Generally, the teacher needs to prepare the following (Killen, 2009): •
Give the students guidance and practice in helping one another to learn.
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Specify clearly what outcomes you want the learners to achieve.
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Decide what content (issues, problems, theories) the students will focus on as they try toachieve the outcomes.
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Select what you think will be the most appropriate form of cooperative learning to use.
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Prepare the materials.
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Decide how to form the groups.
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Explain to the students in detail how the cooperative learning sessions will operate, what you expect from them, how you will assist them, and how they will be assessed.
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Develop a system of recognizing and rewarding the learning of individual students as well as the achievement of the groups.
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Prepare appropriate assessment instruments so that the students will be able to demonstrate their mastery and retention of academic content and skills after the cooperative groups have completed their work.
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Develop a system for keeping records of the group and individual achievements of the students and for publicly acknowledging the achievements of the group.
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Plan a period of reflection so that after the groups have completed their tasks and received their feedback, the students can analyze their achievements and their group process.
Implementing Cooperative Learning The teacher is expected to plan, manage, and monitor the learning environment so that the students can maximize learning together as a team. After doing the suggested steps for preparation, the teacher can proceed with the following (Killen, 2009): •
Assign the students in groups. It makes the students more alert to the instructions to be given to them.
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Explain clearly the outcomes that the students are to achieve and provide clear directions about the academic tasks that each group will undertake.
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Explain how the learning of individual students will be assessed.
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Remind the students of your expectations from them (particularly in relation to helping one another learn) and of the cooperative goal structure (the rewards for learning).
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Provide the students with resources if necessary.
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Remind the students how long they have for the cooperative learning andget them started.
Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science
