.

Strategies Handout
Group #1 - Hayley, Abby, Kailey, Laurel
Ed Psych - Section PQR
Marian Biggins
November 3, 2015

Behavioural issue:
The students in this teachers class work well alone and perform well, academically. However
they have problems working in groups - they often argue and cannot seem to work together.
The teachers goal:
To support her students so that they will able to effectively cooperate with one another in the
classroom.

Strategies to support students cooperating with one another:

1.

Positive learning environment

The teacher will take steps to create a positive learning environment. As Woolfolk, Winnie and
Perry explain, The basic task for teachers is to achieve order and harmony by gaining and
maintaining student cooperation in class activities. 1 Additionally as the psychologist Abraham
Maslow explained, students have a hierarchy of needs, one that involves the need for physical
safety and security.2 In light of both of these realities, it is vital that in order to facilitate student
cooperation the teacher must create a positive classroom environment.
The teacher will ensure that the classroom environment is not over-stimulating, intimidating, or
uncomfortable. This will include ensuring that the lighting is not too low or too harsh, the
temperature is not too hot or too cold, and that walls and surfaces in the room are not too busy
or cluttered.
Application for grade groupings: Steps in preceding paragraph could be applied to all grades.

1 Woolfolk, A., Winnie, P., & Perry, N., (2016). Educational Psychology, Sixth Canadian Edition.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Canada Inc. p.439.
2 Maslow, A.H. (1968). Toward a psychology of being (2nd Ed.), New York, NY: Van Nostrand.
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2.

Desk arrangement

The teacher will ensure that students desks are arranged in a manner that encourages peer
interaction and group work. For example, she will arrange the desks in clusters of four, or circle
arrangements, which Woolfolk, Winnie, and Perry explain are best for student interaction,
rather than placing them into rows.3
The teacher will also carefully place students beside peers who will be helpful, and not a
hindrance, to their learning. For example, if the students are in elementary school, she will not
place two very distractible students beside each other.
Application for grade groupings: Cooperative seating arrangements could be used in all grades,
however they might lead to elementary school students becoming more distracted than they
might otherwise. In that case, the teacher might consider placing all desks into a large
horseshoe type arrangement, rather than into clusters, in order to encourage a mood of
openness while avoiding potential small-group chaos.

3.

Sharing circle

The teacher will facilitate and lead a sharing circle for the students. During the circle the teacher
will openly address the issue at hand, gently telling students what she has observed and
explaining to them that she would like to see them feel comfortable with one another and be
able to work cooperatively. She will do this because she knows that when students feel
respected and supported by teachers, they are more likely to bond with their schools 4 and,
logically, with their peers.
During the sharing circle, per Education Albertas proscribed teacher Knowledge, Skills, and
Attributes (g) and (h) for interim teacher certification, the teacher will permit students to choose
not to speak. She will provide this option in order to respect their human dignity and to foster
their feelings of safety and security.5
Application for grade groupings:

3 Woolfolk, Winnie, & Perry, p. 448.

4 Osterman, K.F. (2000). Students need for belonging in the school community. Review of
Educational Research, 70, 323-367.
5 Education Albertas proscribed teacher Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes (KSAs), found on
November 3, 2015 at: https://education.alberta.ca/department/policy/standards/teachqual/. KSA (g) refers to
teachers knowledge of students needs forpsychological security, while KSA (h) refers to teachers
knowledge of the importance of respecting students human dignity.

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If the students are elementary school aged, the sharing circle would likely be short in duration,
and the discussion within it simple: The teacher could ask students for their thoughts on how to
cooperate with one another, and ways in which to make people comfortable.
If the students are middle school or high school students, then during the sharing circle the
teacher will invite the students to share, if they are willing, any thoughts they have on ways in
which they could use cooperation and group work skills in their upcoming post-secondary
education and work lives. By doing this the teacher will encourage students to become active
decision makers in their learning, and to take responsibility for it. 6 She will also encourage them
to consider cooperation to be a skill necessary for healthy and productive living, much like the
skills of exercising, respecting others, and avoiding substance abuse.

4.

Group work lessons

After the sharing circle, the teacher will present several lessons to the students regarding how to
cooperate and work together in groups. As she does so she will use strategies such as thinkpair-share, discussion in small groups, teacher facilitated whole group discussion, and inquiry
based group work. By taking this approach the teacher will facilitate students becoming
accustomed to group work.7
Application for grade groupings: The teacher could use group work lessons for any grade
grouping, however the lessons would be simpler, and likely shorter, for elementary aged
students.

5.

Regular group work

The teacher will then regularly incorporate group work into the students routines, thereby
permitting them to become accustomed to group work as a regular part of their school days.
Application for grade groupings: Group work for students of any grade could occur in any
subject area at any time. The teacher might be wise to provide advance notice to students of
upcoming group work, in order to give them time to mentally and emotionally prepare for it. For
6 Turner, J.C. (1997). Starting right: Strategies for engaging young literacy learners. In J.T.
Guthrie & A. Wigfield (Eds.), Reading engagement: Motivating readers through integrated
instruction (pp. 183 204). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
7 KSA (a) indicates that teachers know that contextual variables affect teaching and learning.
By teaching her students how to work in groups, the teacher will increase students comfort level
as they cooperate with one another. This in turn will improve students ability to learn.
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example, in her handwritten morning agenda for the students on the white board, she could
make a note of any upcoming activities that day that will involve group work.

6.

Student movement and interaction

The teacher will encourage students to move around the classroom and interact with one
another, as they transition between tasks and do group work. She will also facilitate the creation
of different groups at different times, such that students will not always work with the same
people. By taking these steps the teacher will facilitate students increased comfort level with all
of their peers, and their interaction with students with whom they would not usually associate.
As Woolfolk, Winnie, and Perry write, [a]ll efforts at building positive relationships with students
and classroom community are steps toward preventing management problems.8
Application for grade groupings: This technique could be used for any grade grouping, however
for elementary aged learners the teacher would likely limit the amount or duration of student
interaction during transitions, as the interaction could become distracting for students, and pull
them off task.

7.

Cooperation rather than competition

The teacher will encourage her students to cooperate, rather than compete with each other. She
will regularly tell students that there are no winners, encouraging them to respect themselves
and each other simply for doing their best at the task at hand.
Application for grade groupings: This technique could be used for any grade grouping.

8.

More formative assessment than summative assessment

The teacher will use more formative assessments with her students, and fewer summative
assessments. This will encourage students to feel supported by their teacher as they are
learning, and more psychologically secure.9 This in turn will increase students comfort level in
the classroom and their willingness to work cooperatively with their peers. For the same
reason, whenever possible the teacher will use comments, rather than percentage points or
letter grades, when she needs to provide summative assessment feedback to students.

8 Woolfolk, Winnie & Perry, p. 454.

9 KSA (g) refers to teachers knowledge of students needs forpsychological security,
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Application for grade groupings: This technique could be used for any grade grouping, however
high school students will require percentage or letter grade marks in order to be able to apply to
post-secondary institutions. In light of that, the teacher would need to use summative
assessment more frequently in a high school setting.

9.

Team building activities

The teacher will use team building activities with her students, for example by having them
participate in team building exercises, choose a class song, design a class flag, or create a
class motto. As Woolfolk, Winnie, and Perry write, Students who feel connected with school are
happier, more self-disciplined, and less likely to engage in dangerous behaviours 10 If the
students feel connected to their school and to each other, they are going to be happier and want
to continue to feel like part of the classroom and school communities.
Application for grade groupings: This technique would be particularly useful for elementary aged
learners, particularly the choice and regular singing of a class song. However choosing a class
motto, designing a class flag, and participation in team building exercises could be used for any
grade grouping.

10.

Cooperative, fun activities

The teacher will teach students how to brainstorm, cooperate, and collaborate with one another,
and then provide them with fun and low-stakes opportunities to apply those skills. This will allow
the students to think about other students opinions and ideas and work cooperatively to use
them, without feeling pressured about marks. Examples of these activities, which would ideally
be formatively rather than summatively assessed, would be students playing board games that
are cooperative, having small group discussions about pets or hobbies, or participating in small
group projects and presentations related to favourite foods or movies.
Application for grade groupings: This technique could be used for any grade grouping

11.

Teacher self-reflection

The teacher should take time to reflect on her own attitudes, demeanour, and behaviour. If for
example she is not calm or open to ideas from her students then it is likely the students are
aware of that, and are reflecting and even mimicking her behaviour. If necessary the teacher
10 Woolfolk, Winnie, & Perry p. 454.
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should revise her demeanour and behaviour as much as possible, in order to model cooperative
behaviour and encourage a positive classroom atmosphere. Alberta-born psychologist Albert
Bandura emphasized the idea of learning by observing others, also called vicarious learning or
observational learning, in his work on social learning theory.11 In this case, the students are
more likely to behave cooperatively with one another if they see their teacher modeling that
behaviour.
Application for grade groupings: This technique could be used for any grade grouping.

12.

Seven Habits of Happy Kids program

The teacher will encourage students to apply the Seven Habits of Happy Kids program
principles. These habits are used by students to become happier and more independent
learners, particularly Habit 4, which stresses the importance of students thinking in a win-win
fashion.12
Application for grade groupings: This technique could be used for any grade grouping.

Conclusion
This teacher has many strategies available as she supports her students to become more
comfortable working cooperatively with one another. Thanks to the work of educational
psychologists and the teachers awareness of the Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes proscribed
for teachers by the government of Alberta, this teacher will be able to competently and
confidently handle the challenge she faces.

11 Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

12 The 7 Habits of Happy Kids. The Leader in Me (2015). Retrieved November 3, 2015, from
http://www.theleaderinme.org/the-7-habits-for-kids.