Leveraging Cooperative Learning Strategies

NOTE: This strategy is part of the self-paced Spark Collaboration Course

Cooperative learning strategies, often called Kagan strategies, are low-lift and low-risk ways for students to engage with each other while learning.

They are structured ways to break up a direct instruction lesson and ask students to collaboratively process information.

Bright Spots

Gain inspiration from authentic examples of this strategy shared by teachers who have used them with their learners.

Creating your own Bright Spots? Let’s get them out into the world! Share yours here.

Quiz-Quiz-Trade Cards

These quiz-quiz-trade cards used in a high school Spanish class are used by students to practice asking and answering questions in a quick and engaging way. The question is on the front with the answer on the back. Students quiz each other using their questions, show the answers, and then trade their cards to then move on and talk to a new partner.

Think-Pair-Share

After sharing information through direct instruction, after watching a video or reading a text, use the think-pair-share strategy to ask students to reflect on their thinking and share it with someone else. You can then call on a handful of volunteers to share with the entire class if you like.