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KA 1: Facilitate Learners

KA 2: Empower Learning

KA 3: Learn In Teams

KA 4: Develop Team Trust

KA 5: Specify Learning

KA 7: Evaluate Results

Contents !A Facilitator’s Guide of Researched Tools and Materials

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COLLABORATIVE LEARNING TECHNIQUES FOR LIFE-LONG LEARNERS

By taking a peek at this workbook, crafted together by educators who are experts in

Collaborative Learning techniques, you can have an educational revolution in your classroom. This is a sampling of the book, Let’s Collaborate!™ that was written for teachers to effectively implement the Collaborative Learning model through 7 Knowledge Areas (KA’s) and numerous Collaborative Exercises (CE’s) . The ideas and strategies outlined in the following pages range from incredibly easy to those that require a bit of an investment in time and patience in getting all your students to buy-in to this revolutionary way of learning. All KA’s and CE’s are meant to spur creativity and motivate you to try out some new approaches to content delivery and student engagement. So, go through this book and get to work! Doodle in the margins, write down ideas for learning tasks, jot down reflective thoughts on how to connect content to a Collaborative Learning environment, set it on fire — whatever! The more ideas you implement and try in your classroom, the more success you’ll have.

You made an excellent decision.

“The moment I began to integrate Collaborative Learning in my classroom, I immediately noticed how all my students learning needs were being meet, eliminating behavioral issues that I had been experiencing prior to implementation of this model.”— High School Teacher

Reflect / Connect


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Teachers traditionally feel the need to have complete authority within the classroom. Students become complacent in their ability to seek knowledge independent of the teacher. They become individualistic, competitive learners and are not motivated to share their knowledge or perception with others in the classroom. The content is basically driven by one perception, that of the teacher only.

Decentralize Your Title of Teacher to that of a Facilitator of the Learning Experience

Want to create a learning environment that enables students to retain all content delivered?

Q:

“I had a student in my class who was so shy

to the point of stomach ulcers, and is now

engaged in collaborative team learning

and actively seeks out leadership roles and

opportunities.”— High School Teacher

Reflect / Connect

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Throughout the book, I refer to the classroom teacher as the facilitator.

The facilitator brings the life experience of content specific ■areas to the learners.The facilitator is responsible for the organization and ■implementation of content through various learning tasks, classroom design, and content connection through service projects throughout the community and beyond.The facilitator engages learners in various Collaborative ■Exercises (CE’s), activities, and learning tasks to teach Collaborative Learning (learning together and from each other) and the conceptual connections of content to life experience.The facilitator initiates learners to identify their… ■

Individual strengths. ☐Prior knowledge foundations in the specific content ☐areas.Trust levels within the learning environment. ☐Development of processes and those steps to improve ☐future collaborations.Levels of understanding within team learning purpose ☐and processes. Processes in learning teams conflict resolution. ☐Connections of content through reflection/connection ☐processes through their debriefing of learning activities.Processes the establishment of learners roles to the ☐applied through Action Planning when accomplishing a learning task.Times of affirmation within the learning team and End ☐of Collaboration Celebrations.

The facilitator engages collaborative learners in various forms ■of assessment to evaluate learners’ conceptual understanding, retention, and connection of content to life experiences.

KA 1: Facilitate Learners

“Collaborative Learning helped me to learn

about my classmates strengths and I realized

my own strengths, too.” —10th grade learner

Reflect / Connect



The traditional classroom setting consists of students sitting in rows with little to no interaction with others. Students are expected to complete all assignments and assessments individually and are driven to unhealthy levels of competitiveness in seeking grades. Critical thinking and interaction with other learners and the content is nonexistent.

How can you empower students to be fully engaged during your class time?

What are some of the causes that make your stu-dents constantly yawn, or even fall asleep, during your lectures and instructional time?

Q:

Q:

List Everything In a Traditional Classroom Setting…and Do the Opposite


Reflect / Connect



As much as we’d like to think that our decisions are rational and logical, they’re also driven by fears, aspirations, gut instincts, a desire for affirmation, and a medley of other emotional promptings. Skip the rational arguments, and appeal to those hard-to-reach emotions instead. It’ll give you a stronger personal connection, and make you standout with your students.

Get Relational!

Beyond practical matters, what are your students’ emotional needs and how can you appeal to them?

Q:

“The Cultural Assumptions CE was very interesting. We

got to learn a little more about our teams and their culture,

like where they were from, their religion, and other cool

facts. After all, to know where you’re going, you have to

know where you came from.” — 11th grade learner

Reflect / Connect



The learner must be empowered before they can effectively learn within a Collaborative Learning team.

There are processes a facilitator must take the individual learner through prior to placing them into a learning team.

Learners must learn how to have the authority of their ■learning within any given learning environment by making their perception known and through decision-making by consensus.Learners are taught how to identify their strengths and ■recognize the strengths of others to compliment their learning ability and needs when accomplishing a learning task.Learners learn how to be active participants through various ■Collaborative Exercises (CE’s) and collaborative learning tasks.Learners collaborate to problem-solve and Action Plan through ■consensus making in all their decisions.Learners are taught how to exercise positive interdependence ■in the classroom.Learners identify their purpose and role in accomplishing a ■learning task or project necessary to connect content to life experience.Learners understand the difference between healthy and ■unhealthy competition when engaged in a learning task.Learners identify diversity among all learners and can ■reacculturate to a productive and noncompetitive learning environment for effective learning results.Learners appreciate other perspectives and cognitively connect ■understanding of content with reflective connection through facilitated times of debriefing and discussion.Learners have opportunity to act on their choices and decisions, ■thus maintaining the authority of their learning.

As learners take authority of their learning, they also realize the responsibility in preparing for the learning experience and the roles they have within learning teams.

KA 2: Empower Learning


Reflect / Connect



It’s important to teach the whole (Body, Mind, and Spirit) learner, prior to cognitive connections with the content. Students need to be able to connect the content within their social realm and to communicate that connectedness to others for conceptual understanding and retention of the material.

How can you teach effective socialization and communication skills within your content area?

How can you implement effective learning processes where students are learning together and from each other?

Q:

Q:

Get Students to Become SociallyConnected to Buy-in Early … Build the Need

Reflect / Connect



Research has proven that cognitive connection, depth of understanding, and retention of content within a learning environment, must be met with learners socializing together through effective communication skills..

Facilitators of a Collaborative Learning environment must exercise processes and build effective skill sets within both communication and socialization in order to learn effectively in teams.

Learners transition from the individualized competitive ■learning environments into a social structure of learning in teams.To build effective socialization skills, learners are taught ■processes through engaging CE’s and then facilitated to reflect/connect the lessons and processes that create the socialization of learners.Learners are given opportunities to build effective ■communication skills through the facilitation of voicing their perspectives in all areas of the learning environment.Learners are allowed to make decisions by consensus and then ■implementing those decisions through a learning task.Learners take on responsibilities through the roles they play ■in accomplishing a learning task.To skill build in communication, learning teams are taught ■to facilitate the Communication Plan, Decision-Making, Conflict-Resolution, and Action Planning processes. Learners in teams also have the opportunity for their voices to ■be heard through various assessments and observations they use throughout the learning task experience.

Once numerous Collaborative Learning processes are facilitated and taught, learners are challenged to activate these lessons in order to build effective communication and socialization skills.

KA 3: Learn In Teams

“The CE’s helped us to have fun in an activity

and in working in a team together.”

—10th grade learner

Reflect / Connect



Would you like various differentiated assessment tools that truly measure your students’ prior knowl-edge and cognitive connections?

How do you improve students’ group work so that they are all active participants?

Q:

Q:

“Collaborative Exercises are ice breakers

that prepared us to work together in our

learning team.” —10th grade learner

Reflect / Connect



Effective learning can exist among students who learn and work in teams. For students to learn together and from each other, they need to build a level of trust within their learning team. Facilitators take learning teams through various CE’s to establish a safe environment and build trust to effectively complete the learning tasks. It’s easy to get caught up in traditional settings of deliverables and evaluative means for measuring results. In order to break out of this rut and discuss content in a truly interesting way, have students debrief the process they took to accomplish a task or learning objectives. Students begin to develop critical thinking skills in all aspects of connecting the content to life experience and begin applying knowledge beyond the classroom.

How can you get your students to keep others accountable to their roles and responsibilities within a learning team?

Q:

Talk About Something Different

“This activity helped with communicating. We learned

how to talk with each other and everyone in the team

shared their ideas.” —10th grade at-risk learner


Reflect / Connect



To be an effective team member and contributor to the successes of a learning task, learners have to be taught how to be accountable to specific learning standards and responsible in carrying out their specific team role.

In any team, be it academic or athletic, team members serve a specific purpose. They exercise their area of strength to contribute for an end goal.

When a learning team is selected, learners need to…

Identify their strength and how they will use it to accomplish ■the learning task.Disclose any self-interest so that all learning needs are met ■during the collaboration.Formulate a shared vision and goals for the team, as well as ■the individual learner.Take on or create their team role, which will benefit the ■learning teams end goals.Establish a learning team process of accountability in meeting ■all necessary responsibilities. Come to consensus on the end goal and Action Plan in meeting ■those goals.Assess the effort of each team member on his or her ■contributions to the learning task.Understand that trust is established when ALL learners ■contribute to the end goals of the learning task.

KA 4: Develop Team Trust

“The exercises helped me collaborate with

my team and talk to them more, getting to

know them better.” —11th grade learner

Reflect / Connect



Students don’t need more worksheets or to complete comprehension questions at the end of a chapter in a textbook. They need to create useful tools as resources, like; Mindmaps, interactive learning modules, info-graphics, mood boards, Wiki pages, Action Plans, presentations, and iFolios that engage the student while completing the learning task. By creating these tools, learners are engaged in critical thinking with content that connects it to an experience.

What tools or techniques can learning teams use to connect the content to a learning experience?

Q:

Build a Tool for Your Learning Teams Task

“The action planning tool that you gave us really

guided our teams planning and accountability levels.

I love how I can use this action plan as a tool for

assessing my learners.” —Teacher Ed. Grad Student


Reflect / Connect



Facilitators of a Collaborative Learning environment must establish the Action Plan process for learners in a team. As learners contribute their strengths within a learning task, teams can benefit by using various tools and processes during their collaboration. As learners define their teams desired results and outcomes, they can use the Action Plan template to guide them through their step-by-step process when accomplishing their goals.

Learning teams activate their Action Plan when they...Brainstorm action and goals to meet the learning tasks ■objectives. Timeline specific steps and processes they will take to meet ■the time of presentation or project end.Take action using various processes, such as, to do list and a ■Communication Plan in keeping all team members accountable to the end goal.

The Action Plan process is a vital tool in the success of learning teams when accomplishing Collaborative Learning tasks. All can benefit by using the Action Plan process, especially the facilitator, through the informative means of such a document and assessment capabilities.

KA 5: Specify Learning

How can you get your students to take action every minute of your class time?

Q:

Reflect / Connect



You have to admit, you come across students who just can’t get along with others. This causes disruptive behavior and stress among students, stifles learning, and takes valuable instructional time to deal with conflict.

When students are given opportunity to establish the necessary boundaries; behavioral plan, decision-making by consensus, conflict-resolution action, vision statement, and goals they take ownership in maintaining them throughout the collaboration.

Do you want to know how to teach your learners decision-making and conflict-resolution processes?

Q:

Make Your Learning Environment Safe

“Collaborative exercises helps us take our

mind off other things and we communicate

with each other.” — 11th grade learner


Reflect / Connect



The primary goals for Collaborative Learning teams are to accomplish a learning task given by the content specific facilitator.

When using the Collaborative Learning method, learners are asked to use decision-making processes to formulate ways to accomplish a given task. Because learners are using consensus in making decisions, conflict among learners will ensue. Learning relationships are most effective when they continue to maintain their authority in the learning environment; therefore, learners must be taught ways to develop processes when resolving conflict among such relationships.

The facilitator welcomes conflict and looks for opportunities ■to teach resolution processes.When a conflict arises in a learning team, action by the ■facilitator and the team must take precedence. Learners maximize their achievements when using critical ■thinking and higher reasoning skills through conflict-resolution processes.As learners are resolving conflicts, ask them to identify the ■process they took. Learning team conflict-resolution processes are a valuable ■resource in the Collaborative Learning environment.Learners soon become skilled negotiators when resolving ■conflicts within their teams.

When learners can identify conflict and develop an effective process to resolve such issues, their critical thinking skills and cognitive levels are heightened.

KA 6: Resolve Conflicts

How can you minimize disruptive behavior and keep learning positive at all times?

Q:

Reflect / Connect



The idea is to grab reflective connection during debriefing times. Allow time to engage students in discussion about their learning experience. This form of assessment works as students give their perspective of learning while connecting content to the exercise, activity, or learning task. As each student verbalizes these connections, the content becomes enriched with the understanding of numerous concepts. This connectedness to the content can be evaluated numerous ways individually or within learning teams.

In what ways can you turn your competitive learn-ing environment into a collaborative classroom, enriching the content through various perceptions?

How can you diversify evaluations and assess-ments to meet all learning needs?

Q:

Q:

Actively Hunt for Testimonials


Reflect / Connect



There are numerous ways to assess Collaborative Learning results.

This type of differentiated evaluation assesses the whole learner through various means. Grades and points can be assigned in all areas of Collaborative Learning.

Individually, learners can be assessed through traditional ■means of quizzes, exams, journals, portfolios, presentations, attendance, and participation.Collaborative Learning allows for the facilitator to create ■opportunities for the learner to be assessed and evaluated both individually and as a member of a learning team. Participation as an engaged and active member of the learning experience is an important measurement in such an environment.There are numerous assessment tools through various CE’s that ■can be activated by the facilitator and the learner.Every collaboration plans and implements an End of ■Collaboration activity or project.End of Collaboration Celebration can be established by the ■facilitator, learners, or teams.End of Collaboration learning tasks can be a designated Service ■Projects, performance, or project presentation.

Evaluation in the Collaborative Learning environment adds greater dimension when measuring a learner authentically, by assessing the use of their strengths and growth of specific skill sets facilitated through team learning tasks.

KA 7: Evaluate

“The Snowball exercise that we did helped

us to release some energy that we had built

–up within us.” —11th grade learner

“Collaborative exercises helped our class excel because

we got to share our opinions and realized that we

all have different perspectives, but that helped us

complete our learning task.” —11th grade learner

Reflect / Connect



..then do something with them. Have students and learning teams post on a website, Wiki, or iFolio their work.Everyone has a sense of value when they are a part of a task or project within a learning team. Their processes and action taken to accomplish the learning objectives are documented and can be used for review and assessment. Students can use this tool to teach others of their content understanding and connection in a learning experience.

Would you like your student’s to be critical thinkers as they reflect and connect content to life experience?

Are you ready to facilitate your learners into an educational revolution?

Q:

Q:

Take Pictures…Lots Of ‘Em


Reflect / Connect



We sincerely HOPE these 7 Knowledge Areas and Collaborative Exercises have flooded your head with inspiration and that they will start a revolution in education. What you do from here, we can only imagine. The one thing we do ask, is that you keep us informed as to what it is you are doing with the inspiration you’ve garnered from this workbook by emailing us at LC8Now.com or by going online to join our community of Collaborative Learning. Also, never hesitate to ask us for a little assistance in putting these ideas to use.

What are you waiting for?

Reflect / Connect

Let’s

Collaborate

Now!

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