Creating a Collaborative Classroom
In the CDP program, partner and small group learning activities were designed not only to foster student’s academic learning but also to build the important life skill of working with others in fair, kind, and productive ways. Consistent with the Common Core Standards, all of the videos below provide examples of classroom activities in which elementary students learn to work cooperatively and engage “in real, substantive discussions that require them to respond directly to the ideas of their peers.” (Coleman & Pimentel, 2012, p.9)
To support teachers in this approach to collaborative learning, the CDP staff created Blueprints for a Collaborative Classroom, a resource containing 25 designs for partner and small group work and 250 activity suggestions suitable for use across the curriculum. This resource can be ordered from DSC at http://www.devstu.org.
