Teaching Today publishes innovative teaching tips on a weekly basis. Written with the busy teacher in mind, each tip is concise, practical and easy to implement in the classroom right away. Topics covered in Teaching Today are classroom management, career development, high stakes testing, instruction and planning, parental involvement, reading in the content areas, using technology in the classroom, and portfolio development. Teaching Today also offers free weekly downloads that correspond to the tips. Our free downloads make implementing the teaching tips even easier. Teaching Today provides educational resources for teachers looking for everyday solutions to the challenges of the classroom.
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Teaching Today - This Week's Tips Teaching Today - This Week's Tips

This Week's Topic

Teamwork/Cooperative Learning
When students work together in teams for cooperative learning, they are engaging in an active learning process. Working together activates the mind with new inspiration and adds to the effectiveness of learning. This week’s tips give you suggestions for group work.

This Week's Tips

Inspire Students with Cooperative Learning (Monday)
Management and business instructors use teambuilding activities based on current business trends. Instructors of English, humanities, science, and other courses can take a tip from business and use cooperative learning in all of their courses. Try the following tips: Give names and slogans to learning groups and give prizes to the winning team. Have students fill the bulletin board and hallways with “advertisements” for their work.

Have Students Meet Outside of Class (Tuesday)
Have students exchange phone numbers and addresses and get together outside of the classroom, as an extension of the class time. If necessary, eliminate a few hours of classroom time to make up the difference. Moving the setting from the classroom opens students to new points of view. Try this activity: Give student groups a set of problems to be solved within a time period. Each group should assign one member to be the spokesperson to report their solution.

Allow Time for Discussion and Reflection (Wednesday)
Provide some class time for students to get together for discussion and reflection. Students need time to process and apply their knowledge, and group work is an excellent way for students to review their learning. Arrange the class into small groups and have groups answer the following question: What changes will this learning help me make in my personal and professional life?

Make Groups Relevant to Students' Lives (Thursday)
Learning groups need to link to students’ lives. Students need to see and accept an action they can take in their lives as a direct result of their teamwork. See this week’s Download Depot for an action statement students can write at the beginning and the end of their group work, and assign or have student groups assign tasks to each individual member of the group.

Download your free Action Statement today!

Use the Power of Reward (Friday)
Students like to feel they’re doing a good job. Some receive this reward with high grades, others need praise from the instructor and fellow students. In group work, students may feel their efforts got lost in the process. To foster individual rewards, try these tips: Assign individual grades based on individual contributions. Give each team member verbal praise on his or her participation.



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