8.1.1 Make Any Lesson a Cooperative Learning Lesson
Textbooks, the internet, etc. are full of useful lesson plans for teaching almost any subject to almost any age of student. The good news is that teachers can enhance any of these lessons by adding CL elements.
Please remember that CL lessons do not mean students spend 100% of their time interacting with their peers. Usually, a CL lesson includes—in no set order—teacher talk including possible audiovisual material, thinking time for students (i.e., students working alone), and time for peer interaction. Each of these elements can occur multiple times during the same lesson.
The formula for making a CL lesson is simple: take a lesson you like and add one of the many existing CL techniques—or create your own CL technique—and you and your students have a CL lesson. Here is an example of turning a lesson plan with no peer interaction into a lesson plan that includes a CL element.
Example Lesson
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SDG: 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) |
CL Technique: Circle of Speakers, Everyone Can Explain - Mobile |
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Inspired by: Flores, C. (2017). | |
Table 2: Original and CL Versions of a Lesson
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Original Version of the Lesson |
CL Version of the Lesson |
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Individual and Whole Class Activity: Students think individually about things that they think are beautiful. As a whole class, students name some of these things. |
Same, as this prepares students for the later peer interaction. |
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Peer Interaction: Students form groups of 3–4 and discuss the lyrics to the song Beautiful by Christina Aguilera or some other song the students can relate to. |
Groups do the CL technique Circle of Speakers after they have had time to read the lyrics individually. Each group member takes turns asking a question or commenting about the lyrics, and peers try to answer questions or respond to comments. The teacher calls upon a few students randomly. Those students share questions, answers, comments, and responses from their group members. Teachers and other groups may reply. |
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Whole Class Activity: The class listens to the song. |
Same |
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Group Activity: Each group has a large piece of blank paper and markers. They draw what the song conjures about body image. |
Groups of three do the CL technique Everyone Can Explain - Mobile Step 1: Each group member has a number and does their own drawing. Step 2: They take turns sharing and explaining their drawings. Step 3: The group creates a combination or composite drawing. Step 4: The group checks that everyone can explain their drawing(s). |
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Whole Class Activity: Each group has selected a member to be their Presenter. This is usually the best speaker in the group. That person comes to the front of the class and shares their group’s view of the song.
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Step 5: The teacher calls a number from one to three. The two students with that number in adjoining groups change places (i.e., they go mobile). They share and explain their drawing(s) to that group and listen to the group’s feedback. The mobile members return and share the feedback their group’s drawing(s) received. |
Comparing the Lessons
In the activity with the CL technique Circle of Speakers, the peer interaction was more structured to promote the CL principles of individual accountability (i.e., everyone has responsibility to do their fair share) and equal opportunity to participate (i.e., everyone has opportunities to participate in the group’s task). Too often, without such structuring, one or two group members do most or all of the talking and thinking for their group.
The CL technique Everyone Can Explain - Mobile could improve the lesson in two ways. First, it encourages all of the groupmates to participate in creating the group’s drawing. Second, too often when a group presents to the class, one group member does all of the talking. As the members know in advance who their Presenter will be, only that person prepares. In addition, seeing many presentations on the same topic can become tiring. Everyone Can Explain - Mobile promotes the CL principle of maximum peer interactions (quantity), which means that many presentations are happening simultaneously.