ABSTRACT
Student collaboration can range from very formal, semi-permanent structures to less formal and more ad hoc. Interestingly, the effects of collaboration on student achievement increase as students age. Several researchers have noted, however, that several elements should be in place in order to reap the benefits of student collaboration. This chapter discusses the various strategies as a group, collect data as school leaders implement these strategies, and debrief post-strategy to engage in a formative assessment "lesson study" to better understand how the strategy worked. Collaborative work has been shown to increase motivation, self-esteem, and overall academic engagement, and decrease loneliness. There is evidence that students who engage in more collaborative structures in school tend to be more mature in both their cognitive reasoning and moral decision making.
