List of Articles

• A Novice Teacher Fosters Social Competence With Cooperative Learning

  Is cooperative learning worth the effort? Yes! is the resounding answer from this once-struggling novice 4th grade teacher who found Kagan Structures. The author details her journey from struggling with group work to succeeding with structures. She conducted an inquiry project and found that with Kagan Structures, student interaction patterns changed and promoted less social isolation, disruptive behaviors steadily dropped, and students improved their social skills. Read Article

• A Revolutionary Way to Teach

  Dana Davila recently attend a TESOL conference in Caracas, Venezuela where Dr, Spencer Kagan gave a 16-hour workshop. She describes how this "technique for teaching revolutionized my thinking and had a deep impact on my life." Read Article

• A Story of Inclusion . . . A Model for Us All

  Including special needs students in the regular classroom is an academic detriment to the entire class. The teacher is too busy with students who need extra attention to academically challenge regular and gifted students. Do you agree with this premise shared by many parents? Rob shares a differing perspective, based on actual classroom events. Read Article

• The Blueberry Story

  Public schools need to change! They are archaic selecting and sorting mechanisms designed for the Industrial Age! They are out of step with the needs of our information-based society. As educators, we could learn some lessons from the business world. Or can we? Read Article

• Chatting Up Kagan

  We came across a long thread on a popular teacher online chat board. Read what teachers really have to say about Kagan and Kagan workshops. Read Article

• Clarity and Cooperative Learning: The Concrete-Abstract Connection

  From the man who brought us Think-Pair-Share and Think Trix comes some clarity about thinking. The key to promoting thinking in the class is to transform mental abstractions into concrete concepts that students can easily wrap their minds around. Read Article

• Collaborative Staff Meetings

  We invited Don McLean, Karen Kettle, and the Eastdale Leadership Camp Committee of Durham District to share the ways they are using structures to empower staff and students. At this year's annual meeting of the Great Lakes Association for Cooperation in Education in Toronto, students and staff from the Durham District School Board made remarkable presentations on ways they are using the Kagan Structures in staff meetings and in student-led meetings. Read Article

• Collective Memory

  Collective Memory is a powerhouse of a cooperative learning structure. Students work in teams to reproduce any visual image. The catch is: only one teammate views the original image at a time, and for a limited period. Students must strategize, cooperate, and communicate well to successfully recreate the original. Promote visual literacy, teamwork, and content learning with Collective Memory. Gavin walks you through the steps, provides ideas to use it in your classroom, and shares a sample lesson, pictures and all. Read Article

• Cooperative Learning and Multi-ethnic Classrooms in Singapore

  Cooperative Learning and Multi-ethnic Classrooms in Singapore. Read Article

• Cooperative Learning and the Lamplighter School

  Lamplighter School in Dallas, Texas was founded on the mission to develop each students' uniqueness in a cooperative, nurturing environment. For nearly a decade and a half, Lamplighter school has made a commitment to Kagan Structures. Read about their journey in making Kagan Structures an integral part of their school culture, how Kagan supported their philosophy, and the positive impact Kagan Structures have on interpersonal relationships and academic achievement. Read Article

• Cooperative Learning in the Block

  What do I do for the eighty minute block schedule? Dr. Schmitt will show you how to break down the block and how to keep students active and excited for the whole period using cooperative learning. Take advantage of the block. Read Article

• Cooperative Learning in the Inclusive Classroom

  Arielle L. Genee shares how cooperative learning can create an inclusive classroom environment in which students of all ability levels can have a part to play. She illustrates her point beautifully with a step-by-step first grade lesson plan using Simultaneous RoundTable. Read Article

• Does "Group Work" Work?

  Dr. Kagan appears on a television show focused on group work in the classroom. Tune in to hear Dr. Kagan's take on the difference between group work and true cooperative learning. Read Article

• Educator Preparation Institute and Kagan

  EPI is a teacher preparation institute that has thrived in Florida, thanks in large part to their work with Kagan. Hear how EPI has teamed up with Kagan to prepare teachers to succeed as K–12 teachers. Read Article

• Effective Instruction in the One Computer Classroom

  If your classroom computer is sitting idle because you haven't been able to engage all students at the same time, you'll want to read Robert Schmitt's article. He provides practical suggestions for using your computer as a center with just about any content. Read Article

• A Cooperative Learning and ELL Success Story

  Oh no! A brand new student with no comprehension of English. What is a teacher to do? Ms. McKoy successfully included the ELL student with ease. See how. Read Article

• EPI Instructors, Directors, and Graduates Applaud Kagan

  The faculty of EPI lauds Kagan for strategies that promote learning, develop critical thinking, create active engagement. Teachers who graduated from EPI offer insights to how Kagan has helped them become better teachers. Read Article

• Evolution of Cooperative Structures in Borneo

  Kagan Structures travel far and wide. Ng Kee Chuan shares personal experiences using cooperative structures for training teachers in Borneo. Read about implementation challenges encountered and resulting variations on Jigsaw II, One Stay, RoundRobin Reading, and Inside-Outside Circle. And hear student teachers' reaction to cooperative structures from a different part of the world. Read Article

• Fans of Silly Sports and the Brain Break

  Read students' reactions to playing Silly Sports and taking brain breaks. Here's a preview of a few: "I really like your brain breaks because it helps calm the brain after hours of work, and wracking it for ideas." "I think if every day we do 7 brain breaks it will allow our school to be 98.9% more fun because it will give students small breaks during class." Read Article

• Find My Rule — A Gem of a Structure for Nurturing Critical Thinking

  Looking to boost thinking skills using your own curriculum? Find My Rule is a gem. Students must cooperate and use inductive thinking to "find" the teacher's rule for placing samples in different places of a graphic organizer. Karen shows you how to use the structure, shares her favorite variations, and provides a variety of sample activities across the curriculum. Read Article

• Found in Translation — Teaching English in Spain Using Kagan Structures

  Active engagement is the universal language of learning. It knows no boundaries. Whether in Spain or in the class down the hall, students learn more and smile more when they use Kagan Structures. Read Article

• Garnering Support for Kagan Structures

  How do you get your principal's and/or superintendent's support for implementing Kagan? Simple. Let them experience the power of Kagan in action. Karen Dailey, a Nationally Certified Kagan Trainer, describes how she and her colleagues won support from administration and transformed faculty meetings into a model for classroom enthusiasm and active participation. Read Article

• Getting Started with Kagan

  Read questions by Kagan neophytes and responses from Kagan experts and trainers. You'll find the answers to some of your burning "getting started" questions: Which structures should I start with? What are the best materials to use? Read Article

• Get Up and Get Moving With Geometry!

  Julie shares how she uses the Kagan Structure, Kinesthetic Symbols to teach her third-graders basic geometry terms. Students love to get out of their seats and express their learning with their bodies. Whether or not you teach geometry, you'll pick up some ideas to use Kinesthetic Symbols with your students. Read Article

• Good Writers Consider the Writer-Reader Relationship

  Teach your students about the social relationship between the author and intended audience. Teaching students about this writer-reader connection may be more important than the writing process itself. Improve your writing instruction and your students' writing skills. Read Article

• I Can!

  I CAN!' are two potent words that passionately drive my enthusiasm for teaching, kids, and the application of Cooperative Learning. Read this inspiring story of how a dedicated teacher armed with a powerful set of instructional tools was able to make a profound impact on the life of her student. Read Article

• I Was Ready to Quit, Until Kagan Came to My Class

  After her first year of teaching, Ms. Higgins was disillusioned. She was ready to quit. But that summer she attended a Kagan cooperative learning training. That training renewed her excitement for teaching and gave her a glimpse of the classroom she wanted to create. With new tools, she decided to give teaching one last chance. Today, after five years of success in the class, she reflects on her rollercoaster of emotions and how Kagan has helped her become the teacher she'd always dreamed of being. Read Article

• I'd Never Go Back to Rows

  "Bueller, Bueller…?" Why is this familiar movie reference, so funny? Because it is so true for so many classrooms. Not in Ms. Van Fleet's classroom anymore! Read Article

• Inclusion of English Language Learners in Kagan Cooperative Learning Activities

  Include your ESL students in the classroom and dramatically boost their language learning using cooperative learning. Inclusive cooperative learning structures with some basic accommodations will allow you to actively involve students with even very limited English. Read Article

• Investigative Jigsaw

  Dr. Lyman adds an "investigative" twist to the classic cooperative learning structure Jigsaw. The result: Students investigate the topic in greater depth, plus students expand their conception of what it means to be an "expert" on a subject. Read Article

• Kagan Cooperative Learning Book Review

  The radically improved and expanded book, Kagan Cooperative Learning was reviewed for a secondary school newsletter in the United Kingdom by a county inspector. Read the review here. Read Article

• Kagan Cooperative Learning Song

  Karen recently attended a Kagan Cooperative Learning graduate course in Pennsylvania. She enjoyed it so much, she was so moved to song. See if you can sing along and remember some key Kagan concepts. Read Article

• Kagan Implementation Surveys

  Kagan Cooperative Learning continues to expand worldwide. The book, Cooperative Learning, has been translated into several languages. Hungarian is one such translation. This article includes extracts from the preface of the Hungarian version that offers an interesting perspective on cooperative learning which is both very foreign, yet very familiar at the same time. Read Article

• Kagan Lesson Planning

  Kagan offers lesson planning services to schools and districts. Learn the three major aims of Kagan's lesson planning approach and how to bring in Kagan to assist you in planning lessons that optimize engagement and student learning. Let Kagan help you make the most of your daily lessons. Read Article

• Kagan On TV

  Principal and Kagan Trainer David Jones shares Kagan's vision for classroom engagement with a live studio audience of award-winning teachers on the TV show, Teacher Talk. Read Article

• Kagan Publishing Product Submission Guidelines

  Some of Kagan's best products and publications are submitted by teachers just like you. Got something you think is right up Kagan's alley? Take the next step. Read Article

• Kagan Structures Altered the Way I Teach Forever

  Have you ever had a turning point in your life that forever changed your life's direction? Gavin Clowes did. And that turning point was learning about Kagan Structures for the first time. Gavin, a school teacher in the North West of England, documents his first hand experience learning Kagan Structures and putting them into action in his own classroom with great, immediate success. Read Article

• Kagan Structures Change Teachers' Lives

  Does changing the way you teach really matter? You bet it does! Teachers write how using Kagan Structures profoundly changed their professional and even personal lives for the better. Read Article

• Kagan Structures for Active Learning and Educational Equity

  From across the Pacific Ocean, the host of Dr. Spencer Kagan's nine Japanese workshops for 2003 is a university professor who employs Cooperative Learning to teach future teachers in Japan. In this article Jane shares how she gets students participating actively and equally. Her observations apply everywhere in the world: CL is a powerful tool for an active and egalitarian class. Read Article

• Kudos for Kagan

  Kagan receives rave reviews from workshop participants. But what do teachers have to say about Kagan once they start integrating structures into their classrooms? Hear directly from Kagan users new and experienced. Read Article

• Kagan’s Thoughts on Homework

  Teachers who use Kagan Structures alter how they teach in class. But what about homework? How does homework change? Dr. Kagan offers his thoughts about homework for the cooperative learning classroom. Numerous Kagan Trainers share their personal experience and advice with homework when using Kagan methods. Read Article

• Making History an Adventure

  After teaching high-school history for nearly three decades, the author learns about multiple intelligences theory. It radically transforms the way he thinks about history, and the success he has in teaching World and U.S. History. Here, the author shares his personal history with MI and also shares a sample World History project that engaged students like never before. Read Article

• New Water on the Beans; CL On Ice

  On the Atlantic coast of Canada last month, Laurie Kagan and Christi Brown trained 2,300 people watching a JumboTron screen in a Newfoundland hockey stadium. Host Derrick Moore explains how and why he turned to Kagan Professional Development for his province's largest professional development event ever. In a sidebar, Christi regales us with her eyewitness account of Laurie's triumph on the ice. Read Article

• The Only Thing (and the new structure Whisper)

  This article should carry a warning label: "If you believe education should cultivate competition and obedience, this article can be hazardous to your cognitive scheme." Written as freely as the philosophy Chris espouses, this stream-of-consciousness takes you on a journey through Chris' educational experiences, his libertarian ideology, and his educational invention — a new cooperative structure called Whisper. Read Article

• Opinion Sages

  Ohio 9th-grade English teacher Bob Henderson has developed a new structure, called Opinion Sages. He based it on Dr. Spencer Kagan's Circle the Sage structure, and consulted with Dr. Kagan to shape its six steps and two variations. This new structure is especially good for getting shy students to speak up. Read Article

• Optimal Hydration

  Will putting a bottle of water on every kid's desk dramatically drive up test scores? Eric Jensen, a leader in the field of brain-compatible learning, says probably not, but Jensen clues us into to some interesting facts and studies supporting the importance of optimal hydration levels for learning. Read Article

• People Hunt for Vocabulary Review

  Here's a variation of a longtime favorite structure for reviewing vocabulary. Learn a fun and fresh approach to teaching any new ESL or content-area vocabulary words. Read Article

• Quick Online Test Reveals MI Thinking Style?

  Should you use MI self-assessments? Dr. Tracey introduces an engaging website from the British Broadcasting Corporation that offers a 'quick and dirty' assessment of Gardner's Multiple Intelligences plus Sisk & Torrance's Spiritual Intelligence. He includes Dr. Spencer Kagan's warning about inauthentic assessment, plus hints for using the BBC material to communicate with students, parents and other stakeholders. Read Article

• Quiet Signal for High School

  Does the Quiet Signal work with high school students? Two Kagan Trainers, Dr. Vern Minor and Dan Kuzma share some ideas and adaptations that have worked well for them and many other high school teachers. Read Article

• Singapore Schools Escalate Commitment to Kagan Structures

  For nearly a decade, Kagan has worked closely with the Singapore Teachers' Union. Kagan Structures are changing the way many Singapore teachers are teaching and students are learning. Two schools step up their commitment to Kagan Structures and make Kagan a pivotal part of their professional development and efforts to create a school-wide culture of caring and cooperation. Read Article

• Singapore School Implements Kagan's Cooperative Learning Strategies

  Each summer for the past several years, Kagan has been working with the Singapore Teachers Union to train Singapore teachers Kagan Structures. Many Singapore schools have adopted Kagan and have success implementing Kagan in their schools. This article describes Springfield Secondary School's journey with Kagan: their training; why they got started with Kagan; and the benefits for students and teachers. Read Article

• Sponge Ideas

  Soak up spare class time with a meaningful sponge activity. Sponges are a terrific management tool for the cooperative class in which teams finish at different rates. The next time you hear a team ask, "Teacher, we're done, what do we do next?" you'll have plenty of great sponge ideas you can draw from. Read Article

• Storytelling

  Storytelling is a powerful, time-honored teaching tool that creates long-lasting memories. Read how Dan, a Nationally Certified Kagan Trainer and all-around good guy, transformed his European history lessons into stories that created memories that lasted for decades. Use storytelling to make your content memorable too! Read Article

• Structures Ensure More Learning for All

  Mr. Heinrichs compares the difference between using unstructured group work and using RoundTable. Gain interesting insights about the difference of two different approaches to teaching and why Greg and his class agree why structures are superior to group work. Read Article

• Students Work Together with Kagan Structures

  See pictures of some favorite Kagan Strutures in action in Ms. Smithhisler's 5th grade math and science classes. With structures such as Quiz-Quiz-Trade and Fan-N-Pick that have students work together in pairs and teams, students are fully engaged and enjoy the learning process. Read Article

• Success in a Large District: One Administrator, One Teacher, One Student at a Time!

  "It has increased student achievement and improved student social skills." "The students reported they love Cooperative Learning." "Our students are visibly more engaged in lessons." These are some of the comments from participating schools in the district-wide Kagan training for Jersey City Schools. Learn about the training process. Hear the encouraging results. Read Article

• Sustained Implementation with Cooperative Pillars

  Everyone knows about the faddish nature of education. Things come and go. It's the nature of change in the process of improvement. There's a problem, though, when good things go. Catalina Ventura School shares their approach to keeping Kagan Structures in place with "pillars". Read Article

• Tara—The Power of Multiple Intelligences

  Why did you become a teacher? If you're like most teachers I know, you became a teacher to make a difference in students' lives. Read this inspirational story about how Dan did just that – he made a profound difference in the life of one of his students. And it stemmed from the simplest change in the way he taught his American Studies class. Read Article

• Teaching Kids About MI

  Judy shares why it is helpful to teach kids about multiple intelligences. She also shares her new book, All Kinds of Ways to Be Smart!—designed exactly for that purpose. Read Article

• Teambuilding with Kagan Structures—A Hockey Success Story

  Canadian hockey team assistant coach describes how he used Kagan teambuilding structures to transform a group of 17 to 21-year-olds into a lean, mean 13-game-winning-streak hockey team. Read Article

• The Brain Gang

  As her final project for Kagan's Multiple Intelligences Graduate course, Julie created a wonderful book about a group of students, the Brain Gang, who each in their own way contribute to the creation of their tree clubhouse. Julie uses her word and art smarts to reinforce that people are smart in different ways and display their learning in different ways. We've turned her book into an online book that you can read and share with your class. Thanks for sharing Julie! Read Article

• The Essential 5: A Starting Point for Kagan Cooperative Learning

  Which 5 Kagan Structures would you consider indispensable? Gavin shares his top 5 favorites for creating engagement. If you're wondering where to begin with Kagan Structures, take a good look at The Essential 5. Read Article

• Think-Pair-Share: The Student Response Paradigm

  Think-Pair-Share is a powerful and flexible strategy that works well to replace the conventional class discussion and question and answer session. Armed solely with this instructional strategy and its many possibilities, teachers have the potential to profoundly change the way students learn and how they feel about learning. Frank shares his influential invention and his hopes for creating an educational paradigm shift where student interaction is the norm. Read Article

• Think-Pair-Show: A New Structure for Teaching Vocabulary and ESL

  Two creative teachers share their experiences using Kagan Structures to teach ESL and social studies in South Korea. They serendipitously invent a new structure dubbed Think-Pair-Show, a cooperative strategy for students to "show" their understanding of new vocabulary. Read Article

• Thoughts on Gifted Students and Cooperative Learning

  Is cooperative learning good for the gifted? Jackie shares her wisdom on cooperative learning and gifted students. Cooperative learning helps with social skill development, promotes classmate acceptance and liking, encourages pro-academic norms, and is just more fun. Read Article

• "Today, we're going to discuss..."

  Read how these five words, "Today we're going to discuss...", transformed a teacher. Karen shares a heartfelt narrative of a defining moment in her life and career — a moment that caused her to reflect on her teaching priorities and methodology. Karen's middle-school son posed a simple question that changed everything for her — a question that brings us to the heart of what it really means to be a teacher. Read Article

• Top Ideas for Using Learning Chips

  Maximize the effectiveness of your new Learning Chips with these great ideas for use. You'll find team structures, pair structures, and whole-class structures to add variety to exploring the learning topic with Learning Chips. Read Article

• Transforming High School Learning

  See pictures of some favorite Kagan Strutures in action in Ms. Smithhisler's 5th grade math and science classes. With structures such as Quiz-Quiz-Trade and Fan-N-Pick that have students work together in pairs and teams, students are fully engaged and enjoy the learning process. Read Article

• Two Threads Unite Kagan Practitioners

  Hear firsthand from educators like yourself how they are using and succeeding with Kagan Structures. From this collection of comments, we've identified two commonalities for educators. See if these two themes hold true for you too! Read Article

• Using Music in the Classroom—The Sound Health Series in the Schools

  Can music in the classroom make a difference? You bet it can! This informative article will tune you into some interesting studies on music in the classroom, and turn you on to a hot series of CDs to boost your class' sound health—The Sound Health Series. Read Article

• Win-Win Discipline and the Sharing Debacle

  After reading the book, Win-Win Discipline and receiving training in this powerful new approach to discipline, the author — a teacher and trainer — finds his view of classroom disruptions, and even everyday real-world conflicts forever changed for the better. Read Article

• Witnessing Kagan in Action at Independent Day School—Corbett Campus

  Each year IDS welcomes educators from the U.S. and abroad to witness Kagan structures in action in conjunction with a Kagan workshop. Read about this exciting event and how IDS-CC has been successful with Kagan Cooperative Learning. Read Article