Opinion Blog

Classroom Q&A

With Larry Ferlazzo

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to lferlazzo@epe.org. Read more from this blog.

Teaching Opinion

Give Students a Role in Their Education

By Larry Ferlazzo — August 05, 2022 3 min read
Friendly group of people stand and support each other.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

During the summer, I am sharing thematic posts bringing together responses on similar topics from the past 11 years. You can see all those collections from the first 10 years here.

Today’s theme is Cooperative and Collaborative Learning.

You can see the list following this excerpt from one of the posts:

inquirysuzie

1. How Small-Group Instruction Benefits Your Teaching

Small-group work can provide opportunities for reteaching, student practice, and formative assessments. Read more.

2. Small-Group Instruction: Work It for Your Students—and You

Gradual release of responsibility to students, personal learning plans, and formative assessment are successful components for small groups. Read more.

3. 15 Ways to Improve Small-Group Instruction

Assigning student roles, choosing the right number of members, and providing feedback are among the strategies teachers can use. Read more.

4. What Are the Best Strategies for Small-Group Instruction?

For teachers starting out, take small steps in introducing small-group instruction. Try a single strategy and add time as you go along. Read more.

5. Four Good Science Teaching Strategies & How to Use Them

Three science educators share their go-to teaching strategies, including encouraging student talk and implementing project-based learning. Read more.

5. ‘Students Will Ask Great Questions If We Give Them the Chance’

Four educators share ideas for encouraging students to develop questions, including through project-based learning. Read more.

6. Don’t ‘Make the Math Classroom a Project-Based-Learning-Free Zone’

Three educators share advice on incorporating project-based learning in math classes, including asking the question, “What’s nearby?” Read more.

7. Using Project-Based Learning in Math Classes

Two teachers share practical strategies for using project-based learning in math classes, including one called “notice and wonder.” Read more.

8. To Maximize Group Work, Make It Metacognitive’

A three-part series of supporting effective student group work is wrapped up today with commentaries from Nancy Frey, Doug Fisher, Michael Fisher, Laura Greenstein, Debbie Zacarian, Michael Silverstone, and Cindy Terebush. Read more.

9. ‘Maximizing Student Learning Gained Through Collaboration’

Katrina Hankins, Dawn Mitchell, Andrew Miller, Andrea Keith, and Michael D. Toth share their ideas about ensuring that group work in the classroom goes smoothly. Read more.

10. Effective Group Work Starts With Classroom Culture

Karen Goeller, Jill Kester, Rachael Williams, Kara Pranikoff, and Cheryl Mizerny share their ideas for effective student group work. Read more.

More Q&A posts about cooperative and collaborative learning:


Explore other thematic posts:

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

Events

Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Federal Webinar The Trump Budget and Schools: Subscriber Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
End Student Boredom: K-12 Publisher's Guide to 70% Engagement Boost
Calling all K-12 Publishers! Student engagement flatlining? Learn how to boost it by up to 70%.
Content provided by KITABOO

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Q&A Obama Ed. Sec. John King: Teachers Can't Be Bombarded With Reforms
He describes life through the lens of the teachers who shaped him, and reflects on his time leading the nation's education agency.
8 min read
Former Secretary of Education John King speaks with Education Week during an interview on May 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Former Secretary of Education John King reflects on his tenure and on the changing teaching profession in an exclusive interview with Education Week on May 5, 2025, in Washington.
Sam Mallon for Education Week
Teaching Opinion How Teachers Can Ask Students Questions Their Phones Can’t Answer
When students have unlimited answers at their fingertips, it’s more urgent than ever for teachers to find better questions.
Kim McWilliams
4 min read
A questionable and Unsure Future Landscape. A person standing in a landscape with a rock formation in the shape of a question mark.
iStock/Getty Images + Education Week
Teaching Opinion COVID Still Affects Classrooms. Here's How
Five years after the start of the pandemic, educators witness its ongoing consequences.
11 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Teaching From Dance to History: How Schools Celebrate Cinco de Mayo
Here's how K-12 communities celebrate the Mexican holiday.
1 min read
Folklorico dancers dance their way through Madison Avenue during the Annual Mexican Day Parade in New York City.
Ryan Rahman/iStock Editorial