Education is an essential part of being a contributing member of society and navigating one’s personal life. When thinking about school the basics come to mind: social studies, math, english, and science, but there is a myriad of things learned in the classroom that is not explicitly stated in lesson plans. For many people, the time spent in a classroom is the first experience interacting with people outside of immediate family. Students accidentally learn how to navigate social and professional situations. Adding an element of student collaboration to the classroom assists in developing these skills, but can be tricky to successfully implement in a beneficial way.

Deeper Learning: A Collaborative Classroom Is Key : Please visit this link for more information regarding how to build a collaborative environment that is beneficial to learning.

The above linked article, written by Rebecca Alber, discusses not only the importance of students working together but how to ensure those students are benefiting from working together. One such technique that I want to highlight is the idea of modelling. Children begin modelling those around them at an early age and in many ways can become a product of their environment. If, as a teacher, you wish to see students engage with each other in a positive way that is conducive to learning – you have to do more than assign group work, you have to demonstrate for them how.

Important things to model for students, summarized:

• Listening: If you wish for students to learn from the insights of other students in the room, they have to know the difference between listening and hearing. This can be shown by actively engaging with students yourself when speaking with them, such as paraphrasing they say back to them to ensure that it was understood correctly.
• Constructive Questioning: When working with others, there will inherently be the presence of differing opinions showing students how to questions these differences in a way that builds on the information will product a more positive outcome. 
• Negotiating: Kids are not always going to agree on the way to approach a topic, teaching students how to respectfully negotiate with each other help ensure that everyone is able to present and defend their position. This will also lead to a project where everyone’s voice is present.

Naturally, there will be issues that arise in group class work but I do believe that modelling the correct behavior when working with others as a standard in your classroom will negate a majority.