Thanks for checking out this post on using “Four Corners” as a cooperative learning activity in the classroom. If you would like to view the other posts in this series of Cooperative Learning Strategies, you can find them here: “Expert Groups,” “Q&A Match-Up,” and “Circle Chats.”
How It Works:
- Choose four aspects of a topic that your class is currently focusing on.
- Assign each of these aspects to a corner (or an area) of your room.
- Present the topic and the four related aspects to the whole group and give the students some “think time.”
- Students can then choose a corner to discuss the topic.
- Representatives from each corner can share what their respective groups discussed.
Why I Love This:
- Student Choice: Students LOVE when they are given an opportunity to choose. They feel more empowered and respected, and thus take far more ownership over the outcome of the assignment.
- Various Perspectives: The students are exposed to many different view-points in their corner, which can lead to great discussion.
- Easily Prepared: This activity requires very little preparation on the teacher’s part. The teacher simply needs to think of four (+/-) areas that he/she would like the students to discuss and then send them on their way.
- Easy Implementation: This activity can take as little as five minutes and requires no advanced set-up (e.g. chairs set up, group formations, etc.), so teachers can use it instantaneously and then quickly return to the lesson.
If you’re feeling like a lesson needs a quick boost of engagement, keep this strategy in mind!
