Rigor is creating an environment in which each student is expected to learn at high levels,
each student is supported so he or she can learn at high levels,
and each student demonstrates learning at high levels (Blackburn, 2008).

Friday, December 2, 2011

Relevance of Teamwork

When I was teaching, I wanted my students to work together in groups. I have always believed that we learn more together than we do alone. But my students weren’t convinced. I heard more complaints about group work than anything else I did. One day, I shared a newspaper story that reported the number one reason people are fired from their job is because they can’t get along with their coworkers. My students didn’t believe it. They were convinced that people were fired because they couldn’t do the work, so hearing that getting along with others was an important part of working was new information to them. After that, I met less resistance to group activities.

3 comments:

  1. Hey Barbara,

    You make a good point about working with others; I have seen teachers let go for not being "Team Players" even. Showing students how to work together is half the battle! TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More
    Tracy

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  2. Great point! Next week before we work in groups I'll strike up this conversation with my students. Thanks so much for the insightful post.

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  3. Great responses. Building teams with students and teachers is similar, and difficult. I have two rubrics..both on barbarablackburnonline.com. We're relaunching new version monday, so I'll link directly to them. Have a great weekend.

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