Methods of Teaching

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UNIT 1
UNIT 4
UNIT 5
UNIT 3
UNIT 6
UNIT 2
UNIT 7
Week 11, session 3 lesson
Today in class (5 minutes)
Collaboration means working together successfully. Studying collaboration is import-
ant because evidence indicates that classrooms where students take responsibility for 
teaching and supporting each other (with guidance from their teacher) are comfortable, 
pleasant places to work. There is also evidence that students in classrooms where collab-
oration is the norm achieve better test scores than those in non-collaborative classrooms. 
Collaboration requires some skills and attitudes that have to be learnt. This week’s aim is 
to identify the skills and attitudes that successful collaboration in the classroom requires. 
Review of the skills thus far identified (10 minutes)
Ask Student Teachers to recall from memory the consolidated list of skills and 
attitudes they believe collaboration requires and post them again on the wall or board. 
The list may include the following:
• attentive listening
• taking turns
• being patient
• asking for help if you need it
• showing appreciation for others’ work
• knowing how to apologize
• doing your part
• knowing how to compromise
• speaking so that others can understand you
• trying to understand the feelings of others
• keeping your attention on the work.
Keep the list in full view while Student Teachers report on their observations.
Examining the observation data (15 minutes)
Working from the data that Student Teachers brought back from the classroom 
observations, ask the class the following questions and invite Student Teachers to raise 
their hands in response:
• Which of you saw 20 or more interactions between the child designated by the
teacher as popular and other children during the 30 minutes you observed?
• In what context did these interactions occur (e.g. playground, lunch room,
classroom)? (Select three Student Teachers who raised their hand to address
this question.)
• Were these interactions positive/negative/ mixed? (Ask separately so that there
is no confusion when Student Teachers raise their hands.)
• Which of you saw any interactions between the child designated by the teacher
as isolated and other children? (As a follow-up, ask those who raised their hands
about the number of interactions they saw, the context in which they occurred,
and whether those interactions were positive, negative, or mixed.)

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64
UNIT 1
UNIT 4
UNIT 5
UNIT 3
UNIT 6
UNIT 2
UNIT 7
ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN EDUCATION/B.ED. (HONS) ELEMENTARY
Ask one Student Teacher from each of the triads to characterize briefly the social 
interactions of children in the class in which they observed. They should address the 
following questions:
• Did children interact with each other a lot? Were the interactions mostly positive? 
• Did you see any actual acts of collaboration (e.g. playing on the playground)?
• Did you see any skills in the interactions between children that are necessary
for collaboration?