# data[].attributes.body
1. What is the culture like in your own classroom? Do students know each other's strengths and weaknesses?

SH - The culture in my classroom is open, safe, and encouraging. As the year rolls on, I believe that we begin to recognize eachothers' strengths and weaknesses. For some students this recognition will come earlier than with others.

RR - We work on building a culture from day one that focuses on being respectful. This past year we worked really hard on having a growth mindset! Students do realize their strengths and weaknesses and try to utilize students that are experts in certain areas to help them.

DL - As the year goes by, the students in my room recognize each other's strengths and weaknesses more and more and the class really comes together because of that.  I stress respect in the classroom, so that students do not feel embarrassed to ask questions or speak up during class.  I have found that the smaller classes of 20-22 kids really understand each other much better than the larger ones.

JW - I would like to believe that the culture in my classroom is one of respect for others and their ideas. Realistically, there are bumps in the road at times. However, we always communicate the importance of acceptance and tolerance of others. If a student doesn't feel safe, it will be very difficult for her/him to put herself/himself "out there" when trying new things.
JP-6th grade is interesting in that they are coming from feeder schools so there are tons of new people to get to know and learn from. It takes awhile, but once our year progresses the kids pick up on strengths and weaknesses. When we talk about passion project ideas and get feedback from classmates, this really shows how kids pay attention to details and personalities.

BB- Fear....there is great fear in 7th grade. I try to make the culture of my classroom a place where day-to-day, mistakes and being wrong is just another part of learning, and life. We have countless conversations about "guessing" being appropriate, encouraged, and preferred over "I don't know." I have a schpeel about that....but this is neither the time nor place. I would venture a guess that most 7th grade students play to their strengths, which in turn subtly identifies their weaknesses (to a keen eye). If only they would use their powers for good....

KH- I hope that my classroom is a place of mutual respect and growth centered. It was interesting last year to teach Transitional Math at all three levels and then AVID 8. The feel of the two classes were very different. My TransMath kids needed a coach and leader, while my AVID students often needed a cheerleader and mentor. I think our environment may change a little from year to year depending on what our students need from us.

# data[].attributes.body
2. What would Pitch Day look like in your classroom?

SH - I am not sure yet - I have never actually had a "pitch" day. I usually have students share their thoughts/ideas with a small group in which they bounce ideas off of one another seeking feedback. I do like the idea of showing them a video clip of Shark Tank and taking the pitch a bit further. I don't foresee asking students to create and present an elaborate pitch that they would  do for the whole class. I do like the feel of the smaller group pitch in which the setting is more intimate and feedback a bit more natural.

RR - I agree! I do think there could be some value in doing it with the whole class, but I also think that small collaborative groups could be very beneficial too. I think I would probably start out with small groups and see how those worked.

DL - Pitch day in my room would be some smaller groups for the first time. I would want the kids to get some feedback in the small group setting prior to taking their idea to the whole class. That could be intimidating for some.  I have done a little of this with their state project, but in that case they are "pitching" their idea for their project to just me.

JW - I agree with what the others have stated in that I foresee the "pitches" being done in some sort of rotating small group setting. I would have to do some instruction on specific feedback prior to this.
JP- I didn't do a pitch day as a whole class, but walked around as the students discussed their ideas and asked questions. I want to make this day BIGGER and with more peer feedback the next time I do GH.

BB- I envision small group or "speed dating." The large group idea we read about seemed a little long and drawn out for my taste. I want efficient, but I also want quality. Can we have both?

KH- No clue yet. I liked the idea of Baron's- speed pitching. I have yet to figure out how Genius Hour can help my students show mastery of Math standards. An inquiry project, yes definitely. However, a true Genius Hour, I'm still thinking about.

# data[].attributes.body
3. Do you believe collaboration is natural or does it need to be taught? Do you think there is a difference between collaboration and group work?

SH - I do not think collaboration is necessarily natural for all students. This does need to be taught and practiced. This is one of the reasons in which I feel that this type of project should not occur early in the school year. I do think there is a difference between collaboration and group work. Group work, in my opinion, is when you all work on the same task/project in which the purpose is the same as well. Everybody has a job to complete the group work. Collaboration occurs when students share with others in search of feedback. They may not necessarily have the same purpose or need however, the students are collaborating to produce different products and they check-in periodically for feedback.

RR - Collaboration is not always natural for all students. I think some students need to see it in action or being modeled. Students need to be taught how to give appropriate feedback and how to be good listeners. I think there is a big difference between group work and collaboration although many people think of them as the same.

DL - Collaboration is definitely not natural for all students. With that in mind we need to teach those skills to our kids so that they will find some success and accomplishment when collaborating. If they realize there is a purpose in it they will value it much more down the road.  Yes there is a difference between collaboration and group work.  To me collaborating is working together to accomplish an end goal.  Group work would be where everyone is doing the same thing, just at the same time, together.

JW - Yes, collaboration needs to be taught. I don't think it is a natural thing especially for 7th graders. I also think it can be challenging to have students assume roles and be responsible for their parts. I have learned, through reading this, that there is a big difference between group work and collaboration which makes a lot of sense.
JP- Taught and modeled and reminded and retaught and ......
I think collaboration brings in more precise discussion and feedback with a focus on specifics.

BB - Yes...taught. Coblaboration is another word for group work. She hit the nail on the head. I agree with everything.

KH- Yes, for sure it needs to be taught. Group work to me is not always collaboration. Like mentioned above, it can get out of hand and doesn't always show mastery of standards for all students.

# data[].attributes.body
4. Are you currently encouraging group work or collaboration in your own classroom?

SH - I think we do a little of both... I would like more collaboration to occur but I think it's easy to fall back on the group work.
**I have attached an interesting article concerning group work and collaboration.

DL - I agree with Steph, there is a little of both, but I would say the majority is

JW - Unfortunately, I would have to say there is more group work than collaboration. We will have to work on that.
JP-Both in my classroom. Depends on the activity or lesson.
BB Same with JP. I would add that it depends on who is in the group as to if there is collaboration.
RR - A little bit of both. It depends on what students are working on.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Simply putting kids around a table and telling them to work together does not teach them collaboration skills.

Collaboration is included in almost every list of 21st-century skills-and for good reason. Technology now offers more people the opportunity to work together without geographical restraint, and businesses everywhere are expecting employees to collaborate on projects, both in face-to-face teams and in virtual teams.

Players of the online game Foldit provide one of the most astounding examples of the power of collaboration in the digital age. Together, the Foldit players solved a molecular puzzle that had long baffled scientists and could contribute to a cure for AIDS. In a stunning example of "citizen science"-crowdsourcing in order to generate scientific data and solve scientific problems-Foldit players did in 10 days what individual scientists had been unable to do in a decade (Peckham, 2011). Such examples suggest that enhanced collaboration may be exactly what we need to solve the world's critical problems.

If so, then collaboration should become a greater part of school curricula at all levels. Currently, collaborative work is most common in graduate schools, particularly business schools, where students work in teams on various projects, just as they will in their careers. But students in traditional K-12 schools mostly work individually. Common exceptions to this are students of teachers who assign "group work." However, group work is neither as widely used nor as effective as necessary if we wish to produce a generation of learners adept at collaborating. In fact, group work as often practiced does little to enhance collaborative skills.

In the worst cases, group work is assigned when a teacher doesn't feel like teaching. The teacher gives students some questions and instructs them to talk them over in groups. The teacher then sits at his desk checking his email while students have a half-hearted conversation before veering off topic. This is hardly an effective way to teach collaboration. Situations like this confound the problem by leading to a perception that group work is both unproductive and a sign of laziness on the part of the teacher-a way of shirking responsibility in the name of another progressive pedagogical tactic.

Teaching Collaboration

Of course, not all teachers who assign group work are lazy, and many do it for the right reasons. A good collaborative assignment requires much more of the teacher than in the example above. Teachers must set clear expectations and devise a fair and meaningful way to assess student work. Most important, the teacher should constantly be circulating around the room, looking over shoulders, asking and answering questions, giving feedback, and taking notes on student progress.

Still, even if these efforts are made, collaboration is not being taught per se. Assigning group work is very different than teaching collaborative skills. Unlike writing-a skill in which students have been trained since elementary school-collaboration is neither systematically taught nor modeled for students. So, when giving a collaborative assignment, teachers should assume students know very little about how to collaborate. Teachers should begin by actually teaching effective collaboration strategies, including:

* Listen to others;

* Establish common goals;

* Compromise;

* Assign roles and responsibilities;

* Determine measures for accountability;

* Give constructive feedback; and

* Assess the group's progress.

Only after a teacher has talked with students about these behaviors can he or she ask them to start collaborating. The first group assignments should be short and done in class so the teacher can observe and provide feedback as necessary.

At the outset, the teacher may actually want to give students an agenda to follow. For example:

* Discuss the problem and divide up tasks (10 minutes).

* Complete individual tasks (15 minutes).

* Reconvene to share individual work and synthesize information (15 minutes).

* Present solution to the rest of the class (5 minutes).

Depending on the nature of the task that students are asked to accomplish, the teacher may even wish to assign specific roles and responsibilities to individuals.

Only with this type of training will students be prepared to engage in long-term collaborative assignments outside class. However, just because students are ready to collaborate outside the classroom doesn't mean the teacher should stop monitoring the work of the different groups. Teachers can continue to monitor group work by having students keep a running log of their work, including who met, when they met, and what was discussed, as well as what individuals have done during their own time. This is a good way to assure that all students are pulling their own weight. Teachers should also establish check-in points along the way toward completing a certain task. Within this framework, teachers can ask students to submit the group's goals to the teacher and to submit a chart that outlines each member's role and responsibilities.

Teachers must also build in time for students to reflect on their experience working with others so they can learn from it before their next collaborative assignment. Teachers can ask students to write about successes and failures and to think about how they might do things differently next time. Students could also assess the collaborative skills of other group members so all students hear feedback from others in the group.

After completing collaborative assignments in this manner, students may be ready to complete group tasks successfully without teacher oversight, which should be the goal.

Challenges of Teaching Collaboration

Although this is a recipe for teaching collaboration effectively, teachers will still face challenges when assigning collaborative work.

Recently, I spent hours meeting with deans, advisers, and parents because one student working in a group was constantly harassing another student whom he disliked. Less extreme but more common is the refrain, "I just don't want to work with that person. Can I please switch groups?" Dealing with these interpersonal issues adds work for the already overburdened teacher and only complicates the lives of students for whom social status and friendship are of utmost concern.

Assigning group work also raises procedural issues in an academic institution-where and when do students meet? Teachers have complained that groups have disrupted study areas (which, by the way, have generally been designed for individual study). Student groups have told me they have no time in their schedules when they can meet, and, after scoffing at them, I realized that, in fact, they were correct. I once worked at a school that even had rules prohibiting students from meeting during certain times; exceptions could be made, but they required paperwork.

And then there is the challenge of how to assess group work, and how to make sure all group members are contributing equally. These two issues will cause lots of headaches. Assessing group work fairly is complicated and outside the scope of this article. Suffice it to say that in assigning group work teachers must be transparent about what their grades reflect and have a clear rationale for why the practice is justified if they allow collaborative work to be reflected in an individual grade.

Collaboration's Value

With all of the complications and hassles, is encouraging collaboration really worth the trouble? Might all of the potential problems suggest that teachers should stick to more traditional instruction? On the contrary. All of these issues are exactly why we should assign group work. Inequality, unfairness, interpersonal conflict, bureaucratic hurdles-this is the stuff of life. Without this experience, students who spend their K-12 education career working in isolation will be ill-equipped to handle these challenges when they confront them in college and the workplace. The benefits of group work come not from a project smoothly accomplished, but from learning to deal with all of the challenges posed by working with others. As research increasingly suggests, we learn more from failure and setbacks than from success. Collaborative assignments allow students-particularly the best students who might otherwise breeze through school having nothing but success along the way-to deal with a little adversity.

So, is assigning group work a sign of laziness? I think not! A teacher must be willing to deal with these headaches and to help students struggle with these issues if he or she wishes to prepare them for success in today's world.

References

Web Only

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Back to Top

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
G-R-O-U-P W-O-R-K Doesn't Spell Collaboration

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Simply putting kids around a table and telling them to work together does not teach them collaboration skills. Collaboration is included in almost every list of 21st-century skills-and for good reason.