ways, such as drawing and writing, when they are working together with teachers. JPA makes students’ Complex Thinking (CT) more likely, because a teacher who knows students through interaction and joint activity can individualize instructional levels more sensitively and can activate peer resources when there are alternatives to large group instructional settings. JPA makes Instructional Conversation (IC) more likely, too, because the teacher can lead a dialogue on academic topics with a selected group of students while the others participate independently in numerous joint productive activities. Although the standards clearly function interdependently, novices are encouraged to apply them sequentially, beginning with Joint Productive Activity and Language and Literacy Development. Instructional Conversation is best deployed after gaining experience with the other four standards, particularly Language and Literacy Development. In K-12 teaching, classroom management and organization are key to effective implementation of the standards. These topics are treated briefly in this paper and are discussed extensively elsewhere (Dalton, Stoddart, & Tharp, 1997; Tharp, Estrada, Dalton, & Yamauchi, in press).
Standard I Joint Productive Activity (JPA): Teacher and Students Producing Together Facilitate learning through joint productive activity among teacher and students. Indicators The teacher: 1 designs instructional activities requiring student collaboration to accomplish a joint project. 2 matches the demands of the joint productive activity to the time available. 3 arranges classroom seating to accommodate students’ individual and group needs to communicate and work jointly. 4 participates with students in joint productive activity. 5 organizes students in a variety of groupings, such as by friendship, mixed academic ability, language, project, or interests, to promote interaction. 6 plans with students how to work in groups and move from one activity to another, such as from large group introduction to small group activity, for clean-up, dismissal, and the like. 7 manages student and teacher access to materials and technology to facilitate joint productive activity. 8 monitors and supports student collaboration in positive ways. Examples of Joint Productive Activity with identifying indicators follow.
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