Learning Teams for Learning Gains

Carol Brewer
Jan 17, 2012

Learning Teams provide independent study times for students to read, complete their job sheets and to discuss their job sheets from different perspectives. For example, when students read a chapter from an assigned novel, they complete their job sheets and they meet with their team to discuss their job sheets. Job sheets align with different comprehension strategies that have been taught throughout the year. There are job sheets for the Tested 7 Reading Comprehension Strategies, On-Going Reading Comprehension Strategies and the Extending Thinking Strategies. Additional job sheets can be created for the strategies and skills that are being taught.

Learning Teams can be used with any type of text. Think of the power behind reading any type of text and being able to comprehend the text using the different job sheets. This has become very popular in the different content areas because of the "team affect." Students read a content area passage and work independently or with a partner or group to complete their job sheets according to what they have read. For example, there is a job sheet to summarize what has been read, another job sheet to sequence the events, and another to create the details that support the main idea of the text. When you meet with teams, students share their job sheets with the rest of the team. The outcome is a better understanding of what has been read.

The suggested steps for implementing Learning Teams are to model each job sheet before the students complete them on their own (it is suggested to model the job sheet for the students by reading the text, then completing the job sheet for the students), and then students read the next text to apply what has been modeled to complete the same job sheet. This suggested process eliminates any confusion that might occur.

Once you have modeled the job sheets, it is suggested that each member of the team work on the same job sheet together, then with their partner and then the end result is that each student completes the job sheet independently.

The flexible grouping structure for the Learning Teams is:
Explicitly teach the whole group lesson using grade level text and focusing on a reading comprehension strategy. Give an assignment from the whole group instruction that applies what students have learned from the whole group instruction. Average and above grade level students complete the assignment and struggling students meet with you for their flex group. Once the whole group assignment has been completed, the average and above grade level students go to their Learning Team. They get their folder that includes their book and their job sheet. They read their assigned chapter and complete their job sheets. This usually takes about two days to complete. Once completed, teams meet with you to share their job sheets. The outcome is a stronger comprehension skills and presentation skills which are aligned to the discussion. Your job is to facilitate the discussion and to ask the right questions to strengthen comprehension and to make the appropriate connections to real life situations.

The end result for the Learning Teams is student growth and proficiency.

Additional information can be found with the Learning Team chapter from the Flexible Grouping book and flipchart.