A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Educational Programs That Work - 1995

Student Team Learning (STL)

Student Team Learning (STL). A set of instructional techniques in which students are placed in four- or five-member heterogeneous learning teams to master basic skills initially presented by the teacher. Approved by JDRP for students grades 3-12.

Description Student Team Learning (STL) is a set of instructional techniques based on years of research on cooperative learning at the Johns Hopkins University. STL consists of three major strategies: Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD), Teams-Games-Tournaments (TGT), and Jigsaw II. All three require students to work in learning teams that are heterogeneous in terms of academic achievement, race and gender. In STAD, students study with their team members following a teacher presentation. Students take quizzes individually to demonstrate how much they have learned. The individual quiz scores are summed to form a team score, and teams are rewarded for their performance. TGT is similar to STAD, except that students are actively engaged in an academic game instead of taking quizzes. In Jigsaw II, students become "experts" on topics relating to material they have read and teach these topics to their teammates. STAD is approved for language arts and TGT for language arts and math, and the STL program as a whole is approved for intergroup relations. STL can be used with the STL Teacher's Manual, 4th edition, and teacher-made curriculum materials. Inexpensive materials in many subject areas are available through the project. The techniques are very practical and easy to learn. They are in use in thousands of schools across the U.S. The effects of STL on intergroup relations are strong and consistent, because the team goal and team interactions allow students to view one another positively. Because the program is inexpensive, takes no more class or teacher time than traditional methods, and increases achievement as well as improving intergroup relations, it can be used as a regular part of class instruction in any subject.

Contact
Anna Marie Farnish, Director of Training Projects, Center for Social Organization of Schools, 3505 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218. (410) 516-8857, FAX (410) 516-8890.

Developmental Funding: NIE.
JDRP No. 75-81 (75)
Recertified (4/17/79)


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