ROLE PLAYING

Hi All,
Wanna have a fun as well as effective learning process? You should try the role play technique. Students like acting very much, and at the same time they practice their English.
Check out this video which I recorded last year.  The title of the story is THE ANT AND THE DOVE. I believe all of you have been familiar with this story.
Enjoy!

PENDEKATAN, STRATEGI, METODE, TEKNIK, MODEL PEMBELAJARAN PADA KURIKULUM 2013

We sometimes got confused with the meaning of Approach, Strategy, Method, Technique, and models in teaching and learning.  Click the picture to follow the link.

BEDA PENDEKATAN, STRATEGI, METODE, TEKNIK, & MODEL PEMBELAJARAN

A Few Words about English Language Learners

            Like all learners, English language learners need teachers who have a strong knowledge base and commitment to developing students’ language.  It is crucial that teachers work carefully to develop English language learners’ academic vocabularies.  The following are some important principles for supporting English language learners as they develop their vocabularies in a new language:

·         Encourage native language development.  It is easier for individuals to learn new labels for already-known concepts than to learn new concepts.  For instance, the word indifferent is easier to learn in a new language if students already know the concept and its verbal representation in their native language.

·         Create a safe, comfortable, and nonthreatening atmosphere that encourages students to use their new language and ensure that they have authentic reasons to engage in language use with you and one another.

·         Respect and raw on students’ backgrounds and experiences and build connections between the known and the new.

·         Know your students and capitalize on their interests.  All of us are more likely to attend to and communicate about what we find fascinating.

·         Model and scaffold language use.

·         Take advantage of the cognates that exists between languages.  For instance, many English and Spanish words, such as family and familia, have a common origin.

·         Make use of realia, concrete materials, visuals, pantomime, and other nonlinguistic representations of concepts to make input comprehensible.  Write new words on the board as they are shared or provide each student with a set of cards that contains the words.  That way students can see the words as well as hear them.

·         Introduce new words in rich contexts that support meaning.

·         Ensure that students have ample opportunities for social interactions, especially in the context of content learning.   English language learners need many occasions to practice the academic language they are learning.

·         Provide wait time.  Allowing students time to put their thoughts into words is important for all students, but it is especially so for students who are learning to communicate in a new language.

·         Keep your expectations high for all students –and for yourself as their teacher.  Work for depth and breadth of understanding of challenging content and promote critical thinking.

Strategies for Encouraging Classroom Discourse

The following are some of the strategies that will work with any content area and at nearly any step in the instructional sequence.  In these strategies, most or all students will express their understandings of the content or their perspectives about an issue. 

 1. Think-Pair-Share

Think-Pair-Share (Lyman 1981), a strategy that may be used in any content area, facilitates students’ use of language as they first consider a question that the teacher has posed, briefly discuss their responses with partners, and then share their answers with the entire class.   For example, when teaching report with the topic Flood, a teacher may stop and ask students to think of three important things from the lesson.  Or the teacher may be more specific and ask students to state some causes of flood.  After providing the students with a moment to think quietly, the teacher announces, “Pair,” and students turn to their neighbors to talk about their responses.  Finally, the teacher asks pairs to volunteer to share with the class some of the causes that they have discussed.  This strategy provides a break from teacher talk and allows students to articulate what they have learned.  In their discussions, students use the language of the subject matter.  In this example, words such as overflow, heavy rain, high tide, -ones they have heard from the teacher-begin to become part of their own repertoires because they have a chance to use them immediately. 

            In addition to providing a structure for students to respond to questions as a review of content, Think-Pair-Share may be used to facilitate students’ thinking about connections between the content and students’ lives or other content.  For instance, if a teacher is about to begin a lesson or unit of study on animals’ defenses, he or she may ask students to think about any self-protective behavior they have witnessed in their pets or in wild animals.  Then students talk in pairs about their observations, and finally, they share with the class.

2. 10:2 Lecture

A strategy similar to Think-Pair-Share is the 10:2 Lecture.  This strategy is described by Brechtel (2001) as a means for providing English language learners with an opportunity to practice language, but we believe it is useful for all learners.  The idea is that after approximately every 10 minutes of instruction, students should be provided with two minutes of oral processing time.  In other words, students should turn to a partner and discuss what they have learned.  This paired response time provides a risk-free environment for testing understanding of new ideas and information and prompts the students to use oral language to express and clarify their understandings.  The 10:2 Lecture does not include the think time that is a step in Think-Pair-Share, but it can easily be modified to include think time prior to paired discussion.  One advantage of this strategy is that it requires frequent pauses in instruction for student talk, and the name itself-10:2 Lecture-is a good reminder of the importance of providing students with frequent opportunities to talk about what they are learning.

3. Numbered Heads Together

Numbered Heads Together is a cooperative learning strategy that increases students’ opportunities to talk.  In this strategy, described by Kagan (1994), the teacher asks questions about the content and, rather than call on individuals to respond, he or she has the students meet in small groups of four to discuss the answer.  Students are numbered off so there is a one, two, three, and four in each group.  After allowing the students time to discuss the answer to the question, the teacher randomly selects a number from one to four (perhaps using an overhead spinner) and asks all the students with that number to raise their hands.  Then she calls on one of the students whose hand is raised. 

This strategy promotes high levels engagement because the students work together to generate a response to the question, and their task is to ensure that everyone in their group knows the answer.  All students realize they may be selected to articulate the answer for their group and therefore are motivated to participate.  Kagan contrasted Numbered Heads Together with the more typical classroom exchanges we described earlier and noted that the traditional approach can promote negative interdependence as students compete against one another for the opportunity to answer the questions.  Numbered Heads Together instead promotes positive interdependence while also promoting individual accountability.  Furthermore, because students work in small groups to craft a response, we believe the strategy offers students who otherwise might not have volunteered to respond the opportunity to share their thoughts and practice using academic language.

            Teacher questions may range from those that require a single brief response (e.g., “What is the highest building in Semarang?”) to those that require an explanation (e.g., “Explain how to make iced coffee milk,”) and those that invite diverse responses (e.g. “Describe three building you see on the way to school.”).  Of course, the more open-ended the question, the more talk that will occur in the group.

            As we noted before, providing students with brief think time before talking with peers allows them to gather their thoughts and thus increase the likelihood that they will have something to contribute to the conversation.  Even if some students have less to say in their groups, the odds are one in four that their numbers will be selected and so they generally listen actively and rehearse the response so they can successfully represent their group if called upon.

4. Powerful Passages and Significant Sentences

In Literature-Based Reading Activities (H.K.Yopp and Yopp 2006), there is a description of a strategy that encourages talk after students have read a selection from a work of literature or content-area textbook.  The teacher prompts the students to identify a powerful passage (or, if the teacher prefers, a significant sentence) they wish to share with their peers.  Students read their passages aloud to several partners, one at a time, and explain why they choose the passages.  In other words, they share their passages with several peers in succession and provide the rationale for their selections.  By using the strategy the students become more fluent in their reading of the passage and more articulate and detailed in their explanantions with each sharing.

            This simple strategy may be used with groups as they read the same text or as they read different texts (e.g., after a silent reading period during which they read self-selected books).  When all students have read the same text, they are interested in comparing their passage selections with one another.  Because there is no “correct” selection, students engage in authentic conversations about their choices, they demonstrate interest in the variety of passages and their understanding of the text deepens as they discuss their choices.  When students have read different texts, they provide their partners with contextual information about the passages, perhaps summarizing the events in the story to this point or describing a character’s personality prior to sharing their passages.  Thus, the talk that surrounds the sharing of the passages I plentiful.

5. Inquiry Lessons

Inquiry lessons engage students in investigations to satisfy their own curiosities and answer their own questions.  The lessons prompt exploration and discovery.  Students have their hands on objects, materials, or resources; they seek information; and they generate and test hypotheses as they look for explanations and solutions.  Because vocabulary acquisition occurs most easily in context when students care about the topics, inquiry lessons are ideal for promoting students’ purposeful use of language and developing students’ language.

            Many teachers are skilled at designing lessons that spark students’ active search for knowledge.  In science, for example, they demonstrate starling events, such as a peeled hard-boiled egg being sucked into a small-mouthed bottle. 

            Students are surprised by the demonstrations, ask questions of the teacher and each other, offer tentative  explanations, request replications of the event, and look to expert sources to seek explanations for their observations-all the while engaged in purposeful discussion about the unexpected event.  Other teachers supply a vary of materials related to the curriculum, such as seeds or magnets, and allow students to explore them with peers.  In social studies, teachers invite students to view a range of print and nonprint resources, such as texts, images, and other artifacts related to their study of hunger-gathered societies.  As students interact with the resources, they generate questions and the teacher supports them in refining those questions and conducting investigations related to them.

            Students often have strong affective responses when they observe discrepant events, handle materials, and view interesting images.  These responses are usually accompanied by language, as students spontaneously express their thoughts and feelings or share their knowledge and personal experiences.  Teachers can capitalize on student interest and further students’ language development by creating environments that support inquiry and encouraging students to work together to pursue the answer to their questions.

6. Wordless Picture Books

Wordless picture books are rich in images but contain very little or no text.  They typically narratives; that is, the illustrations convey a story. 

            Wordless picture books may be used with any age group.  With young children, teachers might begin by talking about the illustrations in detail and using precise and complex language to share the story the pictures tell (e.g., “On this page, we see the sun is rising.  It casts a warm, red glow across the hills and through the woman’s curtainless window.  It looks like early morning in the countryside.”).  Then teachers invite the children to tell what they see as they work their way through the pages together (e.g., “Ah! What is happening on this page?”).  If multiple copies of the book are available, they may be distributed to the students, who then revisit the book and tell the story to one another, changing it as they wish to reflect their views of the story.

            Older students may be encouraged to work with partners to create a story based on the illustrations.  All students should be prompted to provide details to foster oral language:  What is the setting?  What words might be used to describe the hills?  What can we tell about the character by the expression on his or her face?  What is he or she thinking and doing?  Why is the character doing what he or she is doing?

            A meaningful extension of sharing wordless picture books is to have students create original works and share them with one another.

            Teachers can alter books with text to make wordless picture books.  The books must have illustrations that convey the story sufficiently so that the words are not necessary.  The teacher covers the text using strips of paper or sticky notes and shares the book as he or she would a wordless picture book. 

7. Photo Review

Photographs of students engaging in learning activities may also be used as prompts for oral language.  The teacher takes photos of students during a lesson or unit of study and later distributes copies of the photos to the class.  Students are then asked to closely examine the photos and talk with one another about what they see and remember about the lesson.  The teacher encourages the students to be specific and use words that are important to the content.  He or she may even identify particular words, writing them on the board or distributing word cards, that he or she hopes to hear the students use.  In this way, the teacher promotes the students’ use of academic vocabulary.

            For instance, students have a trip to a nearby museum.  Students explore the museums.  Teacher takes digital photos throughout the visit as students record data.  The  teacher selects representative photos and prints four of them on a single page, makes a copy for each group, and the next day, asks students to meet in their same groups.  The teacher distributes the photo pages and gives each group a set of word cards.  On each card is written one of the following words: explore, observe, preserved, and pre-historic.   The teacher tells the student that he or she will be listening for them to use these words as they discuss the photo one another.  The photos and word cards serve to spark the students’ memories and promote a high lebel of engagement because the students are likely to be eager to talk about what they see themselves and their classmates doing in the photos.

8. Sketch to Stretch

            Adapted from Harste, Short, and Burke (1988), Sketch to Stretch is intended to stretch students’ thinking and promote discussion as students sketch their understanding of the content after reading a text selection, hearing a lecture, or participating in a learning experiences.  Sketches, quickly rendered, may be literal or symbolic, narrowly or broadly focused, and elaborate or simple.  After allowing a few minutes for sketching, the teacher prompts students to meet in small groups to share their work.  Students talk about what they see in one another sketches before they offer detailed explanations of their own drawings.  The teacher may circulate throughout the room and record key words he or she hears in students’ discussions, later commenting on their usage of important vocabulary.

            Although Sketch to Stretch is typically used after students have engaged with content, it may be used before students engage content as a means of activating their background knowledge on a topic.  For instance, just prior to studying the topic, a teacher might ask his or he students to sketch images that come to mind when they hear the word erosion.  Thus, students’ background knowledge (including relevant vocabulary) is activated.  Again, the teacher may wish to comment on students’ vocabulary or use their discussions as a springboard for introducing key vocabulary.

9. Mystery Bags

Mystery Bags can be used to spark conversations about a topic.  The teacher prepares a bag by inserting objects that are related to the content of an upcoming lesson or unit.  For instance, if ninth graders are beginning a unit of procedure text of making food and beverage, the teacher might place a knife, a spatula, etc inside the bag.  Small groups of students are each given a bag (which may or may not contain identical items) and either at the teacher’s signal or on their own, students remove one object at a time from the bag.  As each object is removed, the students’ task is to identify and talk about the object.  They are encouraged to draw on their experiences with or knowledge about the object.  If a spatula is pulled from the bag, for instance, students share what they know about its use.  Then another item is taken from the bag.  Students again identify it. 

10.  Response Cards

This strategy engages students in talking about content from a variety of perspectives.  The teacher prepares for the activity by gathering colored index cards, making decisions about the tasks he or she wants the student to perform, and recording those tasks on the cards.  For example, the teacher might write “Question” on all of the yellow cards, “Connect” on all of the blue cards, and “Summarize” on all of the green cards.  Then he or she randomly distributes the cards to the students, one card per student.

            As the teacher reads, lectures, shows a video, or provides some other instructional input, he or she invites the students to think about the content from the perspective of a questioner, connector, or summarizer, depending on the card they received.  Those with yellow cards think about questions they have about the content, those with blue cards think about connections they can make between the content and their lives or other material they have learned, and those with green cards think about how they would summarize the information being presented.

            The teacher pauses in his or her instruction after several minutes and asks the students with the yellow cards to meet with one or two other students with a yellow card and, as a team, generate questions.              Likewise, he or she asks the students with the blue card to meet with one or two others.  After giving students a few minutes of talk time, the teacher asks the students to share their questions, connections, and summaries with the whole group.  Then the teacher continues with his or her instruction and, at an appropriate point, stops and gain asks the students to meet with partners and engage in their assigned tasks.

            After several opportunities to question, connect, or summarize, the teacher tells the students to trade their cards for one of a different color.  The students engage in the new tasks and meet with different classmates as they talk about the content of the lesson.

            The response cards strategy is generally a highly motivating experience that stimulates considerable discussion about the topic and provides students with an opportunity to think-and talk-about the content from more than one perspective.

11. Jigsaw

The Jigsaw strategy has a long history and numerous variations (Kagan 1994).  It is an approach to instruction that involves the students becoming experts in some portion of the learning material.  Students form groups and each member is assigned or selects one section of the material to be learned.  The students gather information about heir portions of the material, often using text resource, and then teach the information their groupmates.  Jigsaw provides an outstanding opportunity for students to deeply process content and use specialized content vocabulary to teach their peers. 

12. Four Corners

Four Corners gets students out of their seats and talking with classmates about important content or ideas.  The teacher asks a questions or makes a statement and then sends the students to the four corners of the classroom to respond to the prompt.  For example, the teacher might ask students to think about whether they agree with the following statement after reading A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (2001): “Tree-ear was foolish to carry the potter’s vases to the royal court.”  After giving the students a few moments to think about this statement, the teacher asks them to go to the corner of the room that reflects their reaction to the statement.  The corners are designated Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree.  In their corners, the students discuss their ideas about the statement.  Then the teacher invites students in each corner to share the group’s thinking about the statement.  Sometimes teachers prepare and ask for responses to several statements before students begin moving to corners to that after discussing the first statement, students can travel to the next corner-at a signal-to discuss their responses to the next statement.

            A variation of this strategy is to assign the students to corners.  After the students have learned about changes to the earth’s surface, for example, the teacher might randomly assign students to corners labeled Earthquake, Erosion and Weathering, Landslides, and Volcanic Eruptions.  Students talk about what they know about each of these change processes and then summarize the group’s discussions for the class.                                 

                                    (Source: Vocabulary Instruction for Academic Success by Ashley Bishop, et al)

Model-Model Pembelajaran:

LEARNING MODELS: COLLABORATIVE LEARNING TECHNIQUES

Nur Zaida

I. Pendahuluan

A. Latar Belakang

Pembelajaran yang efektif tidak hanya terjadi karena materi yang disampaikan sesuai namun juga karena cara penyampainnya tepat.  Untuk dapat menyampaikan dengan tepat, guru perlu memahami model-model pembelajaran yang telah teruji baik secara empiris maupun praktis.

          Model-model pembelajaran telah banyak disampaikan dalam pelatihan-pelatihan.  Namun dalam prakteknya banyak guru yang belum memahami model-model yang sesuai bagi pembelajaran di kelas mereka. 

Mengingat banyaknya jenis model pembelajaran yang telah diciptakan oleh para pakar pendidikan, maka materi TOT ini menfokuskan pembahasan pada model pembelajaran kolaboratif.       

B. Kompetensi

Peserta mampu mengimplementasikan model-model pembelajaran kolaboratif dalam proses belajar mengajar.

II. Materi

A. What is Collaborative Learning?

       To collaborate is to work with another or others.  In practice, collaborative learning has come to mean students working in pairs or small groups to achieve shared learning goals.  It is learning through group work rather than learning by working alone. 

B. What is the Difference between Cooperative and Collaborative Learning?

       The main difference is that the goal of cooperative learning is to work together in harmony and mutual support to find the solution, the goal of collaborative learning is to develop autonomous, articulate, thinking people, even if at times such a goal encourages dissent and competition that seems to undercut the ideals of cooperative learning. 

C. Some Kinds of Collaborative Learning Techniques (CoLTs)

Techniques for Discussion	·      Think-Pair –Share ·      Round Robin ·      Buzz Groups ·      Talking Chips ·      Three-Step Interview ·      Critical Debate
Techniques for Reciprocal Teaching	·      Note-Taking Pairs ·      Learning Cell ·      Fishbowl ·      Role Play ·      Jigsaw ·      Test Taking Teams
Techniques for Problem Solving	·      Think-Aloud Pair Problem Solving TAPPS ·      Send-A-Problem ·      Case Study ·      Structured Problem Solving ·      Analytic Teams ·      Group Investigation
Techniques Focusing on Writing	·      Dialogue Journals ·      Round Table ·      Dyadic Essays ·      Peer Editing ·      Collaborative Writing

                                                       (Barkely, et al. 2004)

III. Strategi Pembelajaran

·         Social icebreakers

·         Paparan Penyaji

·         Diskusi

·         Simulasi

IV. Cakupan Materi

           

A. Techniques for Discussion

1. Think-Pair-Share

2. Round Robin

3. Buzz Groups

4. Talking Chips

5. Three-Step Interview

6. Critical Debate

Ringkasan tiap teknik:

Techniques:	Is a Technique in Which Students:	It is Particularly Useful for:
1. Think-Pair-Share	Think individually for a few minutes, and then discuss and compare their responses with a partner before sharing with the entire class.	Preparing students to participate more fully and effectively in whole class discussions.
2. Round Robin	Generates ideas and speak in order moving from one student to the next.	Structuring brainstorming sessions and ensuring that all students participate.
3. Buzz Group	Discuss course-related questions informally in small groups of peers.	Generating lots of information and ideas in a short period of time to prepare for and improve whole-class discussions.
4. Talking Chips	Participate in a group discussion and surrender a token each time they speak.	Ensuring equitable participation.
5. Three-Step Interview	Interview each other and report what they learn to another pair.	Helping students network and improve communication skills.
6. Critical Debates	Assume and argue the side of an issue that is in opposition to their personal views.	Developing critical thinking skills and encouraging students to challenge their existing assumptions.

B. Techniques for Reciprocal Teaching

1. Note-Taking Pairs

2. Learning Cell

3. Fish bowl

4. Role Play

5. Jigsaw

6. Test-Taking Teams

Ringkasan tiap teknik:

Techniques:	Is a Technique in Which Students:	It is Particularly Useful for:
1. Note-Taking Pairs	Pool information from their individual notes to create an improved, partner version	Helping students acquire missing information and correct inaccuracies in their notes and learn to become better note takers.
2. Learning Cell	Quiz each other using questions they have developed individually about a reading assignment or other learning activity	Engaging students actively in thinking about content and encouraging them to challenge each other to pursue deeper levels of thought
3. Fishbowl	Form concentric circles with the smaller, inside group of students discussing and the larger, outside group listening and observing	Providing opportunities for students to model or observe group processes in discussion setting
4. Role Play	Assume a different identity and act out a scenario	Engaging student in a creative activity that helps them “learn by doing”
5. Jigsaw	Develop knowledge about a given topic and then teach it to others	Motivating students to learn and process information deeply enough to teach it to their peers
6. Test-Taking Teams	Prepare for a test in working groups, take the test individually, and then take the test in their groups	Helping students assess and improve their understanding of subject matter as they also teach each other test-taking strategies

V. Persiapan dan Prosedur Tiap Teknik

1.      THINK PAIR SHARE

Preparation:

Prior to coming to class, spend time developing an engaging question or problem that has many potential responses.  Try responding to the questions yourself.  Decide how you are going to present the question (such as worksheet, overhead transparency, whiteboard) and how you are going to have students report out.

Procedure:

1)      Pose the question to the class, giving students a few minutes to think about the question and devise individual responses.

2)      Ask students to pair with another student nearby.

3)      Ask Student A to share his or her responses with Student B, and then Student B to share Ideas with Student A.  Suggest that if the two students disagree, they clarify their positions so that they are ready to explain how and why they disagree.  If useful, request that pairs create a joint response by building on each other’s ideas.

2.      ROUND ROBIN

Preparation:

The purpose of a brainstorming session is to create an extensive list of ideas.  Crafting a prompt that can generate a sufficiently rich array of responses that can be expressed quickly and succinctly is particularly important.  Practice ahead of time by thinking of and listing as many possible responses as you can.  You can use the length o your list to predict the duration of your in-class exercise and to decide whether or not groups should rotate through Round Robin more than once.

Procedure:

1)      Ask students to form groups of four to six.

2)      Explain that the purpose of brainstorming is to generate many ideas.  Group member will take turns, moving clockwise, and respond to the question.  Inform students that to prevent interrupting or inhibiting the flow of ideas, they must refrain from evaluating, questioning, or discussing the ideas.

3)      If it would be beneficial for students to assume a role (such as recorder or rule enforcer), allow a few moments for role assignment.

4)      Tell students whether or not they will go around the group once or multiple times, announce a time limit, and pose the prompt.

5)      Ask one student to begin the activity by stating an idea or answer aloud.  The activity continues, moving from member to member in sequence, until all students have participated.

3.      BUZZ GROUPS

Preparation:

Prior to coming to class, decide what the Buzz Groups will discuss.  Craft one or more engaging discussion prompts that tend toward the conceptual rather than factual and that will stimulate an open-ended examination of ideas.  Try responding to the questions yourself, so that you are confident that they will generate variety of responses.  Choose the manner in which you are going to present the prompt questions, such as on a worksheet, overhead transparency, or whiteboard.

Procedure:

1)      Form groups; announce the discussion prompts and time limit.

2)      Ask group members to exchange ideas in response to the prompts.

3)      Check periodically to see whether groups are still actively engaged and focused on the assigned topic.  If off topic, shorten the time limit.  If on topic and the time has ended, consider extending the limit for a few minutes.

4)      Ask the students to return to whole-class discussion and restate the prompt to begin.

4.      TALKING CHIPS

Preparation:

Determine a question or problem for group discussion.  Bring poker chips, playing cards, or simply gather a sufficient number of paper clips, pencils, chalk, or other available items to serve as tokens.

Procedure:

1)      Form student groups.

2)      Give each student three to five tokens that will serve as permission to share, contribute, or debate in the conversation.

3)      Ask students to participate equally in the group discussion, specifying that as they contribute comments, they should surrender a token and place it in view of the other group members.

4)      When all students have contributed to the discussion and all tokens are down, ask students to retrieve and redistribute the chips so that the procedure repeats for the next round of discussion, or end the discussion if the activity is complete.

5.      THREE-STEP INTERVIEW

In Three-Step Interview, student pairs take turns interviewing each other and then report what they learn to another pair.  The three steps (Interview-Interview-Report) are:

Step 1: Student A interviews Student B.

Step 2: Student B interviews Student A.

Step 3: Students A and B each summarizes their partner’s responses for Students C and D, and vice versa.

Preparation:

Develop a list of interview questions prior to the class session.  Interview questions that are particularly effective ask a person about opinions or experiences related to course content. 

Procedure:

1)      Students divide into groups of four, and quads subdivide into pairs A-B and C-D.

2)      Student A interviews B and student C interviews D for a predetermined time.  The interviewer asks questions, listens, and probes for further information but does not evaluate or respond.

3)      Partners reverse roles and interview each other for the same amount of time.

4)      Students A and B introduce each other with synthesized summaries of their partner’s interview responses to Students C and D.  Students C and D do the same for Students A and B.

6.      CRITICAL DEBATE

Preparation:

Critical Debate is a fairly complex technique and thus requires ample preparation.  First, spend sufficient time selecting a controversial topic in the field with two identifiable, arguable, and opposing sides that are appropriate to debate.  

            Second, determine whether students need any background information to address the proposition.  Prepare students for the debate through lecture, assigned reading, discussion, or student research on the topic.

            Third, identify ground rules.  For example, allow students to use as many arguments as they wish, or have students spend five to ten minutes brainstorming all possible arguments supporting their position and then select their five best arguments.  Consider whether each team should select one person as spokesperson, or whether each member of the team will be responsible for presenting at least one of the arguments.  Thinking about ground rules ahead of time will also provide the opportunity to decide whether to assign team members specific roles, such as team leader or timekeeper.

Procedure:

1)      Propose the motion and ask students to identify which side of the proposition they most support.  They can indicate a preference by raising their hands or by writing their names and choice on a sign-up sheet or piece of paper.

2)      Explain to students that they will argue the side that is contrary to their own beliefs, stressing the benefits of arguing against their personal views (for example, it helps them to clarify their own ideas and to deepen their understating of the issue).

3)      Divide students into four- to six-member teams, with half the teams assigned to one side of the argument and the other half assigned to the opposing argument.  Try to get as many students as possible arguing for the side they disagree with, realizing that especially with complex issues, students will likely not divide evenly.  A large group of students who ‘don’t know’ or who gravitate toward a middle position will provide a fair amount of flexibility in group formation.

4)      Explain ground rules and give students time to assign roles and organize how they will prepare for and conduct the debate.

5)      Give students time to prepare their arguments (such as fifteen to thirty minutes).

6)      Pair teams representing opposing sides.

7)      Announce and allow time to present arguments (such as five minutes each side, ten minutes total).

8)      Give teams time to prepare rebuttals (such as ten minutes)

9)      Announce and allow time to present rebuttals (such as five minutes each side, ten minutes total).

10)  Hold a whole-class discussion to summarize the important issues and to give students the opportunity to discuss the experience of arguing opinions they do no hold.

7.      NOTE-TAKING PAIRS

Description and Purpose:

In Note-Taking Pairs, student partners work together to improve their individual notes.  Working with a peer provides students with an opportunity to revisit and cross-check notes with another source.  Partners help each other acquire missing information and correct inaccuracies so that their combined effort is superior to their individual notes.

            Being able to take good notes is an important learning skill, yet many students are poor note takers; their notes are incomplete and inaccurate.  The purpose of this technique is to provide students with a structured activity to pool information, fill in gaps, check for and correct mistakes, and help each other learn to be better note takers.  Although Note-Taking Pairs was originally designed to improve lecture notes, teachers now also use it to help students improve their notes on reading assignments and other kinds of learning activities.

Preparation:

Consider providing students with guidance about how to take good notes in a mini-lecture, a handout, or by providing examples of effective notes.  Also, present material in class in ways that encourage students to take detailed notes.  For example, speak slowly; provide handouts of complicated graphs and figures so that students can keep up; and use the whiteboard or overhead projector to show overall structure by using titles and headings. 

Procedure:

1)      Students individually take notes of the major points from a lesson or a chapter.

2)      Students form pairs, at your direction or by choosing partners.

3)      Partner A begins by summarizing the main points from a section of the content to Partner B, who offers corrections and additional information.

4)      Partner B summarizes the next section, and Partner A offers corrections and additional information.

5)      The partners continue to alternate sharing summaries, corrections, and additional information until they have completed checking their notes.

8.      LEARNING CELL

Description and Purpose:

In Learning Cells, students individually develop questions about a reading assignment or other learning activity and then work with a partner, alternating asking and answering each other’s questions.

            The purpose of this technique is to engage students actively in thinking about content, to encourage students to generate thought-provoking questions, and to teach students how to check their understanding. 

Preparation:

Prepare students by teaching them how to write good questions.

Procedure:

1)      Ask students to individually develop a list of questions and answers dealing with the major points raised in a reading or other learning assignment.

2)      Form student pairs, or simply ask students to partner with a student sitting nearby.

3)      Explain the process by which you want partners to alternate asking and answering each other’s questions.

4)      Student A begins by asking the first question, and Student B answers the question.  Student A offers corrections and additional information until a satisfactory answer is achieved.

5)      Student B asks the next question and Student A answer, and the process repeats until all questions have been asked and answered.

9.      FISHBOWL

Description and Purpose:

In Fishbowl, an outer circle of students sits around a smaller, inner circle of students.  Students in the inner circle engage in an in-depth discussion, while students in the outer circle consider what is being said an how it is being said.  This technique has also been called Inside Outside Circles.  Inner circle students are challenged to participate in a high-level discussion while the outer circle is able to listen to the discussion and critique content, logic, and group interaction.  This technique therefore serves two purpose opportunities for students to model or observe group processes in a discussion setting.

Preparation:

Decide whether you want to facilitate the inner circle discussion, sit with the outer circle, or separate yourself so that you can observe both circles.

            In class, preparation time involves having students move into the circles and giving students instructions.  You will need moveable chairs and sufficient classroom space to form the circles.  If the physical constraints of the classroom do not allow movement of chairs into circles, consider having the inner circle of students simply sit in chairs and participate n the discussion at the front of the classroom.

Procedure:

1)      Ask a small group of students (generally three to five) to form a circle in class, and ask the remaining students to form a larger circle around the first circle.

2)      Give students the following guidelines: Only inner circle students will speak; outer circle students will be ‘observers’ and will take notes on both content and group process; although observers will not speak during the Fishbowl discussion, they will have the opportunity to address any issues that arise in the follow-up discussion.

3)      Give students the prompt question for discussion.

4)      Ask students to report out in a whole-class discussion, requesting that they address the content issues that arose and that they comment on group processes.

10.  ROLE PLAY

Preparation:

It is critical to spend thoughtful time designing the scenario for your Role Play.  Appropriate scenarios require interaction from stakeholders with multiple perspectives.  Therefore, identify the perspectives and define the type and number of characters and the framework for their actions.  In addition to the roles for persons who are participating in the action, consider assigning group process roles such as moderator (who can, for example, intervene if a person is falling out of character) or observer (who interprets and comments on the action).  When crafting the basic story line, it is best to initiate the action through a critical event that the players must respond to, such as a comment by one of the actors or an incident that has just occurred.  Identify resources (if any) for each of the playing roles, and decide how the activity will end.  For example, will you set a time limit, or will you let the scenario end naturally?

Procedures:

1)      Ask students to form groups with enough members in each group to assume each stakeholder role.

2)      Present the scenario and allow time for discussion of the problem situation.  It is important to allow sufficient time for students to ask questions on any aspects of the scenario that are unclear.

3)      Assign or ask students to each assume a stakeholder role.  If assigning group process roles such as moderator or observer, make sure students are clear on their tasks.

4)      Inform students of the time limit or other parameters that will signify the end of the activity.

5)      Instruct students to enact the role play. The role play should run only until the proposed behavior is clear, the targeted characteristic has been developed, or the skill has been practiced.

6)      Follow the role play with a discussion within the small groups and/or with the whole class.  Discussion should focus on the students’ interpretations of the roles and the motivations for and consequences of their actions.

7)      Consider asking students to reenact the role play, changing characters or redefining the scenario and then holding another discussion.

11.  JIGSAW

Description and Purpose:

Students work in small groups to develop knowledge about a given topic and to formulate effective ways of teaching it to others. These ‘expert’ groups then break up, and students move to new ‘jigsaw’ groups, each group consisting of students who have developed expertise in different subtopics.  Jigsaw is helpful in motivating students to accept responsibility for learning something well enough to teach it to their peers.  It also gives each student a chance to be in the spotlight.  When students assume the role of teacher, they lead the discussion, so even students who are reticent to speak in class must take on leadership roles.  This technique is also an efficient strategy for extending the breadth, depth, and scope of learning because students learn and teach multiple topics simultaneously during the same class sessions.

Preparation:

Spend sufficient time designing the learning task.  The topic should be simple enough for students with a good grasp of the subject to teach it to their peers, but complex enough to require discussion and the design of interesting strategies for instruction.  The topic should divide usefully into a number of expert groups of equal numbers of students. 

Procedure:

1)      The instructor presents a list of possible topics for developing expertise, making the division of the material into component parts clear.

2)      Either through teacher assignment or by interest areas, students from groups charged with developing expertise on a particular topic.

3)      Students work in these expert groups to master the topic.  They also determine ways to help others learn the material, exploring possible explanations, examples, illustrations, and applications.

4)      Students move from their expert groups to new jigsaw groups in which each student serves as the only expert on a specific topic.  In these groups, experts teach the material and lead the discussion on their particular topic.  Thus each new jigsaw group consists of four to six students, each prepare to teach their subject to their peers.

5)      The whole class reflects on the group discoveries in a closure activity.

12.  TEST-TAKING TEAMS 

Description and Purpose:

Students work in teams to prepare for instructor-created exams and then take the exams first individually and next as a group.  This will involve three steps: 1) the group studies for the exam together, 2) individuals take the exam, and 3) the group takes the exam.  By working together to prepare for the exam, students help each other deepen their understanding of the content.  Because each student first takes the test independently, this technique emphasizes individual accountability.  By retaking the test as a team, individual students benefit from the collective knowledge of the group.  Since the group score is generally superior to the individual score, Test-Taking Teams is useful for demonstrating the value of collaborative learning.  This technique may be used for short quizzes within a single class period or for tests covering larger amounts of material.

Preparation:

Once you have determined the content that students should master and you have presented it in lecture, reading assignment, or other activity, the preparation for this technique is the same as preparing a good examination for individual. 

Procedure:

1)      Ask students to form groups of four to six members.  Make sure that each team contains diverse or ability-balanced membership.

2)      Depending on the size and complexity of the material to be mastered, the groups may meet for fifteen minutes, for a full class session, or longer.

3)      Administer the test for students to complete individually and to submit to the instructor for grading.

4)      Before retuning the graded individual tests, ask student to rejoin their groups to reach a consensus on the answers and submit a group response to the test.

5)      Consider averaging individual test grades and group test grades to determine individual grades.  Weight scores, as, for example, two-third for individual plus one-third for group.

Referensi

Barkkley, E.F. et al. (2004). Collaborative Learning Techniques. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Slavin, R.E. (1990). Cooperative Learning: Theory, research, and practice. Boston: Allyn