Teacher Training Framework

This is a tentative plan for the teacher training workshop we will host at Baroipotol, Bangladesh.  It is divided into two sections.  Section 1 provides information for training related to specific lesson plans which are currently being translated by the Bangladeshi-team of our group.  Section 2 (or the Addedum) provides more generalized training regarding classroom management (i.e. materials, space, group formation, and group work activities). 


Section 1: Science Curriculum Lesson Plans

• Individual lessons plans (how to teach each lesson, key points)
• Include: objectives, lesson, individual activity, team activity, questions for takeaways

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Addendum: Classroom Management

1: Materials and Equipment

• 
  
  devise a systematic approach to retrieving and storing materials     
• are stored in a logical order and place
• are readily available
• inventory sheet is maintained for all materials
• can be stored in secured area
• assign student group leaders to maintain inventory and proper handling of materials and equipment

2: Space

Decribe the class activity:

Draw the classroom arrangement for this activity?

How would you arrange the students in groups in this activity? 

Discussion Points: 

have students turn around to desk behind to form groups (depends on the level of involvement of the activity)

divide entire class into sections

assign students to groups and have them move around

assign groups for the entire academic year to maintain student roles and consistency

3: Group work
 

What is Cooperative Learning?

Cooperative learning may be broadly defined as any classroom learning situation in which students of all levels of performance work together in structured groups toward a shared or common goal. According to Johnson, Johnson and Holubc, (1994): "Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups through which students work together to maximize their own and each others learning. " In classrooms where collaboration is practiced, students pursue learning in groups of varying size: negotiating, initiating, planning and evaluating together. Rather than working as individuals in competition with every other individual in the classroom, students are given the responsibility of creating a learning community where all students Participate in significant and meaningful ways. Cooperative learning requires that students work together to achieve goals which they could not achieve individually.

Why use Cooperative Learning?

Teachers who employ cooperative learning methods promote learning because these collaborative experiences engage students in an interactive approach to processing information, resulting in greater retention of subject matter, improved attitudes toward learning, and enhanced interpersonal relations among group members.

What is the teacher's role?

Initially, the teacher carefully designs meaningful tasks that require active participation of each student in the group toward a common end. At the beginning of a cooperative lesson, the teacher's role, often in cooperation with the class, is that of "task setter." As groups work on tasks, the teacher acts as a facilitator/coach moving from group to group to monitor the learning process. The teacher also provides students with on-going feedback and assessment of the group's progress.

Basic Components of Cooperative Learning

There are five basic principles fundamental to cooperative learning.

1. Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction

By using face-to-face promotive interaction, learning becomes active rather than passive. Teams encourage discussion of ideas and oral summarization. Peer assistance clarifies concepts for both helper and the student being helped. Cooperative teams help students learn to value individual differences and promote more elaborate thinking.

2. Positive Interdependence

Students must feel that they need each other in order to complete the group's task. Positive interdependence can be built into the task by having a single team product, through team roles (recorder, reporter), or by randomly selecting one student to answer for the team. It can be built into a reward structure by assigning team points based on team averages, on members reaching a predetermined criterion, or on team improvement rather than outright grades.

3. Individual Accountability/ Personal Responsibility

Students must feel that they are each accountable for helping to complete a task and for mastering material. Ways to build in individual accountability include: students take individual quizzes; each student is responsible for a specific portion of a task; each must be able to summarize another's ideas; any student may be called on at random to answer for the team.

4. Interpersonal and Collaborative Skills

These include skills for working together effectively (staying on task, summarizing, recording ideas) as well as group maintenance skills (encouraging each other). Ways to foster skill development include teacher modeling, brainstorming characteristics of "good" skills, direct practice, process observing, and reflection. Skill practice can be "tacked on" to academic lessons through games or by making social skills a separate objective to be practiced and observed.

5. Reflection/Group Processing of Interaction

Processing means giving students the time and procedures to analyze how well their groups are functioning and how well they are using the necessary collaborative skills. Processing can be individual, team-wide, or at the whole collaborative class level. Examples include: How well did I listen? Did we take turns and include everyone? How could we have coached each other better? How can the class function more smoothly?

Issues to Consider when Creating Groups

Size

The smallest group is two. The largest recommended is six. Generally, in smaller groups each member participates more, fewer social skills are required, and groups can work more quickly. Larger groups generate more ideas, deal better with complex ideas, and create fewer group reports to process. Remember, it's hard to get left out of a pair; triads tend to surface issues and are good for process observing; teams of four allow multiple ways to pair.

Formation

With a few exceptions, research favors groups which are heterogeneous with regard to academic achievement, gender, ethnicity, task orientation, ability, and learning style. Heterogeneous groups promote more elaborate thinking and explanations, and provide opportunities for students to develop feelings of mutual concern. Student self-selection of groups is generally not successful, although students may provide input for teachers to consider in assigning groups. Random assignment promotes the idea that everyone is expected to work with everyone else at some point. Random assignment can result in teams that are not heterogeneous or equal in ability, so are best used if the task is of short duration.

Duration

If the task is of some duration, the makeup of groups must be seen as "fair," so the groups should be carefully structured. Groups that stay together for longer periods (4-6 weeks) form stronger bonds, develop more complex collaborative skills, and can tackle more complex tasks. Groups should remain together long enough to feel successful, but not so long that bonds become counter-productive. It is a usually a mistake to break groups up because they are having trouble functioning since members will feel unsuccessful in groups and transfer that feeling to the next group. Try to establish some success first!

Group Work - Management Tips

Noise
Develop and practice a Quiet or Zero-Noise signal. The closer students are seated, the quieter their voices can be. Practice "12-inch voices." Use structures such as Circle of Knowledge or Roundtable that have quiet time built-in. Remember that if only one student in a group is speaking at a time, larger groups should result in fewer voices, therefore less noise. Have students brainstorm solutions to noise.

Deadlining and Task Structure
Give students specific tasks to finish within a predetermined time limit, e.g., "You have one minute to agree as a group on 3 reasons." Use a timer.

Instructions
Show, don't tell, instructions (have a group model the steps). Have students tell each other the instructions to make sure they understand prior to starting the task.

QuestionsAnswer team questions only. Individual questions should be dealt with in the team. Teach students to use the "Three Before Me" technique.

Circulate
Use proximity. Monitor discussions to check for understanding and to be aware of collaborative skills that may need to be addressed.

Roles
Structure tasks through roles. Have runners, checkers, recorders, reporters, timekeepers, etc.