Having students work as partners or in
groups always has the best intentions; you believe, as the teacher, that
allowing students to work with a partner they choose on an assignment will make
them more engaged in the work. My MT has been assigning partner work quite
often at the end of the class period. The students are usually asked to work on
that night’s homework with their partner and finish whatever they did not finish
in class at home.
While at observations the other day, the teacher had
assigned the homework and given them the last 15 minutes to work on it. I was
walking around the room checking in on each pair of students when I stopped at a
pair with one student – let’s call him Michael* – that spent the entire 30
minutes of instruction time drawing in his notebook and giving somewhat correct
answers when the teacher gave comprehension checks throughout the lesson to see
if the students were understanding the content.
Then, it happened. As I was standing right
next to Michael, he said these words to his partner, Aaron*: “Hey, you just
fill out the sheet of paper, and I’ll keep drawing.” OMG. I went up to them and
told Michael he would not be allowed to put his name on the paper if he was not
willing to do the work, and therefor he would not get the points. He responded
by saying, “Nah, Aaron’s my boy. You’ll let me put my name on the paper, right
Aaron?” OMGx2. Aaron had no choice but to say yes to this and agree to take on
all the work while his peer continued to draw in his notebook.
Michael did end up setting his drawing
aside a few times and helping Aaron finish the assignment. However, it’s still
obvious that Michael has come to learn that if he just picks a partner he knows
will do the work for him, he can still earn participation points by doing
whatever he wants.
How can I engage ALL students and know
that they are all putting forth the same effort as their peers? I came across
on article by Timothy Quinn titled “G-R-O-U-P
W-O-R-K Doesn’t Spell Collaboration.” Quinn states in his article that “Simply
putting kids around a table and telling them to work together does not teach
them collaboration skills” (Quinn). Have students ever actually been taught
collaboration skills? What does that even look like? How can I be part of the
process of students’ collaboration with their peers during group work/partner
work instead of sitting at my desk checking my email?
Suzie Boss’ article “Focus on Collaboration to Kick off New School Year” lists several
tips for teaching collaboration. Many of these include hosting discussions
about teamwork, leadership, and accountability. One that really stood out to me
was to “ask guest speakers and parents to talk about how they collaborate in
their work or when they get involved in community issues” (Boss). I love the
idea of bringing in real world examples of partner/group work to teach students
that collaboration is a life skill. Teachers that assign group work can often
come across as lazy, but if teachers take the time to teach students how to get
the most of their group work, it can be really beneficial to both teachers and
students.
*Names of students have been changed.
Articles mentioned: (In chronological order)
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/12/01/kappan_quinn.html
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/collaboration-new-school-year-pbl-suzie-boss
Ms. Sarah Brill,
ReplyDeleteI think your topic on group work is super interesting as it covers matters that we (future educators/educators) don't necessarily think about. We tell them, "okay, work with a shoulder partner please," and it's really similar to when we tell a child, "Katie, you need to share." We never really explain what it fully means to share, or in this case, what it means to collaborate in partner work.
It's incredibly hard not to assume that students know these things, but through experiences and as your research shows, it’s best to explain everything. Even if students know what it means to “do group work,” outlining your expectations creates a clearer picture for students.
I’ve been in Aaron’s shoes too many times, and I know exactly what it’s like to be taken advantage in terms of school work. I remembered that as a student like Aaron, I needed my teacher to save me. I wanted my teacher to give me no choice but to claim the work as entirely my own and give friends like Michael absolutely no credit. Nobody likes to be used, and certainly, nobody likes to do all the work while others do little to nothing but gain the same amount of acknowledgement. Like me, Aaron doesn’t want to play the role of a “bad friend,” because bad friends don’t last very long in high school. Students form cliques, and when they stick to one, it’s scary to think about leaving.
If I could tell my high school self one thing, it would be: “be brave; you are worth it.” Because confronting people like Michael does not make me a bad friend, but a good one. I think it’s especially important for students to know that their friends should inspire them. Friends should motivate you to become a better version of yourself, and if they don’t, the truth hurts, but they aren’t your friend.
I think your teacher research topic is awesome, and I hope that what I shared with you can help you help students like Aaron. As for Michael, perhaps you can make your lessons appeal to what he likes doing. Take advantage of his artistic abilities and show him how it could be a positive thing, gain his interest.
It’s extremely hard to deal with students who have made up their minds about not doing any work. I hope everything works out better for you and the students when it comes to group work/partner work!
What an interesting conversation I've jumped into here! Ms. Sarah Brill, thank you for opening up this topic for inquiry. I love the voice in your anecdote (OMG x2 -- too funny!), and I think all of us can relate, both as teachers and as students--as Ms. Nguyen so eloquently pointed out in her reply.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I think is especially important about this area of inquiry is that learning is social, and learning is active. We learn through experience. That's why collaboration is so important in our classrooms, and you're exactly right -- it's not something we're innately equipped to do; we've got to be taught -- via modeling, via practice, via direct instruction, etc. Thanks for getting this conversation started!
Ms. Sarah Brill, you've hit on an interesting topic for research. Too often, we, as educators assume students have skills such as group work and collaboration. You have realized that collaboration is a skill that must be taught to our students.
ReplyDeleteKudos to you for recognizing an area of need and working to find ways to teach your students to learn collaboratively.