Several in-class and out-of-class activities are described by Felder and Brent (n.d.) 
and Felder and Brent (1994) . These are described in the following pages. The less extensive in-class activities could typically be used to teach students cooperative learning skills, whereas the out-of-class activities are often more extensive and require students to be more mature in their approach to collaborative learning already (see “Different types of peer collaborative group work”).
IN-CLASS EXERCISES
Students can be organised or organise themselves into small teams of two or four students. Several times during the session, they can be given tasks or exercises to do. These could include:
Another variation that has already been described is TAPPS (thinking-aloud pair problem-solving) (Lochhead and Whimbey, 1987) . Students work on problems in pairs, with one pair member functioning as problem-solver and the other as the listener. The problem-solvers verbalise everything they think as they seek a solution; the listeners encourage their partners to keep talking and offer general suggestions or hints if the problem-solvers get stuck. The roles are reversed for the next problem.
OUT-OF-CLASS EXERCISES
Some examples are:
More examples also in Johnson et al. (2014) . The following is a summary of the most pertinent activities, techniques or strategies that can be used in cooperative and collaborative learning, as explained by Cox (2019) and Nizami (2019) :
| Round Robin | |
|---|---|
| How to do it | Why it is useful |
| Students are placed into a group of four to six people. Then one person is assigned to be the recorder of the group. Next, the group is assigned a question that has multiple answers to it. Each student goes around the table and answers the question by adding a perspective that has not been shared yet. Iterative rounds can be done until all perspectives have been shared. The recorder writes down all contributions. | It allows students to work together to solve a goal or come to a common understanding. It requires the participation of each student in the group and ensures that students are sharing their ideas. During this activity, students work on taking turns, supporting one another, and sharing their ideas. The process forces students to listen to all inputs, to not add something that has been said already. |
| Numbered Heads | |
|---|---|
| How to do it | Why it is useful |
| Each group member is given a number (1, 2, 3, 4). The facilitator then asks the class a question and each group must meet up to discover an answer. After the time is up the facilitator calls a number from one or more groups and just the student with that number in a chosen group may respond to the question. | This strategy is useful because it allows students to discuss in small groups before going into a whole class discussion. Additionally, it makes it, so all students have to contribute and listen to the conversation, so they have something to share if their number gets called. It helps to get each student engaged and involved in their learning. |
| Group Pair-Solo | |
|---|---|
| How to do it | Why it is useful |
| Students work together in a group to take care of a problem. Next, they work with a partner to take care of a problem; lastly, they work without anyone else’s input to tackle a problem. | This methodology utilizes the hypothesis that students can take care of more problems with assistance; then they can alone. Students then progress to the point that they can take care of the problem without anyone else only after first being in a group and afterwards matched with a partner. |
| Three-Step Review | |
|---|---|
| How to do it | Why it is useful |
| The facilitator predetermines groups before a lesson. Then, as the lesson progresses, the facilitator stops and allows groups three minutes to review what was taught and ask each other any questions they may have. | It encourages students to think about the information they have been taught. It expands their ability to question, think and generate answers, and it allows students to voice their opinions. It also promotes equal participation and student accountability. |
| Think-Pair-Share | |
|---|---|
| How to do it | Why it is useful |
| Students contemplate a posed question/problem silently. The student may write down thoughts or brainstorm. Then the students pair up and discuss their responses. They then share what they learned with the rest of the class. | This is a useful cooperative learning strategy because it engages all students in their learning, and it can be done quickly during almost any lesson. |
| Jigsaw | |
|---|---|
| How to do it | Why it is useful |
| Students are members of two groups: homegroup and expert group. In the heterogeneous homegroup, students are each assigned a different topic. Once a topic has been identified, students leave the homegroup and group with the other students with their assigned topic. In the new group, students learn the material together before returning to their homegroup. Once back in their home group, each student is accountable for teaching his or her assigned topic. | The jigsaw strategy is said to improve social interactions in learning and support diversity. The workplace is often like a jigsaw. It involves separating an assignment into subtasks, where individuals research their assigned area. Students with the same topic from different groups might meet together to discuss ideas between groups. |
| Jigsaw II | |
|---|---|
| How to do it | Why it is useful |
| A variation of Jigsaw in which members of the homegroup are assigned the same material, but focus on separate portions of the material. Each member must become an "expert" on his or her assigned portion and teach the other members of the homegroup. | The same as for Jigsaw. |
| Reverse Jigsaw | |
|---|---|
| How to do it | Why it is useful |
| It differs from the original Jigsaw during the teaching portion of the activity. In the Reverse Jigsaw technique, students in the expert groups teach the whole class rather than return to their home groups to teach the content. | The same as for Jigsaw. |
| Reciprocal Teaching | |
|---|---|
| How to do it | Why it is useful |
| It allows for student pairs to participate in a dialogue about a text. Partners take turns reading and asking questions of each other, receiving immediate feedback. Such a model allows for students to use important metacognitive techniques such as clarifying, questioning, predicting, and summarizing. It embraces the idea that students can effectively learn from each other. | Reciprocal teaching encourages students to think about their thought process during reading. It also helps students learn to be actively involved and ask questions and monitor their comprehension. |
| The Williams | |
|---|---|
| How to do it | Why it is useful |
| Students collaborate to answer a big question, that is the learning outcome. Each group has differentiated questions that increases in cognitive ability to allow students to progress and meet the learning outcome. | It allows for creative thinking and the expression of curiosity, imagination, risk-taking and complexity. This method also provides a useful framework for developing questions and activities that will provide stimulation and the opportunity for thinking. |
| STAD (Student-Teams-Achievement Divisions) | |
|---|---|
| How to do it | Why it is useful |
| Students are placed in small groups (or teams). The class in its entirety is presented with a lesson, and the students are subsequently tested. Individuals are graded on the team's performance. Although the tests are taken individually, students are encouraged to work together to improve the overall performance of the group. | Groups have more significant information resources than individuals do and have to employ a more significant number of creative problem-solving methods. Group members gain a better understanding of themselves as they interact with each other. Working in a group foster learning and comprehension of the idea discussed. |
| Tea Party | |
|---|---|
| How to do it | Why it is useful |
| Students form two circles facing each other (one inner circle and one outer circle). The students are given a question, and they are to discuss the question with the student they are facing. The students on the outer circle move in one direction, so they have a new partner to discuss with. Another question is asked, and more discussion is created with a new partner. | This strategy is useful because not only does it allow for all students to get a chance and share with another student, but additionally, it allows for students to work together to come up with a solution. If a student is not talking, sharing, or discussing, then they are losing valuable learning time. The teacher needs to be circulating to ensure that engaging conversations are occurring and prompting those who need extra support. |
| Write Around | |
|---|---|
| How to do it | Why it is useful |
| Students are placed in groups of 3-4 students. Each group gets a topic/ idea. The topic/idea needs to have multiple answers/understandings. Students take turns writing their response to the question/idea on a piece of paper, shared by the group. Then the students pass the paper to the next group member, who then reads over what was written and add to it, explain it further, or clarify what was written. The process repeats throughout the group. | This strategy is useful in that it allows for all students to demonstrate their contribution and knowledge surrounding an area or a topic. It necessitates that students are paying attention to what their group members are writing and helping one another by adding on or clarifying their ideas. This helps to ensure that each student is learning and contributing to the group's ideas to come to a complete understanding. |
| Carousel | |
|---|---|
| How to do it | Why it is useful |
| In this activity, students are broken into groups of 3-4, and the teacher places chart paper around the room with different questions on them, related to a specific topic. This lesson can be done before starting a new unit to activate prior knowledge, during the unit, or at the end of the review. Each group starts at a different poster and is given a different colour marker to write with. The marker travels with the groups around the rooms, and each group has 1-2 minutes to answer the question on the chart paper. They then rotate around the room to the next poster and repeat the process. You may want to try to get each group member to write their ideas down on the paper so that each student's ideas are evident in the paper. When every group has written on each piece of paper, the class comes together for a class discussion and shares what is written on the posters. | This strategy is useful because it causes students to work together in their groups but also within the whole class. Students have to ensure they are reading what other students wrote and coming up with new ideas, rather than copying what is already there. It helps to hold all students accountable because they have to write their ideas down and help their group members who are struggling to come up with something to write down. |