Designing Cooperative Learning in the Science Classroom: Integrating the Peer Tutoring Small Investigation Group (PTSIG) within the Model of the Six Mirrors of the Classroom Model

The model of the six mirrors of the classroom and its use in teaching biology in a cooperative learning mode were implemented in high school classrooms. In this study we present: a) The model of the six mirrors of the classroom (MSMC). b) Cooperative learning settings: 1. The Group Investigation; 2. The Jigsaw Method; and 3. Peer Tutoring in Small Investigative Groups (PTSIG). c) Two biology topics: 1. Microorganism; 2. Evolution. The MSMC examines the processes of a) organization, b) learning tasks, c) teacher instructional behaviors, d) teachers' communicative behaviors, e) students' academic performance, and (f) students' social behaviors. Each mirror is described in terms of five levels of complexity from simple to complex. Both subjects were taught in Cooperative Leaning Methods: The Jigsaw Method, Group Investigation (GI) rooted in Dewey's (1927) philosophy, and Peer Tutoring in small Investigative Groups which is a combination of the Jigsaw method and Group Investigation. Two biology subjects were instructed through the MSCM and PTSIG: 1) Microorganisms, learning unit written in Arabic and Hebrew for 9th grade students in the STS approach structured around two biological principles: a) the unity of the life, b) the relationship between structure and function. 2) Evolution, learning unit for 12th grade students, included topics on Lamarck's, Darwin's and neutral theories, punctuated equilibrium, genetics diversity, natural selection, specialization and phylogenesis. The paper will include the subjects, research procedure and results. [For complete volume, see ED567118.]