Cooperative Work Groups

Scott M. Mandel is a National Board-certified teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He has worked as a teacher, administrator, and inservice leader for more than 25 years. The author of nine teacher education books, Mandel is also the founder and director of the Teachers Helping Teachers Web site. He received his PhD in curriculum and instruction from the University of Southern California.

Mandel outlines how educators can design meaningful learning experiences that will effectively develop a student's ability to thrive in the twenty-first century's workforce.

AcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorIntroduction Why Cooperative Work Groups? The New Classroom Battle: What Today¿s Businesses Want Versus Traditional Teaching Components of the Cooperative Work Group Concept Cooperative Work Groups The Scope of this BookPart I: The Way Students Accomplish Tasks1. An Advanced, Modern Form of Cooperative Learning Putting Theory Into Practice: How Could They Make a Difference? 2. Group Formation Putting Theory Into Practice: Mr. Washington¿s Cooperative Work Groups3. Leadership Putting Theory Into Practice: Distributing the Leaders4. Materials Putting Theory Into Practice: Collecting Curricular Material for Student Use5. Teacher Role: Critical Thinking and Classroom Management Critical Thinking: A Core Component of Student Work Classroom Management Putting Theory Into Practice: Planning for Higher-Order Thinking Skills and Dealing With Problems6. Assessment Putting Theory Into Practice: Assessing the Experience A Final NotePart II: The Way Students Learn Effectively and Efficiently Putting Theory Into Practice: Why Do They All Have to Be So Different?7. Brain Research: The Multiple Intelligences A Quick Overview Integrating the Multiple Intelligences Into the Classroom Curriculum Classroom and Group Management Incorporating the Multiple Intelligences Putting Theory Into Practice: Addressing the Students¿ Multiple Intelligences 8. Teacher Use of the Multiple Intelligences Putting Theory Into Practice: Determining the Students¿ Multiple Intelligences9. Integrating the Multiple Intelligences Into Cooperative Work Group Experiences Looking at the Classroom Holistically Using the Multiple Intelligences in the Presentation of Curricular Material Using the Multiple Intelligences in the Creative Work of Students Putting Theory Into Practice: Using the Multiple Intelligences in Group Formation A Final NotePart III: The Internet as the Ultimate Educational Resource Center Putting Theory Into Practice: Using the Information Super-Curriculum 10. The Concept, Reality, and Cost of Digital Literacy Digital Literacy in Today¿s Classroom Establishing Student Access Within the School Putting Theory Into Practice: Determining the Quality and Quantity of Internet Access11. How to Locate Curricular Material on the Internet Integrating the Internet Into the Curriculum Search Engines and Directories General Education Web Sites Comprehensive Subject Matter Web Sites Specialty Sites Teacher Guest Books Putting Theory Into Practice: Finding Internet Resources for Students12. Integrating the Internet Into Cooperative Work Group Experiences Determining the Best Use of Online Resources Knowing When to Use, or Not Use, Technology How to Integrate Online Material Even When There Is No School Access to the Internet Parental Issues: Security Concerns and Public Relations Putting Theory Into Practice: Dealing With the Last Issues A Final Note13. SummaryPart IV: Some Practical Examples of Teacher Unit Plans Science: A Trip to the Rain Forest Language Arts/History: The World of Zlatäs Diary History/The Arts: Ancient Egypt - The Afterlife Math: Real Life With Fractions, Decimals, Ratios, Proportions and PercentagesResource A: Index of URLsResource B: Student Multiple Intelligence AssessmentsResource C: An Example of an Internet Acceptable Use Policy ContractResource D: A Cooperative Work Group Lesson Plan FormReferencesIndex