KAGAN COOPERATIVE LEARNING

Ako Mahi Tahi

Kagan Cooperative Learning - Ako Mahi Tahi:

Structures for Engagement, Equity, & Excellence

5 Day workshop (can be taken day by day in order, or as an academy)

Kagan Cooperative Learning is a dialogic, relational teaching methodology that involves the use of specific structures to promote active participation and cooperation among students in the classroom. The approach is designed to facilitate learning and enhance academic performance by creating a collaborative and engaging environment that fosters positive relationships among students. Cooperative learning is the most researched teaching strategy, and is proven to make a difference.

The Kagan Cooperative Learning model is based on the principle that learning is a social process and that students can benefit from working together in pairs or small groups to achieve their learning goals. Kagan’s structured approach emphasises the importance of equal participation and shared responsibility, which are essential for creating a sense of community and promoting positive social interactions. In a Kagan classroom no student can hide - they all have to participate but with support.

Kagan Structures are easy-to-use flexible instructional strategies that can be adapted to different subjects, year levels, learning objectives, and context. Some examples of Kagan Structures include Timed-Pair-Share, RallyRobin, and Numbered-Heads-Together, which involve different types of interaction and collaboration between students. These structures are designed to promote active engagement, critical thinking, and effective communication skills, while also building positive social relationships among students.

Overall, the Kagan cooperative learning approach provides a powerful framework for creating an inclusive and supportive learning environment that promotes academic achievement, social-emotional development, and cultural responsiveness.

By incorporating Kagan Structures into their teaching, educators can transform the learning experience for their students and see amazing results!

Check out our Impact page

Workshop Highlights

  • Maximise student learning and engagement with a powerful and proven approach.

  • Create a cooperative and nurturing classroom environment that prevents bullying, violence, and discipline problems.

  • Elevate the level of enjoyment, friendship, and interest in learning among students through effective Classbuilding and Teambuilding techniques.

  • Discover the limitations of group work and the advantages of Kagan Structures, ensuring optimal learning outcomes for all students.

  • Seamlessly incorporate ako and tuakana teina concepts in every learning session for a more holistic and culturally responsive approach.

  • Master the art of pairing and teaming strategies, including their formation and optimal use in different learning contexts.

  • Equip students with the essential skills and motivation to work together successfully, fostering a positive and collaborative classroom community.

  • Receive valuable management tips for effectively managing a cooperative classroom with ease.

  • Gain a deep understanding of the fundamental principles that lead to successful outcomes for all students.

With your attendance, you will receive:

  • Kagan Cooperative Learning Book

  • Kagan Cooperative Learning Course Workbook

  • “Kagan has taken cooperative learning to another level! My students cooperate effectively because of Kagan’s amazing structures. The structures have helped my students acquire social and communication skills needed in the real world. Implementing these structures has taught my students how to successfully take turns and to listen to the views of others. Everyone is a team player and a leader when you use Kagan. The increase in self-esteem and empathy for others is all made possible when you decide to add a Kagan Structure to your lesson. The long-term benefits of Kagan are out of this world!”

    —Latasha Mose, Fourth Grade Teacher

  • “Before we started using Kagan, classwork was just easy. I just listened to the teacher and did my work. But, now that we use structures, it’s more challenging. It’s helping everyone learn so much more and it is helping others too. I know with me it made me learn so much more. Before there were only a few of us in GT (Gifted and Talented) and now there are so many. Kids have to do their work and they have to be a part of the learning. It really has helped make kids smarter.”

    —Primere Lewis, Student

  • “Kagan has made a large impact on not only improving student learning and understanding, but developing social skills and habits. Body language, tone of voice, eye contact, and positive communication greatly affect how my students interact in the classroom setting. Kagan Structures help students develop their thinking, communicating, and collaborating skills in a controlled way. I implement Kagan Structures into every lesson plan I create in order to make learning cooperative. I fully support these engagement structures, and I know they help children in many, many ways!”

    —Heather Smith, Fourth Grade Teacher

  • Jackie Corey, principal at Lehigh Senior High School, attributes the very dramatic decrease in discipline referrals at her school in part to the greater engagement of students when Kagan Structures are implemented. As Jackie puts it, engaged students “don’t have the opportunity to lose focus and get in trouble."

  • "Social and communication skills, relationships and friendships, oral language, inclusion, vocabulary development, appreciation for diversity, team work & class culture - all this with one Kagan structure!"

    -Jennie Moore

  • “Our focus on the Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures has been fundamental in giving teachers the means to become more effective.”

    — Peter Rubery, Principal, Fallibroome High School, UK

“In the classroom it is the teacher who ultimately makes the choice of how much students feel included or excluded. When we choose not to make concerted efforts to make our classrooms more inclusive, we have still made a choice. It is a choice to default to traditional individualistic and competitive learning that results in many students feeling disconnected.”

— Miguel Kagan, Kagan USA