Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures Empower New Teachers
Recruiting and retaining teachers, especially those who are new to the profession, is a high priority in our current education climate. Mentors across the country are committed to supporting new teachers to improve classroom management and instruction through research-based practices in order to provide our students with the best learning environments possible. Time is often a limited resource, so mentoring and supporting new teachers is a delicate balance of empathetic listening and effective questioning coupled with providing ideas and ensuring a continuous feedback loop. When I started on my journey as a mentor 15 years ago, I immediately saw the positive impact that Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures has on novice teachers, as they combine classroom management with instructional strategies so seamlessly.
Working alongside other mentors from neighboring districts as an Exchange Teacher, a mentor who stepped out of my classroom role to provide job-embedded, heavy support for a cohort of first- and second-year teachers in the Texas State Teacher Fellows Program, and lead by Dr. Laura Duhon, Teacher Fellows Director and Kagan Trainer, I was able to witness the ways in which Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures empowered new teachers. The cohort of new teachers was given the gift of Kagan Cooperative Learning Day 1 and over the years, many of the new teacher cohorts were granted the ultimate prize of learning from Dr. Spencer Kagan himself! As we learned about the extensive research-base, the Kagan Structures themselves, and the built-in classroom management, I was excited to see how new teachers would make them a reality in their classroom! Dr. Spencer Kagan recently described Kagan Structures as, “easy to learn and use step-by-step instructional strategies that release the power of student-to-student interaction,” in an article titled The Power of Pair Work. The fact that new teachers could take a quick glance at the steps of any Kagan Structure and, with no other prep, incorporate a strategy into their lesson plans was a game changer.
Using a “Structure-A-Month” approach, the Teacher Fellows Cohorts would focus on a specific Kagan Structure each month. They would learn the steps, practice, rehearse, and then incorporate the structure into at least one lesson, and document their implementation with pictures or videos. Afterwards, new teachers would reflect on the use of the Kagan Structure. This practice was a structured way to empower this group of first- and second-year teachers with instructional strategies that would positively influence the critical functions of: classroom community, social skills, communication skills, decision making, knowledge building, and procedure learning. What a gift to have such powerful strategies so early in their career.
Over the last 15 years, I have worked closely with new teachers in many capacities, and research-based, highly effective instructional strategies like Kagan Structures have remained an integral thread. Combining the need for classbuilding and teambuilding with instructional strategies that allow students to effectively learn the content is a win-win for new teachers, their students, our schools, our districts, and our education system. Encouraging the new teachers that I had the privilege to mentor to attend a Kagan Cooperative Learning Training, incorporating Kagan Structures in pre-service teacher courses and new teacher professional development, and sharing the Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures, MiniBook with all of our district new teachers has been a priority, as it serves our new teachers, our students, and our school community in such a powerful way.
Recently, I sent a Kagan Cooperative Learning care package to my niece, Madison Estepp, who is a pre-service teacher in Arkansas. After she received her care package, we talked over FaceTime and I had the opportunity to share the benefits of Kagan Cooperative Learning. Together we walked through the five Kagan Structures found in the Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures, MiniBook that I sent to her. As we were talking about Quiz-Quiz-Trade, she interjected, “I’m doing this tomorrow! I’m going to have my students write their own questions, using the interactive notebooks we are creating throughout the unit.” We went on to discuss how this Kagan Structure, Quiz-Quiz-Trade, would give her seventh- and eighth- grade agriculture students the opportunity to discuss multiple aspects of the unit, hear their peers' language, and it would provide a devoted time for students to actively review and engage with the content. After trying it out, here is what she shared:
As a pre-service teacher, there are many challenges you face. There are lots of unknowns and there are many times you feel defeated. When developing content for my 7th and 8th grade Agriculture Education courses, I want to make sure students are gaining skills and techniques that will support them throughout their path of education. When I learned about the Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures, I knew these would help set my students up for success.
For one of my courses in my student teaching block, I am required to develop a pre and post assessment to measure students learning and show growth. I knew immediately the Quiz-Quiz-Trade structure was going to play a crucial role in helping my students learn and ultimately show growth on these assessments. My students improved their scores up to 74%! I know that without the Quiz-Quiz-Trade Structure, my students would not be as successful as they were.
I may be a biased aunt, but as an experienced educator and mentor, I feel encouraged to hear of a pre-service teacher implementing a Kagan Structure that allowed students to actively engage with the content they were learning, provided a brain-friendly learning environment where movement and discourse were present, and saw the academic benefits when students were held individually accountable for their learning.
There are so many times when I have shared with new teachers how I wish someone had shared instructional strategies, like Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures, with me when I was a new teacher. The confidence that a new teacher gains when they effectively implement a Kagan Structure is palpable. They feel empowered, their students are learning, and our education system benefits! Mentors, campus administrators, and anyone who supports pre-service and new-to-profession teachers know that teaching does not get easier, we just get better at it, so why not empower our newest colleagues with research-based, brain-friendly instructional strategies like Kagan Structures! Empowered teachers stay, so let’s empower new teachers with instructional strategies, like Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures, as soon as they become professional educators!