Description: Student Engagement=Learning
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Jigsaw is a cooperative learning strategy. In this strategy, students are put into groups. Each member of the group is assigned a portion of the material being covered. Students then work cooperatively with the students who have been assigned the same portion of the work. These students work together to master the material. They then return to their small group and tech the material to the group. Each student is responsible for helping the members of the group master an essential piece of the puzzle, which is why the strategy is called Jigsaw.
This strategy is interesting to me because every student is accountable for a part of the work. This forces all students to be engaged in the learning.
In my classroom, this strategy could be used when learning the Properties of Addition and Multiplication, which always seems to be a struggle for our students. Recently, I taught several mental Math strategies for adding and subtracting. I felt like I did most of the talking and the engagement was not very high. This strategy may have worked well in that lesson.
Concept Attainment
Concept attainment is an indirect instructional strategy that uses structured inquiry. In this strategy, the teacher forms a group. The students figure out the attributes of the group or category. Students compare and contrast items that do and do not exhibit the characteristics of the group. The students are responsible for formulating the concept.
I actually have used this strategy. However, I had absolutely no idea that I was using Concept Attainment. It works well for teaching categories of shapes such as shapes that are polygons and shapes that are not. I have actually used it to teach the associative, distributive and commutative properties.
Pairs Check
Pairs Check is a cooperative learning strategy which is designed for work on mastery-oriented worksheets. Students work with partners within a group of 4. The worksheet contains problems in pairs. The first person in each partnership completes the problem with coaching and encouragement from their partner. The partners change roles and repeat the process. After each pair of problems, the group of four comes back together to check each other’s work. If they are in agreement, they give a team cheer or handshake.
This strategy seems to lend itself well to Math. Pair check would work well with for practicing basic mathematics algorithms. It may also work well for practicing measurement and fractions. I have been working on estimation with my third graders. This strategy would be great for practicing this skill.
Send a Problem
Students are put into teams. Each student writes a review problem on a flash card. Each team reaches a consensus on each card and puts the answer on the back of the card. The team’s cards are passed on to another team, which answers them and checks to see if they are in agreement with the sending group. If it does not match, they can write their answer below the provided answer. The cards can then be passed to a third and fourth group.
This cooperative learning strategy is a strategy that would be great for learning Math facts and measurement conversions. I have been working on fluency for addition and subtraction facts up to 20 with my second grade students. This strategy could be very useful for me to use with this group of kids.
Planned Discovery Activities
This is a strategy for student practice and not a strategy for initial instruction. It is geared toward students who have difficulty learning. With this strategy, students can make connections between 2 or more Mathematics concepts. In this strategy, the teacher plans a well-organized lesson that guides the students toward the learning objective. The teacher provides explicit directions for the activity. Students work through a learning sheet which provides cues which guide student learning. The teacher provides all materials needed for the activity and monitors the progress, offering constructive feedback and praise when necessary. The teacher models the skill or concept if needed and prompts student’s thinking. The teacher closes the activity by explicitly modeling solutions.
This activity is very structured and teacher-led. Although I do not usually teach in this way, some kids could benefit from this type of instruction. Certain concepts would lend them to this activity better than others. I could use this strategy to teach problem-solving strategies.
Concrete - Representational – Abstract Sequence of Instruction
The Concrete-Abstract –Representational sequence of Instruction ensures that students truly understand the concept that they are learning. This sequence allows students to develop a strong concrete understanding of the skill or concept that they are learning. This makes it much more likely that they will understand the abstract mathematical concept. In this strategy, the teacher models the concept using manipulatives. Students are provided with many opportunities to practice the skill and concept and to show mastery, using manipulatives. Then the concept or skill is modeled using semi-concrete representation, which involves drawing the manipulatives used in previous instruction. Students are given many opportunities to practice the skill and show mastery using drawings and representations. The concept is finally modeled at the abstract level using only numbers and symbols. Students are provided many opportunities to practice the concept at the abstract level. When students show mastery, they move on to a new concept or skill. As the teacher moves through the instructional sequence, the teacher should use numbers and symbols in conjunction with the concrete representations. This promotes the association of the concrete with the representational.
I have used all of the parts of this strategy, but this sequence seems to flow very well. I think part of the reason is the pressure to get through so much material in one school year to prepare students for the MAP test. I think some of these levels of understanding are sometimes rushed . I also think that from grade to grade, it is assumed that students already have a concrete understanding of a concept when in fact, they do not. I could use this strategy in my class for teaching addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions and decimals.
Gradual Response
This is a 4 phase strategy which gradually prepares students for individual success. In phase 1, the teacher models and records the mathematical representation on the board. In the 2nd phase, the teacher again models on the board elicting responses from the students. In phase 3, the teacher presents a similar problem and students work in pairs to solve it. The teacher records students’ solutions on the board. In the 4th phase, students work independently. The teacher monitors and supports the students during independent work.
This strategy would work well for Math. I think I am often guilty of using some of these phases, but not always devoting enough time to each phase. I am often guilty of cutting out phase 3 which is a very good way to scaffold kids before they work independently. Many teachers whose room I have pushed into seem to cut out phase 4 by doing so much of the work together as a class and never giving students an opportunity to work on their own. This strategy could be used to teach algorithms, measurement conversions, fractions and decimals.
Links:
Instructional Strategies Online: What is Jigsaw?
Instructional Strategies Online: What is Concept Attainment?
Prince George’s County Public Schools: A Guide to Cooperative Learning
Math VIDS: Planned Discovery Activity
Math VIDS: Concrete-Abstract-Representational Sequence of Instruction
Do the Math!
Instructional Strategies Online: What is Jigsaw?
Instructional Strategies Online: What is Concept Attainment?
Prince George’s County Public Schools: A Guide to Cooperative Learning
Math VIDS: Planned Discovery Activity
Math VIDS: Concrete-Abstract-Representational Sequence of Instruction
Do the Math!