As I go
through my classes in preparation to be a teacher, one theme stands out in
proven research-based methodology: the social aspect of learning. When I was
young and in school, I rarely worked as part of a group; especially in the early
grades. In fact, I don’t recall doing any pair or group work before the fifth
grade. As I started taking classes in education, I was consistently presented
with the argument that group work and collaborative thinking exercises prepare
our children for life in a world that demands the ability to work well with
others. While this is certainly true and a good reason to support collaboration
in education, the better argument is
evidence that shows the incredible learning impacts of working with other
students. Working together does not simply teach students to work with others,
but increases comprehension, improves critical thinking skills, and enables
students to learn more as they discuss.
Leigh
Hall (2012) discusses a study that was done to increase students’ comprehension
strategies after reading. Students were
grouped in such a way as to promote group discussion and to make each student
feel as if they could make valuable contributions to the group. During the
first several discussions, the struggling readers were largely silent, observing
their classmates comments and interactions. By the end, 10 of the 12 groups in
the study were led by struggling readers. They were able to learn from their
peers and once they were comfortable speaking in the group, they felt
comfortable asking other students to explain their responses and even defend
their own. Hall (2014) talks about making struggle and difficulty part of the conversation.
All students struggle with some things. If they discuss what they have
difficulty with instead of always looking for the perfect answer, the
struggling students will feel more comfortable and valuable as part of the
discussion. In addition, when they all
discuss the things giving them a hard time, they are able to learn from peers
when other students respond.
Barbara
Walker (2003) talks about a pairing exercise that could be expanded and adjusted
to be used for multiple students. She was
working with two second grade students, reading at or below the kindergarten
level. One had trouble writing words, but had good thought processes. The other
could write and spell but had difficulty thinking past the word he was trying
to write and summarizing large ideas. Ms. Walker designed exercises to get the
students to work together and capitalize on the strengths of both. In this way,
both students were able to improve by learning from the other. Both students saw success from the
collaboration. One of the students was even reading above grade level by the
end of the following school year.
All
students bring different strengths and ideas to the table. When these ideas are
fostered, cultivated, and encouraged, all students benefit. Two heads thinking
about a topic will always yield more. When we use each students’ strengths to
build on others, incredible growth is possible. I may have been looking at the
way to help struggling students in the wrong way. Maybe I just need ot find a
way to get them to help each other.
References:
Leigh A. Hall (2012) Moving Out of Silence: Helping
Struggling Readers Find Their Voices in Text-Based Discussions, Reading &
Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 28:4, 307-332, DOI:
10.1080/10573569.2012.702037
Walker, B. J. (2003). Struggling Readers: Instruction for
Struggling Readers Contains Multiple Features. The Reading Teacher, (2), 206. doi:10.2307/20205341
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