This week marks a new beginning in the way students in 6L engage with learning.

Students have been arranged in Collaborative Clusters – teams of students who can collaborate, problem-solve and share ideas about different topics.

This works within the framework that most of what we do in class revolves around projects or problems.  This is know as Project-Based Learning (PBL).

Each member of the team has a specific role for the day.  The roles are:

Task Master – They make sure that everyone’s voice is heard and that the group is focusing their work around the learning task.

Recorder/Tech Support – They compile the team’s ideas on a collaborative graphic organiser or online tool.  They access the laptop computer to assist with research or typing up information.  They control the technology that is used during presentations.

Time Keeper Encourages the team to stay on task and announces when time is halfway through and/or nearly up.

Reporter – Presents the team’s work to the rest of the class.

Go-To-Guy – Briefly leaves the group to get supplies or to request help from the teacher when group members agree that they do not have the resources to solve the problem.

The response from the class about this type of learning has been overwhelmingly positive, as you can see from this poll I conducted in Edmodo:

Here are some photos of the Collaborative Clusters (or CCs as we call them) at work during a Maths lesson.  The teams were working collaboratively on solving the area of irregular shapes.