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, 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. It is available for sale from Collaborative Classroom.

Note: The Child Development Project (CDP) is now named the Caring School Community, a program of Collaborative Classroom.

Conflict Resolution and Opportunities to Practice Positive Social Skills for Character Development. This video shows students working in partnerships while they participate in a writing activity. When problems occur with working together, the class discusses how to resolve conflicts. Students are shown sharing ideas, making collaborative decisions and working together to produce a written product.
Mind Mapping the Ocean demonstrates a teacher explicitly sharing the content and social objectives of a lesson with the children and going back at the end to lead the students in reflection on them. The students work in small groups to complete a mind map about what they already know about the ocean.
This video of a first grade classroom is a student teacher favorite. Early in their student teaching, teacher credential candidates are eager to discover the elements of effective lesson design. They especially want to see what an effective lesson looks like in action. The teacher in this video demonstrates a powerful lesson anticipatory set.