8 Easy Ways to Use Collaborative Learning in Your Teaching

As a new teacher, I would save group work for a handful of “big projects” during the school year.  On most of the other days, my class was direct instruction, independent work, or whole-class discussion. But after observing other teachers using quick, structured group activities, I realized how easily collaborative learning could (and should!) become part of everyday learning.

Benefits of Collaborative Learning in Secondary Classrooms:

1. Encourages autonomy for students and a student-centered approach for teachers.
2. Helps students deepen understanding by explaining ideas to others. 
3. Reduces over-reliance on the teacher for academic and behavioral monitoring.
4. Develops social skills, leadership, and teamwork.

8 Collaborative Learning Activities

#1 – Think, Pair, Share

Best for: Quick, collaborative discussions where students recall, gather ideas and discuss.

Example:  The teacher poses the question: “Let’s evaluate the claim that the French Revolution improved life for the average French citizen.”

Think: Students jot down individual responses (1 min).

Pair: Students discuss answers with a partner (2 min).

Share: Volunteers share insights with the class, ensuring broad participation.

#2: Snowball Brainstorm

Best for: Structured group conversations that build and evolve.  This strategy also gets students moving and thinking critically.

Example: The teacher asks students to list the effects of climate change. 

Step 1: Students list ideas individually (1 min). 

Step 2: Student pairs discuss and agree on the top 3-5 effects (2 min).

Step 3: Pairs join another partner group where they compare lists, pick the two most significant effects of climate change, and create 2-3 research questions.  

#3: Jigsaw

Best for: Content that can be broken into sections. A jigsaw requires advanced planning, but it is an effective speaking and listening strategy because it ensures that all students participate.

Example: The class analyzes several different characters in a novel. 

Step 1: In “Home” groups of four or five, each student is assigned one character to analyze in depth.

Step 2: Students are regrouped into “Expert” groups.  Expert groups are comprised of students responsible for analyzing the same character.  Together, they complete the task.

Step 3: Experts then return to their Home groups to share their areas of expertise. 

Step 4: Finally, the Home groups complete a task that requires information from every expert. 

#4: Small Group Quizzes

Best for: Encouraging student discussion of content and turning a “quiz” into a learning tool.

Example: Multiple-choice quiz on the causes of the Industrial Revolution.

Best practices for group quizzes:

1. Use groups of 2-4 for the best discussions while answering questions.
2. Stick to multiple-choice or short-answer formats.
3. Clarify your grading:  What is the procedure if students disagree?

#5: Lesson Break

Best for: Breaking up lectures or independent work.  Lesson breaks promote engagement and help students process what they’re learning.  

Example: A lecture on heredity and the inheritance of traits.

Step 1: Pause at transitional points; ask students to get into groups.

Step 2: Students compare notes and complete a quick task together (summarizing, sorting, selecting, or evaluating). 

Options include:

• Create a “headline” 
• Identify 1-2 key questions about the content
• Decide on the 3 most important points
• Identify a connection to the content from their own lives, from a previous unit, or another class

#6: Carousel

Best for: Introducing or reviewing key ideas of a unit, topic, or course of study. 

Example: Reviewing major historical topics before a final exam.

Step 1: Post 7-10 key topics on large sheets of paper around the room.  Keep topics open-ended to allow for a variety of answers.   

Step 2: In small groups, students rotate to each poster (or the posters rotate to them), discussing the topic, reading the previous comments, and adding at least one new insight.

Best Practice 1: To hold students accountable, assign each group a different marker color.  Students should also rotate who does the writing for the group.

Best Practice 2: Lengthen each round to provide time for students to read the previous comments.

Step 3: Groups end with the poster they started with.  They should read all of the comments and identify the most powerful insight.  Groups read that one comment to the whole class to close the activity.

#7: Reading Triads

Best for: Deepening reading comprehension through structured roles.

Example: Analyzing a science article on the water cycle.

Step 1: Groups of three take on roles: Summarizer, Clarifier, and Questioner.

Step 2: Pause the reading at various points.  During these discussions: 

• Summarizer restates the main ideas 
• Questioner should identify one or two questions the reading posed 
• Clarifier will untangle confusing ideas in the reading or answer questions brought up by the Questioner

Note: Students may initially be frustrated by the interruptions, but by placing the pauses strategically, their comprehension of the reading will be vastly improved in comparison to summarizing, clarifying, and questioning only at the end of the reading.

Source

#8: Act It Out

Best for: Injecting energy, movement, and creativity into a lesson.

Example: Demonstrating human adaptations to the Arabian Desert.  This works best with answers that depict an action or movement. 

Step 1: Identify a part of your lesson in which students typically share answers verbally.  

Step 2: In small groups, students create a short scene (5-10 seconds) to show the answer instead of offering a verbal response. 

Step 3: Volunteer groups come to the front of the class and demonstrate their answer.  You can have one student narrate the scene or choose to have all students participate in the act it out.

Note: Works best for middle school and early high school students.  Also great for high-energy days or when students need a break from the routine.  

Final Thoughts

Collaborative learning makes lessons more engaging, interactive, and student-driven. Whether you’re looking for quick discussion techniques or structured group tasks, these eight strategies can help you create a more dynamic classroom. 

Try one this week and see how your students respond!

Brad has taught history at the middle and high school levels for 19 years, almost exclusively in American public schools.  He has a master’s in educational technology and is passionate about elevating the status of professional educators.