Native American Collaborative Learning Project Reflection

We participated in a Native American Cooperative Lesson in our Social Studies Methods class.  Before this project my knowledge about Native Americans here in the area was very limited.  I knew basic information about Native Americans.  Most of my knowledge consisted of Native Americans from the western United States as I lived in South Dakota for a three years.  Through this project I gained a lot of new knowledge about the Native Americans from this region.  I gained this new knowledge through working collaboratively in our expert groups and then reteaching the information in our base groups.  Our presentations went well and everyone did such a great job.  The only aspect that could have been improved was the way we presented our PowerPoint Presentation.  Our groups were somewhat large and it was hard for everyone to see the screen and hear the speaker at the same time.   Other than this, there was nothing major that prevented anyone of us from gaining new knowledge.

During this teaching demonstration I learned the importance jobs within the expert group.  We divided the work up and tackled the presentation information.  This worked well and saved time.  I think if I were to do this project in the classroom I would ensure that the students would have ample amount of time to complete the research task.  This project also highlighted the importance of working collaboratively and assigning jobs within the group.  The jobs were essential in completing the research on time.  This project also showed me the importance of creating Social Studies lessons that are engaging for the students.  The quiz that was created in the end helped check for comprehension and reinforced what we had learned in our expert groups.

This project was designed for college students.  I would adapt this project for elementary students by providing the research information for the students. The material could be printed off a head of time for the students to read and create a presentation.  Because the students are younger, the students will require more guidance.  I would assign the jobs within the groups so it would eliminate any issues of choosing their jobs.

This project can be related to The Six Elements of Geography Education that is addressed in our textbook reading of Social Studies for the Elementary and Middle Grades.  According to Sunal when students know about "locations and interactions between people and natural habitats" this helps them "understand events and places today, in the past, and possibly in the future."

I loved exploring the Native American history during this project.  I could imagine using this in my own classroom and will definitely adapt it for whatever grade I teach!