradually, other chopsticks will be added to the game to link pairs together with other pairs, until the whole group is in a single chopstick line moving around the room Slide16

Using Collaborative Learning Activities

Group Activity: The Knots problem-solving game (Adapted from Level 3-4)Form groups of 8Close your eyes, put your hands forward, and grip another person’s hand in each of yours You will now form a giant human knot. The group must find a way of undoing the knot, without letting go of each other’s hands, and without hurting anyoneSlide17

Using Collaborative Learning ActivitiesREFLECT

How and when do you use collaborative learning strategies in your regular teaching?What opportunities do you see to use collaborative learning to improve engagement, thinking and social development?Slide18

Using Collaborative Learning TechniquesReferences

Cahill, H. (2006). Devising Classroom Drug Education Programs. In R. Midford & G. Munro (Eds.), Drug Education in Schools: Searching for the Silver Bullet (pp. 147-165). Camberwell: Pearson.Herbert, P. C., & Lohrmann, D. K. (2011). It's All in the Delivery! An Analysis of Instructional Strategies From Effective Health Education Curricula. Journal of School Health, 81(5), 258-264.Hromek, R., & Roffey, S. (2009). Promoting Social and Emotional Learning With Games: ''It's Fun and We Learn Things''. Simulation & Gaming, 40, 626-644. Natvig, Gerd

Karin, Albrektsen, Grethe, & Qvarnstrom, Ulla. (2003). Methods of Teaching and Class Participation in Relation to Perceived Social Support and Stress: Modifiable Factors for Improving Health and Wellbeing among Students. Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology, 23(3), 261-274. Roffey, S. (2006) Circle Time for Emotional Literacy, London, SAGE Publications Inc.Stead, M., Stradling, R., Macneil, M., Mackintosh, A. M., & Minty, S. (2007). Implementation evaluation of the Blueprint multi-component drug prevention programme: fidelity of school component delivery. [Article].

Drug & Alcohol Review, 26(6), 653-664. Woolf A. Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning: teaching and learning or playing and becoming?. Pastoral Care In Education

[serial online]. March 2013;31(1):28-42. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed August 9, 2013.