First Things First
Both cooperation and collaboration are important skills, but it’s important to recognize that they are not the same thing. I think of cooperation as breaking a big task into smaller pieces that can be assigned to different team members. Cooperation often results in increased efficiency: think assembly lines. Sure one person could build a car all by him/herself, but by breaking the steps into discrete tasks and assigning those to different people, cars can be built much more quickly. However, in both cases, the end result is a car.
Collaboration, on the other hand, may be messier and more time consuming than cooperation. Its goal isn’t increased efficiency--it’s improved results. Collaborative efforts produce results that one person by him/herself couldn’t produce alone. Collaboration is value added--it’s not about efficiency, it’s about the quality of the end product.
Another way to think about the difference: Groups cooperate and coordinate; teams collaborate! This excerpt from 10 Ways to Teach Innovation found on the Mindshift blog captures the difference nicely:
Form teams, not groups. Innovation now emerges from teams and networks—and we can teach students to work collectively and become better collective thinkers. Group work is common, but team work is rare. Some tips: Use specific methods to form teams; assess teamwork and work ethic; facilitate high quality interaction through protocols and critique; teach the cycle of revision; and expect students to reflect critically on both ongoing work and final products.
Check It Out
Read the description and review the grade-level checklist for this skill at the Future Ready Skill website.Learn More About It
Read these four short articles about collaboration:
- Collaboration vs.Cooperation: There Is a Difference (HuffPost)
- Deeper Learning: A Collaborative Classroom is Key (Edutopia)
- Setting Up Effective Group Work (Edutopia)
- 5 Strategies to Deepen Student Collaboration (Edutopia)
Post your response to the prompt below and earn 2 clock hours each month that you do. Be sure to include your first name and first initial of your last name with your school's initials to make it easier to track your participation (e.g. Toni S. LWES)
Part A: Think about what working with others currently looks like in your classroom. In what ways does it reflect true collaboration? How would you like students to grow?
Part B: Which ideas or strategies from this week’s reading list can help you enhance or improve students’ collaborative abilities? How do you plan to use them?
Logging you in...
Christel Winkey · 341 weeks ago
Right now, in order to strengthen students' collaboration, I am continuing to focus on setting clear expectations for working together and team building. Practicing active listening is an ongoing focus in fourth grade. With the help from our Second Step curriculum, we have alrady charted Active Listening and what students want to see happen in our classroom in these areas.
Beverly Meeks (SLES) · 341 weeks ago
One of the articles this month talked about how to set up a collaborative teammate environment. The suggestions they gave seem like something I can do in 2nd grade.
ESTABLISH GROUP AGREEMENTS
TEACH THEM HOW TO LISTEN
TEACH THEM THE ART OF ASKING GOOD QUESTIONS
TEACH THEM HOW TO NEGOTIATE (AGREE AND DISAGREE POLITELY)
MODEL WHAT WE EXPECT
GROUP BRAIN POWER
PREPARE STUDENTS TO BE PART OF A TEAM
There will be more lessons in science, math, and social studies where we can build and improve our Collaborative Teammate skills.
Ashley Glatt Lwes · 335 weeks ago
I love the idea of really using the word team work and not just group work. I think it teaches students the value really working together and not just assigning different parts of the project to each other. I think also setting clear expectations for team work projects is going to be something I also really grabbed from the article and I would like to focus on it in my own classroom.
Andy P. RCES · 334 weeks ago
Kim Fitzpatrick (RC) · 310 weeks ago
I like what the Deeper Learning article said about accountability by assigning jobs, and also teaching kids how to listen. That's a skill that we need to intentionally model for our kids, as not all of them will come to us with that experience. I do feel that when students have a job or role in their team, they are more likely to feel valued and contribute in a positive way. Creating this agency really goes a long way toward establishing an environment of collaboration.
Mark Lange (RC) · 307 weeks ago
I am glad that collaborative worker is our first future ready skill. It fits in perfectly with the beginning of the year. As an elementary teacher, my students for the first few weeks are learning the norms of the classroom. Working effectively as a member of the group is definitely a norm I reinforce. I am lucky that my fantastic colleagues have already set the ground work. I have little to show them actually. Collaborative work in my class is pretty easy. I teach math and science to 5th graders. With the new math training this year, I have had the opportunity to put down the mentality to “finish” the page and have moved more toward thoughtful mathematical discussions. I have seen the benefit not only with academics but with their overall liking of math. Working together in groups looks like probably most classes in the district. Students listen, share, problem solve, argue view points and come to consensus on answers. I would like my student to grow more in the area of arguing and critiquing. Not only the work and thinking of others but their own as well.
Part B: Which ideas or strategies from this week’s reading list can help you enhance or improve students’ collaborative abilities? How do you plan to use them?
As I stated above, I am going to focus on how to negotiate positively. How to politely disagree by stating their own facts about the learning and to truly listen to others points of view. This will not only be in academics however. Part of my job is to teach how to problem solve disagreements with peers. Whether it’s in the classroom, out at recess, in the gym or the bus lane.
Kelsie Gooch (GLES) · 307 weeks ago
I really enjoyed the practical tips on how to Deepen Student Collaboration. It's helpful to be aware of the areas of potential weakness in team/group work. Anticipating student behavior and then putting in safeguards to ensure success for each member of the group.And I especially liked the challenge of creating complex tasks. I err on the side of simplicity for the sake of ease to keep attitudes/behaviors more positive but this challenged me to let them really sink their teeth into a challenge that is fun and exciting for all age levels. I plan on using more STEM challenges for students to accomplish in grade level groups or multi-age groups depending on the task.
Kelsie Gooch (GPES) · 307 weeks ago
maureenbRCES 21p · 288 weeks ago
In my classroom we do a lot of teamwork. We call ourselves “Team Boyer.” For our Communities unit, our first unit of Encore study in September, our whole focus is building our classroom community. We do many team-building activities, problem-solving activities, and “team quizzes” to both get to know each other and to work as a team. We also study how there are many different types of teams. Many first graders think that a team can only be on the sports field. We expand on that idea of teamwork, and how even two people can make up a team together. At the beginning of each month, I teach a lesson on the future ready skill of each month with a PowerPoint, anchor chart, and photos with first-grade friendly language. When I introduce my learning target, I often refer back to the learning target and add on how we can use the current future ready skill. This is the first year I have intentionally taught a FRS lesson at the beginning of every month, so I’m anticipating a lot of growth in all future ready areas.
I’m planning on using the strategy “Give students a framework to understand their roles and responsibilities” from the Edutopia article “Setting Up Effective Group Work.” With first grade students, it is vital to have clear expectations and directions before starting an assignment or project. I have a tendency to assign roles to keep the lesson moving, but I think it is going to be very valuable for my students to collaborate, asses their own strengths and weaknesses, and then assign their own roles to be an effectively collaborating group.
Lauren Saunders · 287 weeks ago
In first grade, we spend a lot of time talking about how to work and learn with others. This is a major focus at the beginning of year, which is perfect since Collaborative Teammate is our first future ready skill! I believe that collaboration and teamwork are essential for learning. Because of this belief, we spend a lot of time working to establish norms and routines centered on working together. This shows true collaboration because we talk about what a collaborative teammate looks like and sounds like. We spent time getting these systems in place to be used throughout the course of the year. For example, we do a lot of turn and talk in my classroom. This ensures that all student ideas are herd and it gives the students a chance to learn from each other. Additionally, we do a lot of partner reading. We spend quite a bit of time talking about how to be a good partner and how to ‘coach’ your partner when he/she is stuck. I would like my students to continue to use these skills correctly throughout the year so they can learn from one another.
I plan to use the “Prepare students to be a part of the team” strategy from the Edutopia article “5 Strategies to Deepen Classroom Collaboration.” It is important to explicitly teach first graders how to work together in order to get the results you want. I plan to do this by making a looks like/sounds like chart of what being a collaborative teammate is. This way they will have clear expectations of what I expect when they are engaging in group work. This chart will be something that will hang in my classroom that will be revisited as needed.
Beverly Meeks · 286 weeks ago
In second grade this year, we have been starting off small with collaborative partners with math games and partner reading. We have partnered with different peers in our classroom using the name sticks to partner or make teams of 3. Using the math games to practice talking with each other, taking turns, encouraging each other, and working with a variety of classmates has been going well. We began partner reading and are starting to focus on being collaborative teammates, helping each other when we get stuck and asking questions about what we read. With our first science unit, Materials and Their Uses, there are a lot of collaborative teammate lessons. I hope to have students grow with these collaborative teammate lessons by learning to share ideas, listen to other's ideas, agree or disagree politely, take turns, participate positively, complete a task together and most importantly reflect on how they did as a collaborative teammate.
In the article "Deeper Learning: A Collaborative Classroom is Key (Edutopia)" there is a pdf with Seven Norms of Collaboration. Some of these norms I will use for my second graders such as sharing ideas at the table, paying attention to self and others by making sure everyone is included and shares as well as one student not taking over, asking questions, pausing, and listening. This article also give an example of how students can reflect on how they were with being a collaborative teammate and how the team did collaboratively. I plan to use the district's reflection page as well as something I created that looks like a T chart with the looks and sounds like ideas on it that students can highlight what they did well and set a goal for the next time on something they need to get better at or try.
Judy Kim (TES) · 285 weeks ago
Thinking about what collaboration looks like in my classroom, I realized that I did a little at the beginning of the school year when creating norms/ expectations for different stations/ rotations/ learning. We collaborated/ discussed on what it should sound like and look like and practiced these expectations. Then we would meet again and discuss the things that went well and things that need to be improved or even changed. However, I would like my students to grow in this area by becoming more independent and having those conversations with their peers and figuring things out themselves or coming up with new ideas or even asking questions. I want them to realize and understand that it is ok to have a different way or ideas in working together and that we always do not have to agree but we need to be respectful of each other's ideas and creativity. I want students to use more collaboration to foster learning and great thinking.
Part B: Which ideas or strategies from this week’s reading list can help you enhance or improve students’ collaborative abilities? How do you plan to use them?
In the first article collaboration versus cooperation it made me realize that there is a true difference and that I feel like as an educator, I do some collaboration but a lot more cooperation. 'Collaboration is a coordinated, synchronous activity that is the result of a continued attempt to construct and maintain a shared conception of a problem. Cooperation is accomplished by the division of labor among participants as an activity where each person is responsible for solving a portion of the problem.' Also, it stated...'The reality is that true collaboration is hard — and it doesn’t mean compromise or consensus-building. It means giving up control to other people. It means being vulnerable. It means needing to know when to fall on your sword and when to back down. Collaboration is inherently messy. Great ideas need some tension; otherwise they would be easy to make. And ultimately, there needs to be respect — of other people’s roles, thoughts and what they bring to the table. And there also needs to be trust.' I feel like I need to trust my students in collaborating and not think that every time there is a disagreement that I need to intervene. I need to go over the expectations of collaborations and trust that my kids do have the skills to collaborate in all areas, not just creating norms and science but in all academic areas and social aspects. I plan to use this idea more in my class and to have the kids reflect on their collaboration and see areas of improvement and what they did well.
Joanna Kortenkamp · 279 weeks ago
Some abilities or strategies that I have learned about that I plan to implement into my classroom are to be clearer about my expectations of roles and outcomes when students are working in partnerships, book groups or in their groups of four for science investigations. I plan to be much more explicit in my teaching of student specific roles when they are working in groups to help them work together collaboratively to accomplish their goals for each activity. This goes along with how I have taught them specifically how to conduct their roles when they partner-read. I need to assign roles and teach them how to speak with each other using sentence stems and also give them specific roles to take on when they work collaboratively in groups. I also plan to be more deliberate when teaching how to interact with each other in a cooperative, respectful and open manner to help them work collaboratively to complete group assignments and work productively in partnerships.
Susan H. · 279 weeks ago
I would like to implement the strategies found in the Thinking Deeper article. We do discuss the “Art of Asking Good Questions,” But I am inspired by the section called “Teaching them how to Negotiate.” I think having a “Mock Consensus” to practice their negotiating (and other collaborative skills) will ultimately give them the practice they need to be successful collaborators, as well as inform me about how they work in groups. Additionally, I plan to be more deliberate when giving them sentence stems to use in collaborative learning settings.
hoodkyle 9p · 278 weeks ago
Susan Heater (SLES) · 252 weeks ago
Beth S. SLES · 279 weeks ago
My new goal is to introduce the checklist so that my students can begin to self reflect and perhaps identify areas of potential growth. We can use thumbs up to show how they think they are doing and we can move to the smile/not smile face sheet or on a whiteboard.
Julaine Brandsoy · 271 weeks ago
Liz W · 279 weeks ago
At 5th grade, teams work to construct robotics testbeds and chassis which require more precise interactions of language and participation. I provide a list of potential jobs for group members, which helps build a more “coordinated, synchronous activity,” as mentioned in the article: Collaboration vs. Cooperation. I frequently need to model how to verbally negotiate for a job within the group and do so as needs arise. Keeping all members of a 5th grade team engaged when teammates are perceived as difficult is my biggest challenge and wish for student growth According to the article Collaboration vs Cooperation. There is a Difference, my 5th graders EACH need to cooperate responsibly by completing various jobs in their collaborative team problem--building a testbed or a chassis.
The ideas and strategies from the first two readings that could enhance my students’ collaborative abilities include a plan to use the Seven Norms of Collaboration from the article: Deeper Learning: A Collaborative Classroom Is Key--more deliberatively with my robotics teams in advance of the challenges I now know arise with teams working together to understand and execute challenging instructions. I will also continue to build on my present list of how to pose questions and my list of how to paraphrase others’ thoughts/ideas. With my younger classes, I plan to prepare a slide for the weekly slideshow that reminds students about cooperating in the cleanup and preparation for the next class and lays out some jobs each student could assume to help table groups get their cleanup done quickly and efficiently in our brief 30-minute session.
hoodkyle 9p · 278 weeks ago
Telling someone that collaboration is hard is like saying the sky is blue. Yes, we know that. Sharing what the problem is does not make it magically go away. Prior to true collaboration taking place, there must be many cornerstones already placed as a firm foundation from which to build the collaboration from. In Tahoma we are aware of norms, SPACE, Ladders of Inference, Experience Cubes, and so on. But, as leaders within the school community how often do we refer back to these tools and skills to support true collaboration within teams or between teams? How can our teams continue the process of feeling more comfortable with the uncomfortable feeling of “giving up control”, “being vulnerable” or “falling on our sword”? Are these inherently qualities a person has when they are hired or can we cultivate people as a system for true collaboration? This is a somewhat rhetorical question but I think worth discussion.
Kimberly F (TSD) · 277 weeks ago
From the article, I plan to focus on preparing students to be part of a team. In order to do that, I plan to create an anchor chart of the stages of team building, and design a lesson around those stages. They are: forming, storming, norming, performing, and transforming. I think for third grade, the power of our work is really in establishing effective norms that we can all agree on. That work will help us build a foundation from which to add on to throughout the year(s).
Julaine Brandsoy · 271 weeks ago
Beth S. · 252 weeks ago
Paige S (RCES) · 277 weeks ago
I believe my biggest challenge moving into the future will be to have groups of 5th grade students ALL collaborate without allowing any students to “free ride,” mentioned in article four. While the engineering in 5th grade is indeed complex, I plan to use other strategies mentioned in article four to help students all be engaged in the collaborative process. I would like to provide self-assessments for students so I can see how each person felt they did. Ensuring there are meaningful group roles for students will also be key as some groups have up to six students, while I can help students understand how meaningful their role is as mentioned in article three.
Julaine Brandsoy · 271 weeks ago
Stacey P (RC) · 277 weeks ago
Working with others in my classroom currently looks like randomly selected small groups working together to complete a project (e.g. create a team flag that is based on one of the Future Ready Skills). Instruction prior to the class splitting up into groups includes outlining group decisions (i.e. they must compromise and decide together), as well as individual roles for each team member.
The true collaboration is in the group decision-making portion of the project. For the flag project, as an example, they must decide as a group on colors, shape, and which Future Ready Skill to use for the flag.
I would like to help all of my students improve their collaboration abilities. Prior to the small group project, significant time is spent on discussing the attributes of collaborative teammates, and as a class, we develop an anchor chart on what collaborative work looks and sounds like. However, I feel that group work would be improved by also establishing a group agreement prior to branching off; have the students help create norms/expectations for how to conduct themselves when working as a team.
Part B:
I particularly liked the article, Deeper Learning: A Collaborative Classroom is Key, as it had some really great suggestions, including establishing group/team norms. The statement that was really thought-provoking for me was that “good listeners are valued but rare…” I really appreciated the practical suggestions on helping students realize the importance of listening, as well as activities for improving this skill. We have lessons coming up in the near future about Mindful Listening in Future Ready Skills class that we can tie in with these suggestions.
Julaine Brandsoy · 271 weeks ago
Terran (GPE) · 270 weeks ago
Part B: I found the article Setting Up Effective Group Work to be valuable. I never gave much thought to delegating the tasks before hand. If the students know their responsibilities before hand it will likely reduce the amount of arguing during the activities and prevent one student from taking over the activity.
Zoryana L. (LWES) · 253 weeks ago
In our last article, 5 Strategies to Deepen Student Collaboration, the author suggests to create learning activities that are complex and to minimize opportunities for free riding. Sometimes, I setup activities for students that are challenging but simple enough that they can be completed individually and do not necessarily require collaboration. In the future, I hope to intentionally plan for activities that are complex enough that they can only be completed through collaboration. This in turn will minimize opportunities for free riding because the activity will require the participation and collaboration of all group members.
Renee C (CSC) · 252 weeks ago
My students are in and out every 30 minutes, and it can be challenging to develop collaboration in that length of time. As I read these articles, I find myself reflecting more on my collaboration with adults.
"Collaboration is a coordinated, synchronous activity that is the result of a continued attempt to construct and maintain a shared conception of a problem. " This statement drew my thoughts to the importance first of developing a shared concept of a problem, before even beginning the problem solving process. I think sometimes we skip this step (both with kids and adults) and that this can stall the collaboration process.
I appreciated the Collaboration vs. Cooperation article, and will use these thought processes as I help students to learn to use their communication skills, to advocate for themselves, and to understand the perspectives of others in the small group context that I work within.
Alyssa Hayes · 251 weeks ago
While all grades have to work on team work, in kindergarten, we start with the very basics and work on it all year long. We always talk about teamwork and how we are a team as a class. We have to work together to get things accomplished and to get the things done in our classroom that we have to do so that we can move onto the things that the kiddos want to do. One activity that we do every day, that requires the kiddos to be collaborative it learning exploration. They have to work together to make sure that they are following the expectations, sharing, taking care of our toys, etc.
I do talk to them about how they have to work as a team but I could do better with explicitly stating/explaining how this relates back to being collaborative.
Part B: Which ideas or strategies from this week’s reading list can help you enhance or improve students’ collaborative abilities? How do you plan to use them?
I enjoyed the article “5 Strategies to Deepen Student Collaboration”. I already teach teamwork when it naturally comes up in lots of different activities and ways but this gives me ideas to teach it more deeply and in better ways.
Pam V (GP) · 251 weeks ago
B: Kids need to be taught to collaborate. I will use some tips from an Edutopia article to work with my students to develop the skill of collaboration. I will teach them to be better listeners, how to ask good questions, and how to negotiate. Teaching listening and questioning skills is not new to me, but I now have a different mindset. I will be much more intentional, and will review/model/practice skills much more frequently.