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On June 22, 2021, we will launch updated strategies for the Math PK-2 model, as well as additional updates to the Navigator that highlight equity, SEL, and culturally responsive teaching. To learn more, visit our Site Updates (available in the "About" menu at the top of any page).
Hover to see how factors connect to Collaboration. Then click connected factors to explore strategies related to multiple factors.
Collaboration is the ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams. It involves the ability to exercise flexibility and make compromises to accomplish a common goal, along with a shared responsibility for collaborative work. It also includes the ability to express one's ideas, and listen to others' thoughts or needs. Collaboration can be influenced by various factors, including characteristics of the learner, the immediate and surrounding context, and the larger cultural setting and expectations. When students are able to learn with and from each other, they can strengthen their Social Awareness and Relationship Skills, thinking behaviors, and learning outcomes. When students are given opportunities for Collaboration and supported in the process, they learn to work together, communicate with peers to test out ideas, collectively reason, and think critically and creatively.
Collaboration is a multifaceted skill that involves Communication with others, resolving conflicts, and managing tasks. When students are truly collaborating, they are not only working alongside one another (i.e., cooperating) but also working together towards the same shared goal. Learners who collaborate effectively engage in socially shared regulation of learning, where team members are held equally accountable and contribute equally to the work. By adolescence, students have all the tools they need to effectively collaborate towards shared goals, and research shows that by discussing diverse perspectives, peer Collaboration can lead to increased learning. Therefore, building Collaboration into classroom pedagogy may be particularly effective by high school. Educators can create inclusive classroom environments that foster Collaboration by providing scaffolding that allows learners across different skill levels and backgrounds to use their strengths while working and learning together. Meaningful inclusion supports students with diverse interests and abilities by allowing them to bring their own strengths, skills, and practices from home to the classroom, and to respect others' strengths and perspectives. To that end, keeping in mind that students who have language-based learning disabilities or ADHD often have difficulty gauging social cues is an important component of inclusion. In addition, while inattentiveness and impulsivity are often barriers to engagement for learners with ADHD, research has also found that even learners with ADHD who don't display perceived “behavior problems” are still often less engaged.
Socialization practices and cultural paradigms for learning together or dividing roles can contribute to differences in Collaboration that can in turn contribute to learners' Motivation to engage in peer Collaboration in the classroom. For instance, while social interactions are typically scaffolded in urban Western populations, children in Indigenous or farming communities may learn to collaborate through observation and active participation in daily chores and practices without much adult supervision. Therefore, it is important that educators consider cultural differences and culturally-specific social behaviors in their teaching practice, and aim to support students in experiencing positive emotions during Collaboration activities.
Creating an environment that fosters true Collaboration means ensuring that everyone feels comfortable, supported, and engaged and invested in the work. Educators can support engaged and collaborative learning in adolescents by intentionally varying the amount of presence they have and the level of support they provide when students are engaged in project-based tasks or discourse with peers. This encourages learners to ask questions and explain their thinking, to ensure everyone's ideas are seen, heard, and considered. Learners will have to listen as well as respond to what others in the group say and by doing so, figure out gaps in their knowledge. In high school, students and teachers increasingly incorporate technologies into Collaboration, giving rise to computer-supported collaborative learning, which supports the collaborative creation of content and Communication and can promote collaborative learning within and beyond the classroom walls.
Project-based learning (PBL) actively engages learners in authentic tasks designed to create products or design solutions that answer a given question or solve a problem.
Students explaining their thinking during learning is a metacognitive process that involves actively self-questioning or being questioned while exploring new concepts, and explaining thoughts and reasoning in response.
Games support learning, as learners engage with new information in fun and informal ways.
Gallery walks are ways of showcasing content and materials as multiple “exhibitions” for students to view and interact with as part of larger learning goals.
Flexible grouping is a classroom practice that temporarily places students together in given groups to work together, with the purpose of achieving a given learning goal or activity.
As learners work together to solve problems, they learn new strategies and practice Communication skills as they express their academic thinking.
Think-Pair-Share (TPS), also known as Turn & Talk (T&T), is when the teacher pauses instruction so students can discuss a topic or prompt in pairs or small groups, to enhance engagement and learning outcomes.
Communication boards are displays of graphics (e.g., pictures, symbols, illustrations) and/or words where learners can gesture or point to the displays to extend their expressive language potential.
Using motions to explain new concepts or ideas supports the ability to process new information and to convey thinking and conceptual understanding.
Music and dance supports learners in a myriad of ways, including supporting their engagement and motivation, connecting with cultural background, and offering structure during play.
Physical activity and exercise refer to any activities that allow students to engage in movement, physical play, or fitness, promoting physical and mental well-being.
Discussing emotions with students consists of supporting their ability to identify, label, and manage their feelings.
Providing students a voice in their learning is critical for making learning meaningful.
Developing cultural awareness as an educator is an ongoing process that includes a recognition and appreciation for the full diversity of students and an understanding of how one's own Identity intersects with students' Identities.
Equitable grading systems and practices reimagine how to communicate student progress and mastery through various methods that reduce subjectivity, and increase opportunities to learn.
Translanguaging is a flexible classroom practice enabling students to listen, speak, read, and write across their multiple languages or dialects, even if the teacher does not have formal knowledge of these additional languages.
Physical activity and exercise refer to any activities that allow students to engage in movement, physical play, or fitness, promoting physical and mental well-being.
Flipped learning is when the delivery of traditional content (i.e., lectures, videos) occurs outside of the classroom, allowing class time to be used for more active and application-based activities.
A rubric is a tool that communicates expectations for success for students to achieve and can include symbols or charts that are easy for students to understand.
Feedback is the process of providing learners with information about their learning to support their progress and improvement, and can come from a range of sources, including teachers and peers.
Flexible seating refers to the practice of offering students a range of work surfaces, seating sizes and heights, movement, and varied body positions in the classroom, and often incorporates a range of technologies to offer a more personalized learning experience.
Socratic seminar refers to a discussion technique that engages learners in the exploration of content through Critical Thinking and classroom dialogue in order to help learners make meaning from what they are learning.
Youth participatory action research (YPAR) is a student-centered approach that puts the learner at the helm of the research process, from ideation to dissemination, to investigate and advocate for change they want to see in their schools and communities.
An open classroom climate is an educational environment where students feel comfortable and confident expressing their opinions in class.
Collaborative writing activities allow peers to work together to plan, draft, edit, and revise during the composition process, supporting writing skills and engagement with content knowledge as students write to reflect upon and apply what they have learned.
Spaced practice is a learning strategy that deliberately spaces out learning or study sessions over varying periods of time, with the purpose of increasing retention, understanding, and long-term knowledge acquisition.
Retrieval practice requires students to access information, or get information “out” from Long-term memory in order to support better retention and understanding.
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Learner variability is the recognition that each learner is a unique constellation of strengths and challenges that are interconnected across the whole child. Understanding these connections and how they vary according to context is essential for meeting the needs of each learner.
It disrupts the notion of a one-size-fits all education. Understanding learner variability helps educators embrace both students’ struggles and strengths as we connect practice to uplifting the whole learner.
Throughout the site, we talk about "factors" and "strategies." Factors are concepts research suggests have an impact on how people learn. Strategies are the approaches to teaching and learning that can be used to support people in how they learn best.
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On this page, using your heatmap, you will be asked to select factors to further explore, and then select new strategies you might incorporate into upcoming instruction. Once done, click “Show Summary" to view your Design Summary Report.
On this page, using your heatmap, you will be asked to select factors to further explore, and then select new strategies you might incorporate into upcoming instruction. Once done, click “Show Report” to view your Design Summary Report.
By selecting "Show Report" you will be taken to the Assessment Summary Page. Once created, you will not be able to edit your report. If you select cancel below, you can continue to edit your factor and strategy selections.
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Learner variability is the recognition that each learner is a unique constellation of strengths and challenges that are interconnected across the whole child. Understanding these connections and how they vary according to context is essential for meeting the needs of each learner. It embraces both students’ struggles and strengths. It considers the whole child.
Throughout the site, we talk about "factors" and "strategies." Factors are concepts research suggests have an impact on how people learn. Strategies are the approaches to teaching and learning that can be used to support people in how they learn best.
The Learner Variability Navigator is a free, online tool that translates the science of learner variability into factor maps and strategies that highlight connections across the whole learner. This puts the science of learning at teachers' fingertips, empowering them to understand their own practice and support each learner.