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- Cooperative learning
- Cycle of effective instruction
- Use of data and ongoing assessment
| “The most
important assumption
is that every child
can learn. We mean this
not as wishful thinking
or just a slogan but
as a practical, attainable
reality. In particular,
every child without
organic retardation
can learn to read. Some
children need more help
than others and may
need different approaches
than those needed by
others, but one way
or another, every child
can become a successful
reader.” |
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Slavin and Madden, 2001, p.
4
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Success for All is founded on the
belief that every child can and will learn. No matter
what the academic level of the student, each child is
challenged to do his or her best, and the contributions
of all team members are equally valued. Cooperative
learning is one of the most powerful tools teachers
have in providing the level of engagement and academic
and social support their students need to be successful.
In the cooperative learning classroom, all students
benefit from the constant coaching, encouragement, and
feedback of their peers. And since more of the responsibility
for learning rests on students and teams, teachers are
able to spend more time working with individuals and
small groups of learners, doing the kind of teaching
that originally drew them to the field.
Learning is a social activity. In
fact, this social dimension is a critical aspect in
the learning process for people of any age. People learn
in communities. Together, they accomplish more than
as individuals and they have more fun in the process.
Students are no different. Research shows that opportunities
for cognitive rehearsal, clarification, and re-teaching
have a positive effect on academic achievement.
 When
students collaborate, they have an opportunity to discuss
new concepts with someone close to their own level of
understanding. They get to try out new ideas and ask
questions in a small group before speaking to the whole
class or finishing a written product. When students
discuss and defend their ideas or solutions with teammates,
they learn to think problems through, to support their
own opinions, and to critically consider the opinions
of others before coming to a conclusion. And they learn
that in the end, the responsibility for learning still
rests with them.
In addition, as children move into
early adolescence, they pay increasing attention to
their peers—to what they think, say, and do, and
to what they believe is cool. Cooperative learning takes
advantage of this need for social interaction by offering
young adolescents a structured opportunity to discuss
topics, share ideas, organize their thoughts, and work
with other students. Cooperative learning also employs
positive peer pressure by giving teammates a common
learning goal and rewarding them for reaching that goal.
| “[O]ur society is
composed of cooperative groups—families,
neighborhoods, political parties,
clubs, and teams. These groups
also have a competitive element,
but in all of them, if the
individuals cannot cooperate
to achieve a common goal,
all lose out.” |
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Quoted in “Cooperative Learning:
Strategies Across the Curriculum”
Success for All Foundation, 2001
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- Higher grades
- Increased retention of information
- Better relationships with peers
- Greater intrinsic motivation
- Better ability to stay on task
- Improved attitudes toward school
The SFA curriculum emphasizes team
goals that can only be achieved when all members of
the team are learning and improving. The task is not
only to do something as a team but also to learn something
as a team. Because individual students compare their
scores only with their own past performance, every team
member is able to contribute equally to the success
of the team.
But how should this kind of experience
be structured? According to research, three elements
are key to making cooperative learning effective: team
recognition, individual accountability, and equal opportunities
for success. Cooperative learning as used in the SFA
provides all three.
Team recognition: Students work in
heterogeneous teams of four or five members, and teams
earn certificates or other recognition for achieving
a designated standard together.
Individual accountability: Teams work together to complete
a project, solve a problem, or prepare for a test, but
each student is responsible for completing an individual
product and taking a test. There are no group grades.
Equal opportunities for success: Students
and teams are never in direct competition with one another.
To earn individual recognition, students compete against
their own past performance rather than against their
classmates, so every student has an equal opportunity
to succeed. To earn group recognition, teams strive
not against one another but toward a common standard,
so every team has an equal opportunity to succeed.
 Cooperative
learning is often portrayed as involving team grades,
or asking one child to do the work for four, or turning
control of the classroom over to students. In the SFA
Middle School, it means none of these things. Instead,
it means that students work together, but are individually
accountable for their learning and contributions. Here,
too, the research is unequivocal: Structuring opportunities
for team members to help each other, and rewarding teams
whose members improve upon past performance, is the
most effective cooperative learning model.
| “Teamwork, with its
concomitant demands for sophisticated
negotiation and decision making,
is not only a corner-stone
of Success for All but also
a crucial skill in the modern
workplace. In a world that
is increasingly interconnected
and a society that is multicultural,
the ability to appreciate
diversity, listen accurately
to others, and solve differences
peacefully is essential.” |
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Slavin and Madden, 2001, p. 255
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Although the language used in each
of the programs varies slightly, each SFA lesson is
structured around the same basic framework, designed
to support cooperative learning and make the best use
of both teacher time and student learning time.
During the first portion of each lesson, teachers
prepare students for learning. Through questioning and
modeling, they lead students through the new content
they need to complete the rest of the day’s activities,
whether reading a novel, conducting research, or working
on a team product.
During this part of the lesson, students take
control of their learning, working as partners or teams
while teachers circulate through the room checking with
individuals or small groups of learners to monitor comprehension
and to clarify misunderstandings. This is a teacher’s
chance to meet with students one-on-one for targeted
instruction.
This takes place both formally and informally
across the weekly cycle of instruction. Formal assessments
take place at the end of each cycle. Informal assessments
occur on a daily basis as teachers circulate around
the classroom, as well as through the daily products
that students or teams complete, and during the wrap-up
discussions at the end of a class period.
Teams earn daily points throughout the cycle
for working well together and meeting certain behavioral
objectives, and they receive formal recognition and
rewards at the end of the cycle based on both the academic
improvement of individual team members and the team
cooperation points students have earned.
The cooperative learning routines
and other basic classroom management strategies used
by SFA are critical elements of a successful school
experience. Research-based and classroom-tested, they
form the foundation of the basic daily lesson structure
used by SFA. They also translate easily into non-SFA
classrooms, allowing for a school wide approach to cooperative
learning even in schools that have elected to adopt
only a single curriculum component.
Monitoring student progress
is an ongoing activity in all SFA classrooms. A variety
of tools are used to monitor student progress, some
formal and others more informal. Informal measures include
daily classroom observations by teachers, and classroom
observations by school leaders. Data is used to guide
teachers as they make instructional decisions and school
leaders as they plan for interventions for groups and
individual children each day. Effective and meaningful
monitoring involves:
- Identifying the starting point
- Tracking growth throughout the
quarter
- Assessing end-of-quarter growth
- Using data to motivate staff and
students
SFA programs guide school leaders
and teachers in setting goals for progress and in identifying
students for targeted interventions.
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