Lesson Plan Design

A cooperative learning lesson has many possible designs.  There is not one that is preferred over any others, but, it is very important to make certain that whatever lesson design that you use is made in accordance with the goals and objectives of cooperative learning lessons.  For instance, it would be inappropriate to design a lesson for a cooperative class that does not allow for student interaction and is based on a lecture from the teacher.  It is important to remember why you are using cooperative learning techniques.  The goals are to improve student understanding and interaction within the class and small groups.  If the lesson that you have designed for a particular day does not meet these goals, then it is not a good lesson.  This is important to remember.

Here is an example of a lesson design that could be used in a cooperative class. Title of Lesson Decisions      *Grade level and course      *Lesson Summary      *Instructional Objectives           1. Identify and write the academic and social skills and objectives                for the lesson           2. Using language you students will understand, write down the               tasks that will allow the students to complete the objectives      *Materials      *Group Size      *How students were assigned to groups      *Roles:  Identify the students roles in the activities for the day The Lesson      Positive Interdependence          Identify the types that you desire for the lesson.                EXAMPLES           -one paper from the group, each member gets the same reward, assign roles,             team name, ETC.      Individual Accountability          Decide how you want the students to be accounted individually           EXAMPLES           -test, quiz, homework, random selection of one person, etc.      Expected Skills (behavior)          You want to clearly explain the expected behavioral skills that you expect your           students to display throughout the lesson.  It is quite acceptable to target on only           one skill per lesson, so that students do not feel overwhelmed. Monitoring and Processing      How will  you observe the students social skills?           -teacher observes informally/formally, obersvation rubric, students observe, etc.      How will you end the lesson?      How will feedback be given to the students?           -teacher gives feedback to the entire class or to individual groups or students Modified from Cooperative Learning Series, Facilitators Handbook, Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 1991. Back to HOME                                       Back to COOPERATIVE HOME                                               CONTINUE