COLLABORATIVE WORK By Oliver Picado and Daniela Picado

COOPERATIVE WORK

By Oliver Picado and Daniela Picado

All on board!!!

A common problem that arises when cooperative work takes place in the classroom is that some students view this as an opportunity to lay low and not bring much to the table. This might be the result of unfair workload distribution or a lack of effort from some team members; ultimately, this results in lack of motivation and burnout from other members whom might have more to do, diminished team productivity and quality of final product, and in some cases even missed deadlines.

So, it is only natural for teachers and instructors to ask themselves how can I keep ALL my students engaged as they share equal responsibility while working towards a common goal? Let's take a deeper look into Cooperative Learning Roles, and this might just be what you are looking for to put an end to this problem:

Have you heard about the eight different principles of Cooperative Learning (CL)? Well, CL has proposed eight different principles that educators need to consider when implementing it in their classes. We want to mention all the principles for you to further investigate; nonetheless, we want to emphasize one of this principles. 

Principles of Cooperative Learning 

a. Collaborative Skills 

b. Group Autonomy

c. Simultaneous Interaction 

d. Equal Participation 

e. Individual Accountability

f. Positive Interdependence 

g. Cooperation as a value

h. Heterogeneous Groups 

What we want to develop on this blog is the principle of heterogeneous groups. Jacobs (2004) indicates that when students participate in cooperative learning tasks, variety is crucial. What do we mean by variety? Well, it essentially means that students need to be mixed based on their backgrounds, such as religion, sex, personality, age, among others. Now, the question is: How do we ensure variety in groups? There is no better way than implementing different grouping strategies across classes. This is going to ensure a variety of participants in cooperative learning tasks.

Grouping Strategies

We think it is pretty safe to say that if we allow our students to make the groups, they would 100% of the time end up working with the same people (usually their friends). For this reason, and in order to create a balance and challenge our students, it is key is to make the groups ourselves.

We have come up with a list of grouping strategies and techniques that we have used, or currently use, in our classrooms. These alternatives have proven to be successful for us; please feel free to apply them as they are, or find inspiration to come up with your own! 

A. Digital grouping: 

There are a number of websites that can create groups for you from a list of students. All you have to do is type the names of your students and choose the number of groups you need based on the task. It is really that easy! For most of these websites, you don't even need to create an account, and they are 100% free.

Below you can find a list of websites we recommend:

1. ClassTools.net

 https://www.classtools.net/random-group-generator/

2. Random Lists

 https://www.randomlists.com/team-generator

3. Team Picker Wheel

https://pickerwheel.com/tools/random-team-generator/

4. Comment Picker

https://commentpicker.com/team-generator.php

5. Rakko.tools

https://en.rakko.tools/tools/59/

B. Other techniques:

6. Numbers

Assign a number to each student, depending on the number of groups the task requires, and have them group according to that number. Pay attention to make sure students are not trying to exchange numbers!

7. Colors

We have tried dividing the class according to the color of a sticker given by the instructor, or the color or some popsicle sticks. These materials can be found at any craft store or supermarket, and they won't break your bank account.

8. Grouping pencils

Similar to the one above, grouping pencils offer teacher and instructors the possibility to group students based on name, color, shape, or number. Below we share the link to a Learning Resources option on Amazon.

Learning Resources pencil grouping set, for students

  

9. Height, age, birth month, etc

Another quick strategy is have your students quickly group by height, age, birth month, the color of their shirt, a common interest, etc. An alternative is ask them to line up, and then simply separate them and send them to what will be their final group.

10. Content related strategies

There was one time we needed to make pairs, so we gave each of our students a card. We wrote a phrasal verb on one card, and the meaning of that phrase on another card. Long story short, students had to go around looking for the match and that was their parter for the task. You can do this with animals, fruits, means of transportation, pictures of adjectives or verbs, and so many more options that might be directly related to the topic you plan to cover or simply review.

11. UNO 

One strategy that we really like to use is group students by UNO numbers, symbols, or colors. UNO is very practical because you can use it for multiple groupings. This allows students to work with all their classmates and be more interactive. 

Using cooperative learning strategies that focus on grouping is like unlocking a secret weapon for an awesome classroom experience. When students come together in these purposeful little groups, magic happens. They dive into the subject, help each other out, and learn more than they ever could alone. It's not just about the grades; it's about picking up skills that will come in handy in real life—things like talking to each other, working as a team, and figuring out problems together. Grouping strategies make sure everyone brings something unique to the table, turning learning into this rich, collaborative adventure. So, as teachers keep exploring and using these strategies, they are basically giving students a golden ticket to not just do well in school but rock it in the real world, too.

We want to wrap up this post by going over some useful collaborative learning tips and strategies for our fellow teachers. We really hope you find them useful, and remember you don't need to check all twenty from the list; begin by using the ones you feel familiar and comfortable with, and work your way up!

We would love to hear from you!

Please leave us a comment with your feedback or share with our community your experience with Collaborative Work in the classroom. You can even tell us your favorite strategy from the post, or leave your go-to grouping technique for more awesome teachers like you to see. 😊

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. 
– Henry Ford

References:

Clifford, M. (2020, February 2). 20 Collaborative Learning Tips And Strategies For Teachers. TeachThought. Retrieved December 7, 2023, from https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/collaborative-learning-tips/

Edutopia. (2018, November 2). 60 Second-Strategy: Cooperative Learning Roles [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved December 7, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR6rTKPkjgQ

Jacobs, G. (2004). Cooperative Learning: Theory, Principles, and Techniques. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254097701_COOPERATIVE_LEARNING_THEORY_PRINCIPLES_AND_TECHNIQUES 

Qiannan, Z., Sheng, L., Jinlan, L., & Yuchen, J. (2023). A game perspective on collaborative learning among students in higher education. Cogent Education, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2115617

Yang, X. (2023). A Historical Review of Collaborative Learning and Cooperative Learning. TechTrends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning, 67(4), 718–728. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-022-00823-9