Now, single out all your introverts and put them on one side of the room at individual desks to do a worksheet about different bacteria. Circle up the desks for your extroverts and have them fill out the worksheet together.

Easy as that, right?

Um. If that's what the distinction between individual work and group work were like, it would be a lot easier to set up—and a lot harder to get any benefits from.

Some classes may benefit from a larger emphasis on one of these tactics or the other, but we're guessing some sort of blend is going to be the best bet in most cases. Chances are your students will need some skills both working in a team and solving problems independently—whether that's now in fourth grade or a decade or two down the line in the professional world. So figuring out how and when to use each of these strategies can end up a great tool for your classroom.

Whether you think of it as collaborating with us as you read along or silently and solely reading a dead assemblage of words, power on along.