Learning Sciences Research
learning. Harnessing this social drive
in the classroom can take students
further than they can go alone. Work-
ing collaboratively towards a common
goal can encourage students to discuss,
think about ideas they might not have
considered, and learn more than they
would if working individually. Since
collaboration isn’t suitable for every
learning task, educators can help
students identify opportunities when
working together is most beneficial.
Fostering Teamwork
Create a classroom environment
that nurtures positive peer relationships
so that students feel included in the
learning community and understand
how to work together to solve problems.
TEACHER STRATEGIES:
• Promote collaboration and ex-
change of ideas by structuring projects
to require shared learning and co-cre-
26 essentials | summer 2019
ating, rather than split-
ting tasks among group
members.
• Encourage stu-
dents who are working
on teams to get to know
one another to better
understand each other’s
perspective. To help
students work together
in more effective ways, it
may be important to have
discussions about cultural
differences. As students
build stronger relation-
ships with fellow team
members, they can move beyond
superficial questions to ones that are
deeper and more challenging.
• Ask students to take the perspec-
tive of others (e.g., the people who you
are teaching about in social studies
or literature) to help students tie the
learning to themselves and to a broad-
er perspective.
• Invite stu-
dents to teach each
other. The process
of preparing to
teach is a powerful
way to engage the
social brain, wheth-
er or not students
end up teaching the
material! Teaching
others often ben-
efits the tutor the
most, so be sure to
give all students the
chance to be tutor
as well as tutee, or
to compare notes on the lessons they
prepare.
3. The entire environment, from
space to temperature to lighting,
can affect learning.
It may be no surprise that elements
of the physical environment can play
a role in determining whether the