jen

=**__Cooperative Learning__**= =In the art room, I can't say that I have my students do group work very often. However, my students do sit at tables in groups of 4 or 5 throughout the year. They are seated randomly for the most part but I make sure that the grouping is heterogeneous. At the most, I do informal groups, at times, in the form of think-pair-share, but it is mostly to share ideas about the lesson or artwork. It is important to note the key elements of cooperative learning, as mentioned in the book: positive interdependence, face-to-face promotive interaction, individual and group accountability, interpersonal and small group skills, and group processing. There are some things that the teacher must be careful with when using cooperative learning. It must be well-structured and it can't be overused. Students must have a sufficient amount of time to practice the skills and processes independently. Also, social skills are very important so that there are little to no behavior issues. Last, some students may end up doing all of the work for their group while others are too timid to speak up. Work needs to be divided up equally. The teacher must monitor the groups continuously, making changes where and when necessary. = to learn more about this topic, go to: [|cooperative learning]

My 2nd technology project: my prezi presentation for the start of the school year: []