In what ways does Mr. Fredrickson try to follow generally ...

[ericka1]

In what ways does Mr. Fredrickson try to follow generally recommended guidelines for facilitating productive cooperative groups?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Many fourth graders have trouble writing short stories. With this point in mind, identify several benefits that a cooperative story-writing task might have.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[abro1885]

Answer to Question 1

His strategies include these:
 Through the weekly spelling quizzes, he makes sure that all students master the assigned spelling words.
 He rewards group success by providing free time to the group with the highest number of points at the end of each week.
 He forms heterogeneous groups, at least with respect to gender.
 He talks about appropriate group behaviors.

Answer to Question 2

Joint story-writing might have benefits such as these:
 Students can scaffold one another's efforts; for instance, more skilled students can assist those less skilled.
 Students can model effective strategies for one another.
 Different students might bring different skills to the task. For example, one student may have a particularly creative story line, whereas a second has expertise in punctuation and a third is a careful proofreader.
 The combined efforts of the group are likely to yield a more sophisticated story than individual group members can write on their own; as a result, the self-efficacy of all group members may be enhanced.

[ericka1]

TYSM

[ricroger]

Thanks for the timely response, appreciate it