Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning is one type of instructional strategy. Students at all levels, K-post secondary, are often engaged in cooperative learning at some time during an academic year. Some students learn best when working with others, while the opposite is true for some. How do you think cooperative learning should be implemented into classrooms? How do you think cooperative learning should be assessed?

Instructional Strategies

"What children learn depends not only on what they are taught but also how they are taught, their development level, and their interests and experiences.... These beliefs require that much closer attention be paid to the methods chosen for presenting material..."
Understanding the Common Essential Learnings,
Saskatchewan Education, 1988. (p.10).

How will you determine the methods in which you will teach your lessons? Why is it important to choose appropriate methods for teaching the material to the students?

Teach for Understanding

According to the Iowa Core Curriculum, Teaching for Understanding is leading students to engage in a variety of thought-provoking activities such as explaining, finding evidence and examples, generalizing, applying, making analogies, and representing the topic in new ways. Teachers assist students in making connections between prior knowledge and new knowledge to develop understanding of a concept. Teachers who teach for understanding 1) make learning a long-term, thinking-centered process, 2) engage students in assessment for learning processes, 3) support learning with representations conceptual models, 4) teach for learner differences 5) induct students into the discipline, and 6) teach for transfer (Perkins, 1993). 

In your opinion, what does it take to teach for understanding? Why is teaching for understanding important? Explain.