Put students together in groups and they will work together. Or not? “Group processes can also be destructive.” How do you teach your students to work together? Seven tips.
Text: Marry Schoemaker Image: Nino Maissouradze
Social psychologist Pieternel Dijkstra: “In many schools there is no clear vision on collaboration. You have to know what you mean by 'collaboration' and know the risks. Group processes can be destructive. Students' self-image can be affected and envy can arise. And it is incredibly lame when a collaborative project, due to the teacher's incompetence, results in problems having to be solved by a child taking the lead. A lot of children are turned off by that. Teachers often have knowledge about phases of group formation, but knowledge is often lacking in the areas of processes such as emotional contagion, social comparison and social loafing (piggybacking, ed.). Investigate this and discuss it with colleagues, so that you can properly organize the collaboration process.”
Trainer Judith Porcelijn, who worked in primary and secondary education for many years: “Unfortunately, adults often cannot remember what it is like not to be able to do something. Five girls from group 4 once asked me just before the summer holidays if they could clean the kitchen in the classroom. I said yes without further explanation. After the break the kitchen looked shiny, but all the cleaning products were gone! Discuss with the students what they mean by collaboration and explain how they can approach it. Due to the corona lockdowns, students have also been less able to practice social skills.”
Judith Porcelijn: “Many teachers now use cooperative working methods. It is best to teach a maximum of three or four per grade. If you practice these well, you can apply them endlessly.” Such as the working methods developed by Spencer Kagan, the basic principles of which are: all students participate and participate equally, they need each other to achieve a good result and are active at the same time as much as possible. School leader Riëtte Smit of De Ark primary school in Espel: “From group 1 onwards, we consciously teach cooperative working methods with a kind of step-by-step plan, with a few added each year. It has been clear from the start that we take these working methods seriously. It's not a snack or a game. If the students have practiced a few working methods well, this will yield a lot. As a teacher you also see more and more opportunities to use them in lessons.” Cooperative learning is also used from group 1 at De Hoeksteen primary school in Maurik. Deputy director Helen Peeks: “Interns and new teachers are also included in this. It is often discussed at teacher training colleges. There are posters in the classrooms with an overview of the working methods. It is very important that it is supported by the entire team.”
School leader Riëtte Smit: “In the beginning you should not focus on the content and the result. For example, you can practice a working method during a day opening. Only when the students know the basic rules and what is expected can you use the method during, for example, arithmetic or spelling. Sometimes that is only after the autumn holidays. That's fine."
Research shows that groups of three to four boys and girls are the most effective. Riëtte Smit: “From group 1 onwards we say 'You don't have to be friends with everyone, but you do have to be able to work with everyone'. Children also often change places with us.” For those who work with more permanent groups, Judith Porcelijn recommends the website chairsdans.nl. If strong subgroups have emerged in the group, Pieternel Dijkstra advises stating that differences are difficult, but valuable and that all students are part of the class as a transcending group.
The theory of social comparison processes states that people learn best when they can relate to someone who can do something slightly better. Pieternel Dijkstra: “If the difference is too big, it is discouraging. If a child is more confident, the difference may be greater and he or she may not need a downward comparison with classmates. A child who is much better than the rest at certain things may be able to learn something from other students in other dimensions. Put students who are head and shoulders above the rest together to stimulate each other in a positive competition in which it is not about 'who is the best', but about lifting each other to a higher level.”
“Put clearly on paper or on the board what the students have to do. Step 1: sit at the table, step 2: choose a chairman, step 3: chairman gives everyone a piece of paper and a pen, and so on,” advises trainer Judith Porcelijn. “That helps students enormously. And the teacher does not rush out to help all the groups and therefore has time to observe the process.” Social psychologist Pieternel Dijkstra: “Look and listen and take into account processes of emotional contagion: especially if students get along well with each other, they quickly adopt each other's emotions in facial expressions and posture. In a positive mood it is easier to be creative and think beyond words. Therefore, do not let negative emotions run their course. Recognize and appoint them and ensure proper action is taken.”
Some students will need extra guidance. School leader Riëtte Smit: “We try to guide children who prefer to work alone so that they learn to work together step by step, preferably in a subject or subject with which they already feel comfortable.” Judith Porcelijn: “If the same child is always chosen as chairman, you can ask the students: 'Who has already learned how to do it and now dares to do it?' And you can then say to the other children: 'It's your turn next time, look carefully, then you can do it too.'”
Social psychologist Pieternel Dijkstra: “The collaboration must be transparent and verifiable, so that everyone's role and task is clear and everyone feels responsible.” Trainer Judith Porcelijn: “Name the visible behavior you want to see. Not: 'Work well together now' or 'do your best'. Those are empty terms. Evaluate with the students not only the product, but also the process. How much has everyone done? Have you ever had an argument? How did you solve that? This takes a lot of time in the beginning, but good cooperation can ensure that students can go very far.”