Making Group Work Productive

1. PowerPoints available at www.fisherandfrey.com Click on “Resources” Making Group Work Productive

2. Quick Draw • Reflect on the concept of Productive Group Work by creating a visual that represents it. • Take a minute to write a description of your idea. • Find a partner in the room who does NOT teach: • In your school, content area, or grade level • Share your ideas and discuss how PGW connects to today’s understanding: Immersing oneself in reflection and learning, leads to personal growth, positive effects on others and can be enhanced by high levels of collaboration.

3. Today’s Work • Explore more PGW • Purpose • Accountable Conversations • Strategies • #diffaea9 • Time to work on planning for PGW or differentiated instruction **Next steps- Managing PGW and Making it Purposeful

4. Purposes of Productive Group Work Students work together to solve problems, discover information, and complete projects Students use the “language of the lesson”

5. It is not: • Ability grouping • For introducing new information or new skills

6. The Keys to PGW Students must be taught how to talk with one another. Teachers need to know how to move them. Know what you’re looking and listening for. Make tasks engaging and interactive.

7. Accountable Talk Describes high levels of engagement and critical thinking among learners • Accountability that discussions are on the topic • Accountability to use accurate information • Accountability to think deeply about what is being said Accountable talk focuses on something rigorous and relevant- what does this look like in your classroom?

8. Promoting Accountable Talk • Press for clarification and explanation: Could you describe what you mean? • Require justification of proposals and challenges: Where did you find that information? • Recognize and challenge misconception: I don’t agree because ... • Demand evidence for claims and arguments: Can you give me an example? • Interpret and use each other’s statements: David suggested … Institute for Learning, University of Pittsburgh

9. Students in Action • Listen for direct quotes that show: • ways the students justify their arguments • how the students press for clarification and explanation • Accountable Talk Video

10. Iowa Core Connection • How does this aspect of PGW fit with the Iowa Core Essential Concepts and Skills? • In your grade spans, dig into the Employability Skills content- note the following: • What are the concepts and skills for your grade span? • What do those concepts and skills look like? • Do you currently teach these skills or is it something that is expected of your students? How does this differ throughout the classrooms of your school? • What might it look like to teach your students these skills?

11. Planning for Accountability • Read through the section of the article entitled Spotlight on Respectful Discourse. • Keeping your Employability Concepts and Skills in mind, how could these activities be adapted/used to fit your students needs?

12. The Keys to PGW Students must be taught how to talk with one another. Teachers need to know how to move them. Know what you’re looking and listening for. Make tasks engaging and interactive.

13. Collaborative Problem Solving Engaging and interactive tasks that have students working together to resolve problems.

14. What are your favorite ways to encourage collaboration between students? What are the benefits and challenges?

15. Consider the following to kick it up a notch… • Students are consolidating their understanding • Negotiating understanding with peers • Engaging in inquiry • Applying knowledge to novel situations

16. Productive Group Instructional Strategies

17. Expert Strategy Share • At your tables, discuss the following for each strategy listed: • what it is, • examples for its use, and • considerations for use • Please list strategies with which no one in your group is familiar on a post-it note

18. Reading Literature Circles Collaborative Strategic Reading Reciprocal Teaching Partner reading Jigsaw Sample Instructional Routines

19. Writing Progressive Writing Paired Writing Peer response GIST writing Collaborative poster Sample Instructional Routines

20. Oral Language Think-Pair-Square Numbered Heads Together Socratic Seminar Walking Review Novel Ideas Only Sample Instructional Routines

21. Treasure Hunt • Post questions around the room • Distribute one answer sheet per student • After returning to home base, groups submit a rationale for how they solved each sequence using conversational roundtable Free powerpoints at http://www.worldofteaching.com

23. Considerations for Use • Not for new material, use as a review • Follow-up conversations are critical • No duplicate answers • Flap vs. no flap • Safety considerations for creative hiding • PGW during hunt vs. PGW after hunt • Importance of the organizer • Always design with the Iowa Core Content and Characteristics of Effective Instruction in mind

24. Mathematical Treasure-hunt: Sequences Mathematical Treasure-hunt: Sequences 15 47 Previous Answer Previous Answer ? ? To the next clue To the next clue The linear sequence below is generated by the term 4n + ?. What is the extra number ? 3, 6, 9, 12, … What is the next term in the linear sequence above? 6, 10, 14, 18, …

25. Your Turn • Create a PGW activity for content you will teach some time between now and May. • Make sure this fits with a KUD- if you don’t have one, write one. • Make sure it is warranted- if you don’t have data to support the need for it, find a better place for it. • Write a formative assessment question that could accompany this treasure hunt. • Share with your content alike group- get feedback and allow others to steal.

26. Preparation for May • Chance to observe Productive Group Work in your classroom • A look at student data that came from your PGW lesson during the follow-up conversation • This means potentially 2 coaching visits between now and May session