If you are already certified, and are looking to recertify, please click here.
If you are a district employee and are looking to be a trainer, click here.
If you would like to train for Kagan as an Associate Trainer, click here.
Are you implementing Kagan Cooperative Learning with your students? Has your school’s entire faculty been trained in Kagan Cooperative Learning, and are your colleagues also implementing Kagan Cooperative Learning with their students? Has your school identified actively engaging all students through Kagan Cooperative Learning as a school-wide initiative to accelerate achievement? Do you want to onboard new hires in Kagan CL, but struggle to find ways to fund the training of only a few new teachers each year? If your answer to these questions is “YES,” then you might consider becoming a certified Kagan School Trainer to support the professional development of your colleagues in Kagan Cooperative Learning.
Process
The Kagan School Trainer Certification program is structured to support the elements of effective professional development and school improvement. The real goal of professional development is to create systemic change that positively impacts student learning over time. It is essential that any innovation be part of a structured school improvement process that includes training, monitoring, support, and resources. The primary focus of the Kagan School Trainer certification program will be to train Kagan School Trainers in institutions where cooperative learning has been chosen as a school-wide initiative with administrator and teacher buy-in. Kagan School Trainers receive training in leading the essential elements of Kagan Cooperative Learning with the new members of their faculty who have not been trained by a nationally or internationally certified Kagan trainer. They are provided with extensive, detailed outlines to help them develop their training materials, such as slides and anchor charts, but do not have access to pre-made presentation materials. Kagan School Trainers are certified to purchase the Kagan Cooperative Learning textbooks and workbooks, which are required for each new hire who is trained by the Kagan School Trainer.
Careful consideration has been given to the research on professional development. The three-part process identified below has embedded components that enhance transfer from the workshop to implementation in the classroom. This 3-part process must be completed within three years. Although this process is rigorous, the components are essential to successful long-term implementation of Cooperative Learning: Kagan Structures for Active Engagement.
Description and Requirements
School Level Training
- Entire staff (at least 90%) completes at least one day of cooperative learning with a Kagan National Trainer. More days are strongly recommended with a national
trainer. See Workshops. Applicant submits documentation of training that includes date of training, name of Kagan trainer and % of staff in attendance.
Rationale: Staff must be exposed to Kagan Structures for Active Engagement before they can support the initiative fully. - School principal and other administrators attend training with staff and commit to support and monitor the initiative.
- Applicant submits a letter of support from building administrator. Letter includes but is not limited to
the following:
• How Cooperative Learning fits into building initiatives.
• How applicant will be utilized to support cooperative learning with new hires (and, potentially, for support of previously-trained colleagues)..
• Why applicant was chosen to apply.
• Date of Cooperative Learning training attended by administrator.
Rationale: No successful implementation can occur and sustain itself without administrative support.
School Improvement
- Kagan Structures for Active Engagement is identified as a strategy in the building school improvement plan. All staff agree to implement the initiative.
- Applicant submits the page(s) out of the school improvement plan and highlights where Kagan Cooperative Learning is
noted as a strategy. Optional: Additional pages regarding support, resources and timelines may also be submitted. Please submit only the applicable pages, not the entire School Improvement document.
Rationale: It is essential to involve staff in collaborative decision making regarding school-wide initiatives.
Trainer Selection/Certification
- Certification applicant must complete a week-long institute by a Kagan National Certified Trainer. While the full Kagan Cooperative Learning training can occur earlier in the process, the applicant must have attended a Kagan workshop within three years of the application.
Rationale: In order to become a trainer, teachers must participate in the actual training they will be conducting at a later date. Additionally, the applicant must demonstrate enthusiasm for implementing Kagan Cooperative Learning. - Certification candidate must use the Kagan Structures and content from the week-long training with students in a classroom for a minimum of one year. Note: If applicant is not a classroom teacher, he/she must borrow a classroom or classrooms to practice with students. This applies to building and/or district administrators and instructional coaches.
Rationale: A trainer must be able to stand in front of a group and speak from experience. Participants often have questions that can only be answered by someone who has used the structures with students. - Certification candidate must submit the following:
- Written description of five Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures. This description should clearly explain how these five structures are used routinely by the teacher, as well as why each of them is a “top five” Kagan Cooperative Learning Structure. Please include content, grade level and student work samples if appropriate.
- One page sample lesson plan reflecting the use of Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures within the lesson. This lesson plan should include at least one of the Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures explained in the first step, as well as additional structures that are not included in the “top five” description.
- Two video clips teaching a Kagan Cooperative Learning Structure to students (10-15 minutes), and teaching a different Kagan Cooperative Learning Structure to adults (10-15 minutes). The videos MUST be unlisted links from either YouTube or Vimeo. Make sure the videos are set to unlisted, and the links are working on the application files.
Rationale: Kagan must ensure that all School Trainers can work successfully with students as well as adults. See trainer characteristics checklist for more information. - One page video reflection with your permission for Kagan to use your videos for training purposes only. Reflection should include perceptions, insights and ideas for improvement if appropriate. Reflection should be about both video clips submitted.
- $50 application fee applies and must be submitted with the application packet.
- If accepted, school trainer must attend school trainer workshop within 3 years of initial training. Training will be held once a year. Kagan reserves the right to cancel trainings that do not meet minimum enrollment requirements. The next training will be scheduled for the summer of 2025. Cost is $1,149.
Rationale: Kagan regularly updates the content of workshops. Therefore, it is important that initial training is current to stay abreast of revisions. - School Trainer agrees to abide by guidelines established by Kagan which includes trainer expectations and
copyright guidelines. Click here for Kagan's copyright policy.
Rationale: Kagan is committed to protecting the quality and integrity of the Kagan model. - School Trainer recertifies every three years to maintain school trainer certification.
Rationale: Materials, content and resources used in training are continually improving and updating.
Next application window opens January 1, 2025.
