Invigorating Student Learning

Want to get your students’ blood pumping and energize them while they learn?

Transform your cooperative learning activity into a reality TV cooking competition.

I was introduced to John Corippo’s take on cooperative learning at the Blended Learning Communities conference this past July.  He transformed the jigsaw method of cooperative learning by using Iron Chef as an inspiration.

Students are given a task to complete within a group using content - the ingredients.  They have a time limit.  They’re even given a mystery ingredient.  Then they get 30 seconds apiece to present as part of their group.

Creating the slide presentation.

I took Corippo’s resources (You can find them at his site.) and altered them to meet my students’ needs.  I put students into groups of three or four and gave them twelve minutes to produce with Google Slides.  Each student was responsible for one slide with the expectation to include appropriate information and one image.  They also needed to use the “ingredient” from the mystery box on all slides.  When time was up, they would stop working.  Ready or not, it would be time to present.  Each group would come before the class, and each student would present his/her slide in 30 seconds or less.

Comments from students about their experience.

After giving students the overview and the expectations and getting the timer ready, I announced, “Your twelve minutes starts….NOW!”  There was a slight pause as the class collectively took a breath, and, then, the students feverishly began their work.

The fast pace and feeling of competition ensnared the students. They were engaged, they were manipulating information, and they were interacting positively with their peers.  They handled the task well, even mustering the courage to present in front of their peers.  

The presentations were a bonus.  Not only did each student review information within the group, but every student in class had multiple exposures to information related to the topic when the different groups shared their understanding through the oral component.  To encourage listening - and because audiences always like to have their say in television competitions like American Idol or Dancing with the Stars - students were asked to rate each presentation on the following criteria via a Google Form:  content, presentation and creativity, and overall quality.  

Presenting to the class.

Although some students initially felt the pressure of time, I think that was worthwhile exposure for them as they often struggle to produce efficiently, taking far longer on tasks than I would expect.  They also realized that the time limit made it exciting. Overall, they gave positive feedback.

I recommend you check out Corippo's work. I certainly will be making the Iron Chef approach a permanent part of my lesson planning arsenal.

If you have highly engaging lessons or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing about them.

NOTE: Underlined portions indicate revisions made 11/20/15.