Event

Co-operative Learning

Sunday, June 8th, 2014, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Speaker: Joel Laurier

Bullying, intercultural interaction and social isolation are big issues in today's society. In such a competitive society as Japan, introducing social skills might seem a bit counterintuitive. When we consider the problems we face in the classroom on a daily basis, it should be clear to see why social skills must be taught. The issue remains how and when can this be done without adversely affecting the curriculum.

Cooperative learning (CL) research has proven social skills to be a prime factor in setting the learning environment of a class. Thus, to affect academic change, CL practitioners call for the teaching of social skills in all classes across the curriculum. The organization of structured teams to achieve common goals gives a teacher a much better controlled learning environment.

Basing itself on the research of Kagan & Kagan (2009), this presentation will offer a practical approach on why and how to teach social skills. Participants will be provided with tools to implement cooperative learning structures in the aim of creating less competitive and more productive learning environments.

Joel Laurier currently teaches at Waseda and Toyo universities. He is a 2013 Kagan Academy Cooperative Learning Scholarship winner and the 2011 John F. Fanselow Scholarship recipient from Teachers College Columbia University, where he received his MA in TESOL. His research interests include language policy and bilingualism but he is best known for his cooperative learning training. Along with his son, Noah, Mr. Laurier is the voice and face of the award-winning Yomiuri Kodomo Shinbum's Hello Eikaiwa weekly feature.

Register
Please register for this event by sending an email to etj_tokyo_registration@yahoo.co.uk (English), or etj_tokyo_reg@yahoo.co.jp (Japanese).

Organization: ETJ Tokyo (English Teachers in Japan) (ETJ Tokyo)

Cost: free

Venue: Tokyo Cosmo Academy, Toy Box Building, 4-9-2 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo map (Please note that the McDonalds on the map is no longer there)

Location: Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan

Contact ETJ Tokyo

Ellie Kumagai and Chinny Mbakwe