Cooperative learning: Fourth day (Presentations of 20/02/2014)

Fourth day of presentations. The group that exposed today was LASH. The theme of the project was the food and the different types of alimentation that exist. The structure of the work was: index - team plan time with all the groupal aims – didactic unit.

The main objective was to talk better in public in English. That’s not my case, but I can understand it. The aim in which I have to focus, I think is to organize myself in order to do everything with more calm.

The didactic unit was directed to first course of Primary. It consisted on 5 sessions. In the first one, by using jigsaw technique, the divided the class in base teams in order to deal the content of the diets. The second session of the sequence was an interesting one, because they would go to computer classroom to search for more data. With this activity children would learn how to search information, best websites to use, and they would practice critical thinking. As technology is increasing its use in our daily life, we have to use it in the school, so the children will learn how to act in our society.

The third session was another interesting activity: create a mural of knowledge acquired. With this activity they socialize because of the groupal working time and they train creativity. The fourth lesson consisted on children becoming teachers by base teams, explaining all the content they have learned.

To conclude the sequence they propose a game by Team Games Tournaments technique, what is great, because children learn by playing. The problem was that they did it in the wrong way, so that the prizes were for kids that answer, and that means a competition and of course, winners and losers. To solve this problem, we, as teachers, have to establish different prizes, so that everyone wins something. Prizes can be to the most participative team, to the most original, to the most cooperative, respectful…

They planned self-assessment and co-assessment with good intentions but by doing difficult questions for children which could be improved by expressing theirselves in an easier form. By the way, the assessment was good in the sense of qualifications, because a work is not considered to be “bad” so that motivates every kid.

In conclusion, it was good work, really improved respecting to the first tried. They didn’t use too much technology, but it was interesting and they worked the most important thing, cooperative learning.