Collaboration in the classroom has always been important to
me. As Aaron Brengard mentions, collaboration is equally important for adults.
The more opportunities we give our students to work collaboratively in the
classroom, the more equipped they will be to work collaboratively as they grow.
Obviously, I think all elements of both rubrics are important. However, if I
have to pick the three most important elements for my current group of
students, I would have to choose: organizes work, respects others, and takes
responsibility.
Organizes Work
I have some mighty unorganized students this year… and I can’t
really blame them as I am not the most organized person myself. However, I have
really tried to encourage them to see the importance of keeping their work
organized. Just as they need to have a plan for their project design, they need
to have a plan for how they will carry out their individual tasks.
Respects Others
Respect is incredibly important when working
collaboratively. It is important for students to know that they need to be
polite and kind to their teammates, even when they may disagree.
Takes Responsibility
We have been working on this skill lately, especially during
reading. My students have been participating in book clubs, and they have recently
seen how one member of the group can disrupt the group’s plan when he/she is
not responsible for his/her work. Paul Curtis suggests that students should create group contracts when working on a project. I like the idea of having students create a set of criteria that is important to them. Then, all members of the group would be held responsible for following the standards they agreed upon at the outset of the project.
I think project based learning is a great instructional
strategy for fostering collaboration. So far, my students have had to make
choices together, research together, design together, and execute a plan
together. They have had to respect the ideas of others, and they have learned
that every member of the group must play a part for the team as a whole to
succeed.
Hi Brittany,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the time you spent considering the collaboration resources provided in the two blogs and the rubrics from NIET and New Tech and considering the possibilities for applying them into your practice. You shared in your post how the three biggest take aways for you were: organizes work, respects others, and takes responsibility. You shared how you like the idea of a collaborative group contract that students in the group co-construct and agree upon, holding each other responsible for adhering to the agreed upon tasks. I agree with you that pbl naturally fosters collaboration and as facilitators we have to consider what "need to knows" we anticipate not just of content but also of soft skills such as collaboration that require time, feedback, and ownership as well.