The Collaborative Classroom: Preparing the Environment

Why is a collaborative classroom important?

A collaborative classroom

• Develops communication skills 

• Develops higher level thinking skills

• Develops leadership skills

• Increases self-esteem and responsibility

• Builds an increased understanding of diverse perspectives and opinions

When arranging your classroom, keep the following in mind:

• In a collaborative classroom, students interact with students around them, so the use of space in your classroom should be flexible and encourage open sharing of ideas.

• Arrange desks so your students can talk and collaborate.

• Consider how you will make necessary materials available for groups.

• Consider what you want to display on the walls of your classroom (student work, key terms, etc) that will promote collaboration.

Looking for more inspiration?

Sign into your Carnegie Learning MyCL account to view the following videos on MyPL. 

• Dynamic Seating

• Setting Up a Collaborative Classroom

• Organizing a Collaborative Classroom

• The Chip Method: Keeping Students on Task

Use the link below to browse the Collaborative Learning Classroom topic on the Carnegie Learning Community page. (You will need to sign into your Carnegie Learning MyCL account before you can access the community page.)

• Collaborative Learning Classroom

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