Administrators’ Meeting
February 2012
Learning Targets
• Participants will acquire in-depth
knowledge of Collaborative Group Work
and Literacy Groups, two of the strategies
of the Common Instructional Framework.
• Participants will acquire coaching
strategies for the implementation and/or
improvement of Collaborative Group Work
and Literacy Groups within their school
and classrooms.
Powerful Teaching and Learning
Collaborative
Group Work
(CGW)
&
Literacy
Groups
Collaborative Group Work (CGW)
and Literacy Groups
• “Key ingredient to creating the kind of
school culture in which everyone shares a
deep commitment to one another’s
success” (UPCS).
• Prepare every student academically and
professionally for any college or career.
• Allow for the use of academic content to
teach 21st century survival skills.
Collaborative Group Work (CGW)
and Literacy Group Planning
• Assigning groups
– Teacher selected vs. student selected
– Strategic grouping to ensure diversity
• Change instruction not just the structure
– Pre-determining group size
• Modifying classroom layout
• Incorporating CGW in the lesson plan
• Utilizing the CGW Group Monitoring
Tool
Group Norms
• Collectively establishing and posting
ground rules for collaborative group work
– Importance of adherence
– Consequences—conversations tied to the
norms
• 1st occurrence: Group conference (students only)
• 2nd occurrence: Group conference (with teacher)
• 3rd occurrence: Student assigned independent
work—they leave contributions with the group
• Sample norms
Group Roles
• Establishing group roles
– Importance of rotating
• Traditional (Samples)
– Group Leader/Facilitator, Recorder, Timekeeper,
Materials Manager, Task Master, Reporter
• Innovative (Samples)
– Discussion Director, Vocabulary Connector (Word
Wizard), Illuminator (Passage Master),
Investigator, Connector (Creative Connector),
Artful Illustrator, Summarizer
Collaboration Cubes Activity
• Discussion Director will record evidence of
collaborative problem solving while group
discusses the cube.
• Discussion Director shares out the answer,
one “rule” that gave them the answer, and
one point from the Group Monitoring Tool.
– Rules and skills translate into the types of critical
thinking and collaborative discussions that should
occur in every classroom.
Literacy Group Activity
• Play the Role protocol
• Select and explore group roles
• Read “Learning as Collaboration: Group Work
at University Park Campus School”
• Take notes based on your role
• Discussion Director leads the conversation in
response to everyone’s comments.
– Group discussion not individual presentations
• Summarizer reports out for each group
What do the data make you think?
• Susie scored a Level 2 on her 2007-2008 Grade 8
Reading EOG.
• Susie scored a Level 2 in sixth and seventh grades,
but her elementary scores were consistently higher.
• Susie is the oldest of three children who are being
raised by a single mother.
• Susie’s mother is a college-educated registered nurse.
• Susie hates to read, but she likes soccer.
• For the past two years, Susie’s reading teachers have
used the Brain Buster EOG test-prep series.
Common Instructional Framework
Resources
• Sample lessons/videos
– Do you see evidence of the Common
Instructional Framework?
• Remember the “How” not the “What”
• Visit www.newschoolsproject.org and the
RttT Team Resources website for more
examples
• Classroom Walk-Through Form
Chalk Talk Protocol
• Why is Collaborative Group Work a key
ingredient to creating student success?
• How does Collaborative Group Work
prepare every student for post-secondary
education and careers?
• How do you plan on implementing and
monitoring the use of Collaborative Group
Work at your school?