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Philosophy
A Co-operative Approach to Learning
Our curriculum is driven by co-operative learning, which is embedded throughout the programme and focuses on individual pupil accountability, common goals and recognition of team success. This emphasis on partner and team sharing, and the opportunities that children are given to work with peers, enables them to master
new skills, whilst encouraging them to develop into active, thoughtful learners.
Why use Co-operative Learning?
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Promotes learning and academic achievement
and increases retention-
Enhances satisfaction with their learning experience
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Helps develop skills in oral communication
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Develops social skills
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Promotes self-esteem
Ensuring success for all children whatever their background
The
programme emphasises prevention and early
intervention to respond to any child's
learning problems and prevent early failure
in literacy and maths.
We are completely committed to improving the
quality of children’s learning in
geographical areas of social deprivation. We
believe that by relentlessly pursuing
excellence for every child, and implementing
radical new strategies, we can make a
difference to this.
Concepts Central to Co-operative Learning
There are three concepts that are
central to co-operative learning in Success
for All classrooms, especially at Key Stage
Two and key Stage Three:
Team
Recognition:
Students work in partnerships or
teams of four to five members, and teams
earn certificates or other recognition
for achieving a designated standard
together.
Individual Accountability:
Teams work together to complete a
project, solve a problem, or prepare for
a test, but each individual student is
responsible for completing an individual
product and assessment. There are no
group grades.
Equal Opportunities for Success:
Students and teams are never in
direct competition with one another. To
earn individual recognition, students
compete against their own past
performance rather than against their
classmates. So, every student has an
equal opportunity to succeed. To earn
group recognition, teams strive not
against other teams but toward a common
standard, so every team has the same
opportunity to experience success.
The following
Co-operative Learning Standards define
expected learning behaviours and discrete
skills:
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Practice
Active Listening-
Help and
Encourage Each Other-
Everyone
Participates-
Explain
Your Ideas; Tell Why-
Complete
Tasks
Cycle of
Effective Instruction
The co-operative-learning structures
described above are supported by an
interactive instructional model known as the
Cycle of Effective Instruction. Though the
Cycle of Effective Instruction unfolds in
different ways or over different periods of
time in different Success for All curricula,
the basic principles described by the chart
below remain the same in each.
This framework is used successfully to teach
learning behaviours, Co-operative Learning
standards, academic content, processes,
strategies, and skills.
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