CPO Users Forum

Managing Group Work in the Classroom

Managing the Equipment Between Teachers

Working in Groups This is a dynamic classroom setting

You are the facilitator

It is essential to know your students

Know different ways to align your students for success

Have roles for each student

The Plan Know how you are grouping students when

planning the lab It is important to be able to circulate in the

room and measure each groups progress Inquiry learning is about letting the

students discover for themselves – a guided discovery

Alleviate down time – Keeping them busy means less problems.

Choosing the Groups Students choosing their groups can

sometimes be successful If you let them pick their own groups

you need to know which groups to challenge and which to help

Use different labs for different level groups

Have strategies for assigning groups – it is wise to have different ways of grouping students

Have Roles for Students Each student should have a role – have

as many roles as you need

Examples for a basic group of four:

Recorder – Records data Calculator – Performs all calculations Material manager – Handles the

equipment and accounts for the materials Project manager – Encourages others and

communicates all findings with you

Problem Solving In planning for the activity try to

anticipate problems before they occur

Be aware of the following items

More problems can occur if the students pick their own groups – but they may enjoy working with their friends

Grouping strong students with weaker students has many advantages

Remember you are the facilitator of learning

Managing all the Equipment Communicate with other teachers!!!

Work as a team in sharing the lab room or move the equipment, and do the labs on different days.

There is a pacing guide with rotation to use in the reference guide

I like splitting the curriculum in half (Physics and Chemistry)

Recapping the Basics Communicate and work with your fellow

teachers to share the lab room and equipment

Plan to avoid down time in labs, busy students means less trouble. Assign roles for each student

Be prepared to make immediate changes

Facilitate the learning process