Class Building
This microcredential represents knowledge, skills, and practices needed to effectively build a class of individuals with different backgrounds and experiences into a caring community of active learners. Kagan refers to this as Class Building. It represents the skill of providing class-building activities that are whole-class inclusion activities where students interact with classmates in positive ways.
To earn this 0.5 credit microcredential you will submit one type of evidence from the list below to demonstrate your successful implementation of class-building. You will also complete a short written or video reflective analysis. Click Earn This Microcredential to learn more!
This microcredential represents much more than simply requiring classes of learners to participate in "trust-building" exercises or games. This microcredential focuses on educators' effective and and consistent use of strategies and structures that build trust, interdependence, and learner success.
students working together to accomplish shared learning goals, with each student achieving their learning goal if and only if the other group members achieve theirs
Positive interdependence:individual achievement of goals if and only if the other group members achieve theirs
Individual accountability:each member is accountable for their own achievement and contribution
Structures:Kagan designed learning experiences that maximize student interaction with each other and academic content; can be seen as a strategy
On the first day of class, Mrs. Johanson in a 7th grade class asks students to stand and prepare to walk around. She explicitly explains they are going to participate in a class-building structure called Mix-Pair-Share. She explains that everyone will participate and share their ideas as there are not any bad ideas. Everyone is valued and has something to share. She poses the question, "What do you value in a positive learning environment?" Students then mix around until the music stops, they then pair up with the closest person and share their thoughts, one at a time. Mrs. Johanson repeats the same question. After three rounds she has students return to their seats and record their ideas and the ideas of classmates. The next round is the same but with a new question. Students are required to go to three different people and the question is, "What are our goals as a class?". She follows with three rounds of Mix-Pair-Share and then recording. The final set is, "How are we going to reach our goals?" From this activity students are asked to work in teams to create a set of class guidelines that are inclusive, equitable, and positive. After teams share the whole class works to consolidate trust and interdependence.
Category: Preparation and Planning
Select ONE of the evidence options below to demonstrate your preparation and planning for class building to support cooperative learning.
Submit a lesson plan you have developed with the objective of class building. This lesson plan should demonstrate your ability to effectively organize students into a class building activity and create a culture of respect and collective learning, where all students are participating and interacting with classmates in positive way.
Category: Implementation
Select ONE of the evidence options below to demonstrate your ability to implement class building strategies.
Record and submit a 5 - 10 minute video of your classroom. This video should demonstrate your skill of effectively organizing students into a class building activity, creating a culture of respect and collective learning, where all students are participating and interacting with classmates in positive way. Be sure to follow your district/charter guidelines for student privacy.
Submit one observation from a colleague or administrator that documents and describes how you effectively organize students into a class building activity to create a culture of respect and collective learning, where all students are participating and interacting with classmates in positive ways.
Review Criteria
Criterion 1: The evidence demonstrates effective and efficient management and purposeful use of class-building structures and activities.
Criterion 2: The educator demonstrates that the class-building cooperative activity uses a structure or strategy that ensures whole-class inclusion, positive student interaction and development of students feeling of belonging in "our class".
Describe the class-building structures you implement in your practice and explain how they support student interactions that are respectful and inclusive.
Describe how your class-building structures/strategies develop a sense of belonging in "our class" for each individual.
What steps do you plan to take to strengthen your class-building skills?
Review Criteria
Criterion 1. The educator reflects on the planning and purpose of class building activities, the structure or strategy used for class-building cooperative learning.
Criterion 2. The educator reflects on class-building cooperative activities and how the create positive, inclusive student interactions, that develop a sense of belonging in "our class".
Criterion 3. The educator reflects on the effectiveness and efficiency of class building and respectful inclusion for all students and how to continue and improve the implementation of class-building activities for the future.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/oct14/vol72/num02/Making-Cooperative-Learning-Powerful.aspx
This article, written by a seminal researcher of cooperative learning, describes the steps of implementation towards effective and efficient cooperative learning. This resource helps educators design cooperative learning activities to ensure positive interdependence, individual accountability, equal participation, and simultaneous participation.
Teach Thought--10 Team-building games that promote critical thinking
https://www.teachthought.com/critical-thinking/10-team-building-games-that-promote-critical-thinking/
This website provides videos of critical thinking activities with the purpose of team-building.
60 Kagan Structures: More proven engagement strategies--by Dr. Spencer Kagan, Miguel Kagan, & Laurie Kagen
This book is the second in the Kagan series of cooperative learning structures. It describes It describes the rationale, research, and effective use and design of cooperative learning structures. It also is a resource to offer over 60 structures and provides the purpose and reasoning for when and why each structure could be used.
Kagan Cooperative Learning--by Dr. Spencer Kagan & Miguel Kagan
This book is the foundation for cooperative learning structures. It describes the rationale, research, and effective use and design of cooperative learning structures. It also is a resource to offer over 59 structures and provides the purpose and reasoning for when and why each structure could be used. Chapter 9 speaks specifically to class-building. Additionally, it provides more information on how to implement more classic styles of cooperative learning strategies that were not designed by the authors.
Cooperative Learning: Office of Research Education Consumer Guide
https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/OR/ConsumerGuides/cooplear.html
This resource is a brief overview of what cooperative learning is and why it is used. It provides the research behind cooperative learning. Additionally, it provides outside resource contacts to get more information.
Johns Hopkins: Boundless Learning Co-teaching
http://olms.cte.jhu.edu/2825
This website provides a list of class-building structures to implement to provide positive interactions.
Class building activities for the first week of school: Milken Educator Awards
https://www.milkeneducatorawards.org/connections/articles/view/10-team-building-activities-for-the-first-week-of-school
This website contains a list of activities for class-building for the first week of school or after.
Continue class-building all year long
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/blog-posts/lindsey-petlak/continue-class-team-building-all-year-long/
This Scholastic website has rationale and a descriptive list of activities that provide class-building all through the year. Many of the activities include academics along with class-building.
Classbuilding by Dr. Spencer Kagan
This book contains specific structures for class-building.
Candice Brindley
Janae Carpenter
Melissa Maria De Camargo
Jessica Kempter
Tori Konold
Kimberly Martinez-Deherrera
Cynthia White
Alvin Wilkes
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Salt Lake City, UT 84111-3204
Phone: 801.538.7807