Skills and Mastery at Norfolk Academy: Attainment with Cooperative Learning

Oct 2014 Werdelin Education has been working closely with the acting head of Stalham Academy, Andrew Howard, to facilitate the newly converted Academy's vision of high attainment through engaging, high impact student-centred learning. Andrew Howard, acting head at Stalham Academy, 2014. Watch this space! Cooperative Learning is often incorrectly perceived as "talking exercises" unsuitable for teaching specific procedures... Continue Reading →

October 5, 2014 9

Convincing your Head to think about Cooperative Learning #1

To many, Cooperative Learning just seems too good to be true. Although research documenting the effectiveness of CL is extremely copious, I've therefore spent some time looking for a well-organised, well-documented and concise summary that can be used to present the case. This short paper contains the material practical-minded head teacher or colleague would be looking... Continue Reading →

November 23, 2013 5

From Cooperative Learning of skills to Collaboration as a Skill

As a further note to Dr. Lawson's comment on teachers subverting a cumbersome educational system to create amazing teaching, I just came across an article on Personal Learning Network about the distinction between collaborative learning and Cooperative Learning. The author defines Cooperative Learning as an "educational approach that emphasises teacher involvement in setting goals and... Continue Reading →

November 16, 2013 5

Cooperative Learning & the Cultural Imperative

While preparing my paper on the radical education reforms in the Gulf across Arab media, I have been churning through quite a bit of background material over the past few months. Here the biggest bone of contention seems to boil down to the relation between education and identity. These new didactic methods being brought into schools by the reforms, whether on-line... Continue Reading →

November 14, 2013 3

COOPERATIVE LEARNING – or how I learned to love CL at gunpoint

Here's a question for teachers and learners as well as their parents, politicians and principals: So, how do you simultaneously: increase social skills, cooperation and caring, personal interaction and listening skills, suitable verbal expression and body language awareness? instil manners, respect and self-respect, personal responsibility and integrity? engage every individual learner's academic needs at a suitable level, including the timid girl in the corner? ensure equal participation and full accountability, without fights over teacher attention? give... Continue Reading →