In this month's feature during the Kagan series, we are examining Rally Coach. Rally Coach is a strategy that I utilize extremely often in my high school Language Arts classroom. Not only is it a fun and engaging way for students to work together, but it also helps ensure increased participation among all students. Like many of the other cooperative learning approaches, this strategy is particularly valuable for students who need a little extra assistance when learning a new concept in class.
We as teachers know it is our duty and privilege to promote student learning and personal development. One way to accomplish this important goal, according to Hentges (2016), is through Kagan cooperative learning strategies, which have been demonstrated to improve student achievement significantly. In Rally Coach, students work in partner pairs or small groups collaboratively on an assignment. In addition to following the previously mentioned PIES format, Rally Coach helps ensure that students receive support from their peers when needed. While many times we the teachers might intervene when a student is struggling, direct intervention from a teacher can in fact be a missed learning opportunity for the student. Rather than simply have students refer to the teacher for support, classroom learners can maintain “individual accountability” (Hentges, 2016, p. 41) by taking the initiative and seeking help from a partner in Rally Coach instead. It may take time to shift students’ lines of thinking from teacher support to self and peer support, but consistent practice with Kagan strategies will help with this important transition.
With Rally Coach, students fulfill two meaningful roles. Firstly, they are at no point in the learning process able to retreat from a situation. Whether they are the writer, speaker, or coach, that student is considered an essential member of the partner pair or small group. If that student is not writing down a response, he or she is expected to be “coaching” a peer; this coaching might involve searching for textual evidence from a text, revising an error, or simply offering positive encouragement. Palmer (1997) notes that the teacher in a classroom holds a pivotal position in fostering a “safe space and trusting relationship” (p. 20) with students and among students to promote these positive interactions. While this mutual trust may take time and effort to build, the potential academic yield is tremendous. I have found from personal experience in the classroom that my students not only enjoy Rally Coach, they prefer it to completing worksheets or writing assignments alone. It enables them to socialize with a partner, promoting their social skills, while also seeking help and a second set of eyes for review and support when needed.
Once again, English Language Learners (ELLs) can benefit mightily from Rally Coach and other cooperative learning strategies. Jefferson (2015) discusses in her research how cooperative learning techniques, especially Kagan strategies, support ELL students. In addition to creating a “comfortable learning environment,” Rally Coach is one such technique that ensures students have meaningful “engagement in their tasks” (p. 6). Oftentimes ELL students do not feel confident or capable enough to ask questions or raise concerns when they are confused or lost in class. These students may lack the language skills necessary or the self-assurance to let a teacher know they do not understand. The beauty of Rally Coach involves students having the opportunity to instead seek the assistance of their peers in a natural learning environment, which places less pressure on the needing to raise a question in class and risk ridicule. Furthermore, this “tutoring” process can encourage these students to even become the “teachers” to their peers during a coaching session (Jefferson, 2015, p. 6). These ELLs rarely get such opportunities to feel like leaders, and doing so thus offers them a great and rewarding learning experience to help and be helped in return.
I implement Rally Coach in two primary forms in my classroom. The first approach is through Claim, Quote, Comment (CQC) writing, and the second is during the close reading process via SOAPSTone. I find that students who excel in English not only benefit from this process, but those who struggle do as well. Hentges (2016) emphasizes that “we want to provide struggling students with positive learning opportunities,” but the question remains, how do we accomplish this? Rally Coach seems to be an excellent place to start. When I ask students to respond to reading questions in class via CQC format, I find that utilizing Rally Coach prompts their overall success. Students can help one another find textual evidence, discuss potential commentary, and review issues with the claim. The same supportive process applies with the SOAPSTone and close reading assignments. Students seem to have much more cohesive, detailed responses on the whole when they work together in this Kagan strategy format. I always require that my students alternate writing and coaching with one another so they are able to practice being the tutor and the tutee; this ensures that each student feels needed, important, and capable of helping and being helped. It can also prove helpful to use an online timer so students have set periods in which they should be alternating roles throughout the activity.
Ultimately, I feel Rally Coach is a valuable strategy to implement in ELA courses as well as other fields. Students derive both social and academic benefit when working collaboratively; they can enhance their writing and analysis, correct their mistakes, and submit high quality work. I also feel this process underscores the value of improving our students’ interpersonal skills. Palmer (1997) notes that as teachers, we must “teach who we are” (p. 14). This involves us sharing our true selves with our students and promoting authentic relationships, meaningful conversation, and positive communication. In a similar vein, Rally Coach helps our students get to know one another. While I always try to ensure that my students are on task and focusing on the academic task at hand, I rarely take issue if my students briefly veer off task to share their thoughts, experiences, and likes with one another. Just as we teachers “need to open a new frontier in our exploration of good teaching” (Palmer, 1997, p. 15), so too must we remain open to our students sharing their identities and lives with one another. When we come to know our students and our students come to know each other profoundly, the potential for learning and achievement is exponential.
I sincerely hope that you are interested in implementing Rally Coach in your own classroom if you have not yet begun Kagan strategies yet. Here is a helpful link below to Rally Coach with information about the Kagan approach in general. If you have any questions, please feel welcome to leave a question or comment on my blog!
Rally Coach Link
I look forward to a new installment of our Kagan mini-series in the time to come. Until next time, be well, and happy teaching! Remember on those tough days that you make a difference each and every day to your kids.
Sincerely,
Ryan
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References
Hentges, J. (2016). Struggling middle school learning instruction support: What about social interaction and cooperative learning? Global Education Journal, 4(1), 39-45.
Jefferson, L. (2015). Using cooperative learning to engage English language learners. LEA Institute III, 1-55.
Palmer, P.J. (1997). The heart of a teacher: Identity and integrity in teaching. Change, 29(6), 14-21.