Grouping Students Effectively

The design of collaborative digital storytelling projects should try to reflect many of the characteristics of cooperative learning when possible. Kagan (1989) outlines five key characteristics of cooperative learning, which include team formation of 2 to 4 students of various abilities, positive interdependence in which students understand that one member’s success contributes to all, individual and task accountability, the development of social skills for working effectively in teams, and created task structures in which all members tasks are necessary to complete the project (Vezzuto, 2005).