Classroom Cohesiveness
Classroom cohesiveness is essential if Cooperative Learning is to be effective in each class.
Group cohesiveness is measured in how comfortable students are with their peers and how safe they feel in sharing and interacting in pairs, teams and the class as a whole.
It is especially important when first setting up Cooperative Learning classrooms, as students may initially be reluctant or even unwilling to share socially and academically.
Games for Cohesiveness
Playing in-classroom and out-of-classroom games is also another great way to foster classroom cohesiveness. The games can be whole class based or simply team (table) based.
Introducing Cooperative Learning &
New Structures for the First Time
When introducing Cooperative Learning Structures and concepts, begin with fun content where there is no wrong answer and content that interests the students. As students work at doing the structures with fun content, they will have positive experiences in interacting with their pairs, teams and the class and begin to feel safe in sharing with others.
Some examples of group cohesiveness activites for specific structures include:
Timed Team Share on what students did on their holidays
Corners on favourite music genres
PairRap on Food beginning with 'P'
Jigsaw on types of paper planes
Click on the individual structures subtabs to see structure specific suggestions for classroom cohesiveness.