The Native American Tribes project was an activity that required critical thinking and taught myself and my colleagues how to use the Cooperative Learning Instructional approach and required everyone to work collaboratively. I believe that Cooperative Learning is a great instructional approach educating students on various cultures similar to Native American Tribes. For this assignment, each group was assigned to conduct research on one Native American Tribe. After our research was conducted, we worked collaboratively and planned how we would present our findings to the class. My assigned tribe was the “Tlingit” tribe. My partner and I created a PowerPoint presentation on the Tlingit culture. This assignment helped to develop my teacher knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge.
I agree that to be successful in learning new material that requires critical thinking that having the support of our peers is beneficial in the learning process. Having the exposure to the Cooperative Learning Model (SIM) during the course was a wonderful way to allow us hands-on opportunities to understand the components of this model. The format that is certainly one that I will utilize for my students. Having students focus on material as "experts" and allowing them to then teach that content to their peers and vice versa is an excellent way to allow all students to be engaged and active participants in their own development.
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