TASKs for democracy

Activity 47
Modelling a democratic culture
through co-operative learning
DESCRIPTION
Original activity contributed by Carmen Becker
Focus: this activity will introduce learners to co-operative learning (CL) structures and familiarise them with
it through active participation, in a “hands-on” way. Participants will be able to reflect on how CL can be used
to explicitly teach social skills that underlie democratic behaviour. The basic assumption is that implementing
CL structures develops these skills in participants/pupils and as a consequence democratic processes can be
strengthened. The activities are adaptable for the classroom. They are adapted from: Green N. and Green K.
(2005), Kooperatives Lernen im Klassenraum und im Kollegium, Kallmeyer Verlag, Hannover.
Target group: pre-/in-service teachers of age groups 3-5/6-10/10-14/14-18/adult learners
Expected learning outcomes:
A_HR_4 Willingness to act and encourage others to act against discrimination, prejudices, stereotypes
and injustice
S_HR_1 Ability to promote “convivencia”
K_COOP_3 Understanding of how co-operation can support the prevention of conflict, discrimination
and violence
Type of activity: Core/main activity
PROCEDURE
Step 1 (Think-pair-share – groups of four – 60 minutes)
1. Let participants choose where they want to sit at first.
2. Group finding and contact activity: hand each table three or four cut-out pieces of the clippings and
ask them to find their new partners by finding the group members who have the missing pieces of the
puzzle. When the new groups are formed ask them to sit around a table facing each other.
Give the participants numbers (the one sitting closest to the trainer is No. 1, then count clockwise),
and assign them their roles.
Ask participants to discuss: “For each of your group members guess a quality for which they are liked/
valued by their pupils.”
3. Explain the “think-pair-share” task: show the “square wheel” picture (Task sheet 3) and the following
statement: “What does the picture tell us about group work in school?” Have participants go through
the process:
Think: individually think about the question and note down your answers (5 minutes)
Pair: orally exchange your results with a partner (1 minute/participant)
Share: orally exchange your results with another pair. Each summarises their first partner’s results.
(1 minute/participant)
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