Part 2: Examples of successful Kagan classroom structures

Kagan structures have spanned over 30 years of academic integration with thousands of teachers attending training workshops each year.

The development of this approach followed an extensive period of experimentation before being transferred into applied classroom teaching. The concept centres on the principle that cooperativeness is most powerfully determined by the situations in which children find themselves. On this basis, an individual can be encouraged to be extremely cooperative or extremely competitive, depending on the learning environment created.

Are UK universities about to embark on a global online revolution?

In the USA, a global phenomenon in online learning is taking place and many education technologists are anticipating a similar wave in the UK, albeit a much slower one.

Moocs – massive online open courses – have become a national success in the USA, yet over here distance learning remains a niche concern, often seen as a side project for UK universities to cash in on international and postgraduate course fees.

The contrast between nations is stark: while UK universities have only begun to dip their toes in, venture capitalists and leading higher-education institutes in the States are investing millions into the development of ground-breaking new moocs. On offer are free online courses to mass numbers of students across the states and internationally.