GNS Learning in Action at GTHS

A focus of Grand Trunk High School’s School Continuous Improvement Plan (SCIP) is to engage 100 percent of students in their learning of the curricular outcomes, with effective and meaningful methods, through longer period lengths.

So how does this look in the classroom?

One such strategy is incorporating Cooperative Learning. Cooperative Learning involves structuring classes around small groups that work together in such a way that each member's success is dependent on the group's success. Instead of working alone to simply answer comprehension or analysis questions, students in Grade 8 worked in random groupings and were assigned a part of the "bigger question" relating to their current novel study on Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan.

Each student took a turn acting as a ‘recorder’ in that they couldn't talk and had to record the ideas of their teammates. This activity helped to engage the quieter learners, reduce the daunting size of the original task, and build relationships within the classroom.

Mrs. Schatz was very proud of the students’ effort as well as their creative responses!