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

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
School & District Management Webinar
Stop the Drop: Turn Communication Into an Enrollment Booster
Turn everyday communication with families into powerful PR that builds trust, boosts reputation, and drives enrollment.
Content provided by TalkingPoints
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
Special Education Webinar
Integrating and Interpreting MTSS Data: How Districts Are Designing Systems That Identify Student Needs
Discover practical ways to organize MTSS data that enable timely, confident MTSS decisions, ensuring every student is seen and supported.
Content provided by Panorama Education
Artificial Intelligence Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: AI Could Be Your Thought Partner
How can educators prepare young people for an AI-powered workplace? Join our discussion on using AI as a cognitive companion.

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 Letter to the Editor Learning Spaces Should Meet the Needs of All Students
Better classroom design can help neurodivergent learners thrive, says this letter to the editor.
1 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Teaching What's the Ideal Classroom Seating Arrangement? Teachers Weigh In
Educators employ different seating strategies to optimize student learning.
1 min read
swingspaces pgk 45
Chairs are arranged in a classroom at a school in Bowie, Md. Classroom seating is one of the first decisions educators make at the start of the school year, and they have different approaches.
Pete Kiehart for Education Week
Teaching 'There's a Firehose of Information': Talking to Students About Minneapolis
Find curated coverage on discussing confusing, scary, or politically charged topics in the classroom.
2 min read
A child kneels in the snow among demonstrators holding signs during a news conference at Lake Hiawatha Park in Minneapolis, on Jan. 9, 2026, demanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement be kept out of schools and Minnesota following the killing of 37-year-old mother Renee Good by federal agents earlier on Wednesday.
A child kneels in the snow among demonstrators holding signs during a news conference at Lake Hiawatha Park in Minneapolis on Jan. 9, 2026, demanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement be kept out of schools following the killing of Renee Good by federal agents.
Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP
Teaching In Their Own Words ‘Normal Looks Different’: Teaching Through Fear in Minneapolis
Tracy Byrd, a 9th grade English teacher, shares what teaching entails as federal agents patrol his city.
8 min read
MINNEAPOLIS, MN, January 22, 2026: Ninth grade teacher Tracy Byrd helps student Avi Veeramachaneni, 14, with his final essay on the last day of the semester at Washburn High School in Minneapolis, MN.
Tracy Byrd helps students with essays on Jan. 22 at Washburn High School in Minneapolis. As immigration raids and protests have played out across the city, he and fellow educators have sought to create a stable environment for students.
Caroline Yang for Education Week