Social skills are vital to being successful whether you're in school or on the job. School is really the place where people learn and practice their social skills. Everybody knows social skills are used on the playground, but what about in the classroom?
This is where the Social Interactive Model (SIM) comes into play.
SIM is used to facilitate group work in the classroom. Unlike Direct Instruction, SIM is student-centered and requires students to work together in a structured setting.
SIM lessons begin with the introduction of the task by the teacher. Students are then placed in groups. There are many different methods for grouping students. It may be done randomly through choosing Popsicle sticks, counting (1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2...), or it may be done based on skill level.
The point of SIM is to make students responsible for their learning. This is because SIM requires students to be able to take what they learned and share it with group members, as well as the rest of the class.
One cooperative learning method that was used in my class to show SIM, is Jigsaw. In Jigsaw, students are put into groups (in whatever manner the teacher chooses). Each group member is assigned a different part of a problem. Students then research their assigned part. Before they return to their group to share their findings, they must first meet with other students in the class from different groups who were assigned the same part. This new group is known as the expert group. The expert group makes sure that everyone has found the same information and come up with a way to share their findings with their home groups.
Jigsaw makes every group member responsible. All students in the group must do their part in order for the final product to be a success.
One advantage to SIM is that is allows for students to use their higher order thinking skills. The disadvantage is that it is extremely time consuming.
