How to Design Cooperative Learning Activities for the Family

Learning to work better together

Cooperative learning activities can be used to build camaraderie, increase effective levels of communication, place emphasis on community and build trust. Creating cooperative learning opportunities for your family extends these benefits to the family unit and underscores the importance of everyone doing their part. Activities that you design can showcase skills family members take for granted or don't know exist, ushering in new levels of respect and a wider perspective. Designing cooperative learning activities is akin to creating a lesson plan, typically used by educators to structure learning.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Decide how much time you have. Activities are always time-bound and must be implemented in a step-by-step process to be effective. Think about whether the activity will be held during the week or on the weekend. Also consider the family schedule and pick a time length that is accommodating. Start with activities in the range of 45 minutes to an hour and increase the time you spend as your family gets better at cooperative learning.

2. Brainstorm objectives. Before you start planning an activity, think carefully about what you intend family members to take away from the activity. How should they feel about themselves and their siblings or parents? Objectives should be broad and apply to everyone participating and reflect challenges your family may be facing or skills gaps they are experiencing. List three to five objectives, such as: increase communication, practice team work or increase appreciation. A succinct list of objectives will help focus the type of activity you create.

3. Brainstorm activities. Using your objectives as guidelines, think about what your family can do together that will highlight your intended lessons. Are there projects at home that the family can complete together that are a good fit? Make sure it is a unique activity intended specifically for family cooperative learning and not a chore that has been put off. Is your family active? Perhaps a field activity will be most suitable. Share your objectives with your family's educators or counselors and ask them for suitable activities. Ultimately, the activity your choose should be something the family will enjoy, find challenging and achieve your objectives.

   An example field activity is Blind Mine Field. Materials for this activity include a set of blindfolds, and two to four dozen obstacles (mines) to set the playing field. Arrange the mines across the field in a box pattern. Make sure to leave enough space between each mine for walking. The game is played in teams of two. One person wears a blindfold and must walk through the mine field without touching any mines. The person blindfolded is guided by their partner, who can only provide verbal instructions. This activity is ideal for building trust, communication and support between family members.

4. Write the activity plan. This is a step-by-step implementation guide in chronological order. Describe how you (or the activity leader) will introduce the activity, how portions are transitioned, what family members will be asked to do and what you will do at each step. Also include acceptable positive answers to any resistance you anticipate from your family.

   In the example of Blind Mine Field, you would begin by introducing the activity, explaining how it works and if necessary, why you have brought the family together to play. Your activity plan should have assigned roles: For instance, mom is in charge of blindfolds, son assists in staging the "mine field," daughter keeps score of mines that are touched, etc. Your plan can also include diagrams of how the playing field is set up, notes or ideas for variations or anything else that will help implementation. Finally, your activity plan must include a wrap-up for the time together. These are final takeaways aimed at making everyone understand and feel good about what you have achieved as a family during the activity. Give everyone involved a chance to speak and reflect during the activity's wrap-up. Use open questions such as "What did you learn?" or "What made this difficult?"

5. Create a supply list. Use the activity plan as a guide to determine what materials are required to deliver the activity effectively. Consider any tools, toys or gadgets that will make the time together easier and engaging. For instance, if you anticipate everyone talking or bickering at once, use a small, soft ball and establish a rule that only the holder of the ball can speak. Toss the ball around when someone requests an audience.

6. Combine elements 1 though 5 into an activity sheet. Label Step 1: "Time required," Step 2: "Family Objectives," Step 3/4: "Activity" and Step 5: "Materials." Place the final activity sheet and all those that follow in a binder for easy reference.

References

• Cooperative Learning Institute: Introduction to Cooperative Learning

Resources

• Wilderdom: Minefield: A Communication & Relationship Building Activity