One of the things I was able to fit into an already chaotic schedule at the beginning of this school year was a brief introduction to Kagan cooperative learning. While I'm certainly no expert, I can say that I am very intrigued by the concept and how it could affect the management of my classroom. Today marked the first foray into something new.
My humanities classes and homeroom have been organized into groups or 'pods' of four. Before organizing the seating, I gave students a chance to indicate to me who they would like to work with. I tried to ensure that they have one 'friend' in their groups. The rest are theoretically new faces, or at the very least, someone that they might not visit with all that much.
I really like the idea of being able to have built-in groups. This leads itself nicely into greater interaction among students, relieves some of the pressure of having to work by yourself, and will make for a more enjoyable year in my opinion. While we still have a few kinks to work out (mainly keeping conversations at a workable level which is understandable), I'm actually quite excited about what this will mean for my teaching style and how I can help to get ALL students engaged in their learning.
And... I got an opportunity to refer to Star Wars! Win win!!
Cheers,
~Mr. T
