This document provides ideas for getting children to engage in collaborative learning activities using a school radio station or audio recording equipment. It describes how one school set up their own radio station where children worked together to produce weekly news shows, record interviews and stories. It then suggests four specific collaborative learning projects that can be done using a radio station or audio recording: 1) Creating a news report for the radio station by working together on different elements. 2) Collaborating to write and sing original math songs. 3) Working as a group to record a performed play script. 4) Partnering to conduct interviews of visitors and invite local celebrities to be interviewed.

1. Collaborative Learning — vb (often foll by on, with, etc ) 1. to work with another or others on a joint project Getting children to work together can be a tiresome task but, when done effectively, we all know that the outcomes can be outstanding. This slideshow will therefore try to provide a range of ideas for getting children to become collaborative learners.

2. H.P.S. Radio Station At Halterworth Primary School we are lucky enough to have our very own radio station – H.P.S. Radio! It is something that is used throughout the whole school and has had a great impact on motivating our children to work collaboratively. Initially we trained seven children – one from each year group. As a group, the seven children worked together on a series of projects to become experts! They then went on to train all the other children in their class and then their year group. They also trained other members of staff. All our children now work together to produce weekly news shows as well as recording interviews, stories, maths songs and much more! The work can then be broadcast throughout the school and to parents through our Learning Platform – Wizkid. We also have the facility to stream our shows through the internet. Whilst we recognise how fortunate we are to have a radio station, most of the work carried out can be achieved through the use of recordable microphones and free software such as Audacity.

3. Idea 1 - Creating a news report This might not seem like a novel idea but, why not get the children to create, produce and present their own radio show or series on a real radio station? The children can work collaboratively on the different elements of a news report - from creating jingles, interviewing teachers and members of the wider community to talking about the latest news in school. The children can take on any number of roles: researchers, camera operators, technicians and presenters - great for getting the children to work together to achieve shared objectives. Click here to listen to an example report! No radio station? Why not use handheld microphones and Audacity instead?

5. Idea 3 – Record a play script In literacy tasks we have found it very motivating to give the children a purpose for writing. Children have written their own play scripts and then worked with others to perform them in the radio station. We have found that recording through the radio station as a group enables a more productive critical approach to learning. There is a sense of collective responsibility which is fundamental in the process of group recording.

6. Idea 4 – Interviews Lots of our children have worked together to create interview questions to ask visitors to the school. This has not only improved their questioning skills but also given them the opportunity to work collaboratively with partners beyond the school gates as they have invited local celebrities to be interviewed. This illustrates that collaborative learning at Halterworth involves not just peer groups but also the wider community. We believe that this is an important aspect of developing the lifelong learning skills of our pupils.