Riley

Jennings
2-21-16
STAD Model
EDC 311
Is about


The STAD Model is a cooperative learning strategy that provides multi-ability teams with
practice in learning concepts and skills.

Theory and
Planning
Theory: The student t eams achievement

divisions model is based on c onstructivism

theory because it assumes that the students
bring previous k nowledge to t he situation to
share with t heir group and c onstruct new
thoughts about the topic being taught.
Planning
Set a clear learning objective of what
convergent result you want the students to
arrive at with t he skill you model
Whole-Group: Prepare high quality a nd
relevant examples to s hare with t he
students and plan examples that will
prompt interactive discussion
Organizing Groups: Pre-plan y our groups t o
ensure ability, gender, and ethnic diversity
of 4 (no more t han 5) members
Plan for Team Study: These exercises pretty
much MUST have c onvergent a nswers so
that the students can compare a nswers
with each other t o monitor t heir progress
and whether or not t heyre c orrect a nd why
theyre wrong if theyre wrong
Calculating Bases Scores and Improvement
Points: Base score is the average of past
tests and quizzes or determined by a
previous year/terms grades a nd t hey must
be determined before introducing STAD,
improvement pts are given in c omparison,
and not necessarily improvement from a
students base score (teacher discretion,
also, perfect score provision); improvement
pts are necessary f or equal opportunity
which is essential when using STAD

Instruction: Teach the lesson through
review, introduction of topic, explanation
and modeling of content, a nd o nce you
feel the students are ready, group
work/team study rather than individual
practice
Transition to Teams: Through
explanation of the improvement points
must take place because you want the
higher achievers in the diversified groups
to want to help the lower achievers
improve so that the whole group gets
improvement points and they therefore
learn to work together; the group work
should be focused, however, since this
group task is so well defined/specific
Team Study: You must monitor the
progress and work ethic of the groups,
using your judgment to determine how
long to let a group struggle before
intervening if theyre going down the
wrong path. If a group is not working
together equally, immediate intervention
is necessary a nd you would do well to
praise a good model group
Recognizing Achievement: Assessment
remains the same, but a few
improvement points are given for
achieving the same score and the points
increase proportionally with the increase
in student assessment scores; good way
to increase excitement a bout
assessment/learning!

So What??

Assessment and
Motivation

Implementing

Assessment
Assessing Understanding of Content:
Traditional assessments, i .e. paper and
pencil quizzes are s ufficient to gauge a
students understanding of the content
Assessing Group Processes: not
quantifiable by traditional assessment,
teacher must watch the groups to monitor
via personal notes and c hecklists: Are all
members c ontributing? Are some
members dominating? Is the group
interaction positive and s upportive? Do
boys and girls contribute equally? Are
members of different racial/ethnic groups
participating/being i ncluded?
Motivation
Team Scoring: The actual score each
member gets, i n c omparison with their
average/base score determines how many
improvement points they get, s o feasibly,
the group member with the lowest quiz
score could r eceive the most improvement
points, a nd research s hows this has a
positive effect on improvement (Slavin,
1995)
Team Awards: These can take different
forms, but the point is that the team who
averages the most improvement points
gets s pecial recognition, w hich motivates
peer explanation/accountability and
motivation to work together
**students must be reminded that they are
not competing with each other but rather
against their own personal last
performance a nd that individual
improvement benefits the team

Modifications

This model really just has more

warnings to k eep in m ind rather
than modifications. As the t eacher,
you must b e a ware of the t endency
for students of different
racial/ethnic backgrounds to not be
equally included in the group and
therefore not equally contributing
and not learning as much a s they
could if they would b e included
fully. Additionally, the d ifferent
abilities of the students in the
groups can cause resentment from
higher achieving students and
detachment f rom lower a chieving
students, so it is essential that there
is individual a ccountability and that
you explain that the grades
assigned will be assigned based on
individual m erit.

Group work/learning is a great tool when used appropriately, but it is just that: a tool, a means to an end, not an end in and of itself.
That said, the students can really learn a lot from working with each other and h earing a p eers p erspective on the lesson, and they
are working against themselves, not their classmates, so there is no reason to not help each o ther and increase everyones learning.