Group Work that Works

Promote cooperative learning more effectively by transforming your classroom into a learning community. Experienced K–12 educators Paul J. Vermette and Cynthia L. Kline offer their Dual Objective Model as a tool for improving your students’ academic achievement and problem-solving skills, while encouraging their social and emotional development.You’ll discover how to: assign meaningful tasks that require students to rely on one another; build efficient teams, purposefully monitor group dynamics, and assess group projects effectively; engage students in schoolwork while developing crucial career and life skills; motivate students to see the importance of personal and group responsibility; maximize the benefits of student diversity in your classroom.Emphasizing teamwork, persistence, communication, self-regulation, and empathy in a complex, diverse, and technological setting, these strategies can be easily incorporated into any curriculum. The book is filled with vignettes and sample exercises to help you apply the ideas to your own classroom. Each chapter includes a list of "Big Ideas," which invites you to consider how these strategies can evolve over time.

"Group Work that Works provides the groundwork for a responsive, empathic classroom in which all students enjoy 'home court advantage.' The voice of the student is heard. In this book, the dual objectives of cognitive and affective development will lead the committed reader to put aside some preconceived notions of classroom instruction.The classroom vignettes and case studies are well chosen to fit the whole student philosophy that is in every sinew of the book. Especially remarkable is the opportunity for the reader to reflect upon the scenarios, thereby exhibiting a path for teacher learning from experience.Another positive feature is the comprehensive inclusion of major teaching ideas and frameworks such as those embedded in cooperative learning. The authors’ selection is well referenced and reflects the best wisdom in the teaching profession. The beauty of Vermette and Kline’s text is the bringing together of this collective wisdom into a cohesive, practical whole.The authors show sensitivity to the teachers in their work settings, especially as it pertains to the need for evidence of student progress in both cognitive and affective domains. In general, they anticipate teachers’ concerns and speak directly to these.If I were teaching teachers at undergraduate or graduate levels, I would use this text gladly and without hesitation." --Frank T. Lyman,Jr. PhD.

Paul J. Vermette has served as a teacher and supervisor of social studies in public and parochial schools in New York and New Jersey and has been a Professor of Education at Niagara University since 1985.Cynthia L. Kline is an independent educational consultant and business professional serving both domestic and international K–20 settings.