Wow it's March!

 Good morning! Today is the first day of March and we started it off by having a wonderful class! We started off class today sharing what are groups worked on last class! Last class we worked in groups and my group did a slide on Individual Accountability. We started off by explaining what Individual Accountability means. The definition is, This is a type of cooperative learning where students learn together but are actively contributing their own work to the group as individuals. This type of learning allows all students to be held accountable for their learning and how they perform their knowledge. The next slide that we did contained information of how students can represent Individual Accountability.

We said that we can:

1. Bring new ideas to the group work

2. Make sure to be prepared and have knowledge about the topic being discussed

3. Recognize your own mistakes and openly discuss them

4. Don’t “piggyback” off of another group members work

5. Set clear expectations of each group member

6. Teachers can keep group work groups small because it allows each group member to take part. 

The 3rd slide consisted of information of why Individual Accountability is important.

Individual Accountability is important because:

1. It ensures that all individuals are contributing and learning as well as holding each other accountable by assigning each individual member a role in the work.

2. It motivates each group member to actively engage in learning tasks, which prevents one group member benefiting from the actions of others

3. Individual Accountability allows each member of the group to learn about the topic and then apply that knowledge

On this slide we also created a Jamboard that asked the question " What is Individual Accountability and what do you think that it means.?"

Slide 4: Google Form:

We created a Google Form that allowed the learners to answer questions on Individual Accountability based on the knowledge that they retained from our previous slides.

The first thing that we did in class was we went back into our fieldwork groups because we were all in different groups. We had the opportunity to teach to our peers what we completed last class.

Kate Hughes: We first started off by Kate Hughes sharing her slides group. Kate Hughes did a Google Slideshow on Positive Interdependence and she started off her presentation by stating the definition of Positive Interdependence. I learned that the word "positive" refers to the correlation of student outcomes and the word "interdependence" refers to situations in which students need the help of their classmates. Before learning the definition I wasn't sure what it meant but I feel as if Kate and her group clearly stated the definition and now I have a better understanding of what it means. The next slide stated what the goal of Positive Interdependence is and the goal is to make the group come together and work towards a common goal. Each group member will work as a whole and do their own part.

Alexis Grippi: The next person that presented was Alexis Grippi. Alexis Grippi and her group created a Google Slideshow on Social Skills. Their first slide consisted on information on specific social skills needed for Cooperative Learning. One thing that I learned from the first slide was that forming skills are the basic skills that are needed within a functioning, cooperative learning group. the next slide talked about leadership skills. One thing that I learned from this slide was that in order to have leadership skills in your classroom, you must allow each student to lead their task. The next slides topic was communication and it really made me think about what is required when communicating. I learned that it is important to be actively listening and it is important to encourage others. Another topic that was talked about during this presentation was trust building. I really believe that when working together, you have to build trust with peers and as a teacher you should have getting to know you activities within your classroom because it is possible to build trust when you feel comfortable with you peers and when you get to know them.

Marilena Mangiaracina: After Alexis Grippi presented her Google Slideshow, Marilena then went! Marilena and her group created a Google Slideshow about Group Processing. I loved Marilena's first slide because she included a YouTube video of a classroom that was exhibiting Group Processing! Today I learned that Group Processing is when students are given time and procedures to analyze how well their learning groups are functioning and how they are doing. One example I learned today of how Group processing is beneficial within a classroom is that it allows the group to improve group work over time together. What I really loved about Marilenas slides was that at the end she created a fun google form! The Google form allowed me to reflect on what I learned and I was able to answer questions based on the information that I retained.

Erin Hanley: The last person to present was Erin Hanley. Erin and her group made a Google Slideshow on Cooperative Learning. I enjoyed learning about both Direct Instruction and Cooperative Instruction. One important thing that I learned from the presentation was that there are different goals and standards when it comes to Direct Instruction and Cooperative Learning. One difference I learned was that Direct Instruction standards are focusing on the understanding of content and Cooperative learning standards focus on interaction and social skills.

I really enjoyed today's class because I got the wonderful opportunity to see the work of my peers! That's all for today! See you next time:)