50 Strategies for Cooperative Learning

Empower your students to become active participants in their learning journey! This guide includes easy-to-implement strategies for fostering an academically engaging and emotionally supportive learning environment where every student can thrive.

Whether you’re a new or seasoned educator, 50 Strategies for Cooperative Learning will help transform your classroom into an interactive environment where collaboration flourishes and academic success becomes a shared achievement.

Adaptable across grade levels and subject areas, strategies are organized into five chapters designed to develop social and emotional skills alongside academic growth:

-Strengthening Self-Awareness to Cultivate Identity: Give learners a safe space to recognize and embrace the unique strengths and values that make them who they are.

-Strengthening Self-Management to Cultivate Agency: Equip students with the tools to take charge of their academic journey to better navigate challenges and achieve their fullest potential.

-Strengthening Social Awareness to Cultivate Belonging: Create a culture of inclusivity in your classroom with actionable strategies that nurture a sense of connection and social awareness among students.

-Strengthening Relationship Skills to Cultivate Collaborative Problem-Solving: Develop essential communication and relationship skills by teaching the value of solving problems as a team.

-Strengthening Responsible Decision-Making to Cultivate Curiosity: Explore techniques that promote critical thinking skills and empower students to be their most thoughtful, curious selves in school and beyond.

Unlock the power of collaboration in the classroom! This guide includes easy-to-implement strategies for fostering an academically engaging and emotionally supportive learning environment where every student can thrive.

Sabrina Winkleman, M.Ed. (she/her), is the author of 50 Strategies for Cooperative Learning and leads Toward Transformation LLC, an organization dedicated to holistic learning and development in service of transformative individual and organizational change. She specializes in nervous system care through mind-body coaching and transformative social and emotional learning (tSEL). Winkleman is a national speaker and professional learning facilitator for equitable whole child and adult policy, research, and practice. Her work in education spans nearly two decades, from being a classroom teacher for nearly a decade to working as an instructional specialist and a social and emotional learning (SEL) specialist at district and state levels. Most recently, Winkleman was the SEL Specialist for the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Center at the Minnesota Department of Education. Winkleman holds a Master of Education from the College of St. Scholastica with a focus on culturally responsive practice and adult transformative SEL. 

"Sabrina Winkleman has created a much-needed resource for educators, bringing together practical strategies for cooperative learning with the powerful framework of transformative SEL. The activities and prompts offer meaningful opportunities for students and adults alike to reflect and connect in ways that deepen learning."

"50 Strategies for Cooperative Learning equips educators with easy-to-use strategies for integrating cooperative learning and transformative SEL to holistically engage and support students. This is an essential resource for any teacher who is seeking simple and flexible ways to cultivate a classroom culture of cooperation, connection, and belonging."

"This book offers exactly enough structure, clarity, and routine to address the challenges of cooperative learning with intention, self-reflection, and accessible techniques. I recommend this book for?any teacher seeking straightforward methods to cultivate a classroom?centered on collective growth and learning."

"50 Strategies for Cooperative Learning?is a transformative exploration of social and emotional learning (SEL) and its accessibility for educators, highlighting how to integrate these skills into classroom settings. In a time when educators are pressed for time but still recognize the importance of SEL, this book provides vital strategies to easily integrate SEL activities across all grade levels in any educational setting!"

"Sabrina Winkleman brings to?50 Strategies for Cooperative Learning?a vast amount of knowledge and experience in fostering equitable learning environments.?Educators will gain powerful strategies to create collaborative, rigorous, and inclusive classrooms.?They will also gain greater self-awareness, a critical element in becoming an effective teacher of social emotional skills."

"In 50 Strategies for Cooperative Learning, Sabrina Winkleman does a remarkable job of providing easy-to-use strategies for educators and students to co-create transformative social and emotional learning experiences that enhance student academic and life success. Sabrina offers concrete tools and strategies that educators can easily adapt based on their own and their students' needs. Whether you're a new or experienced SEL educator, this book offers something for you."