"A democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living... [in which] each has to refer his own action to that of others, and to consider the action of others to give point and direction to his own..." - John Dewey, 1916
Within the context of a socially just democracy, Dewey's vision of concern for others would be a reality. Within my classroom, students will face two primary challenges in this manner: to work as individuals to benefit a group and to learn from and depend on others in a group to succeed.
Within a society that highly values 'rugged' individualism, independence, and competition, students often struggle with the idea of interdependence in group work. Teaching based on individualism and competition, however, will often lead the least advantaged students struggling with little support. I hope to encourage students to become advocates and supports for one another through use of meaningful and engaging group activities and challenges.
Students will work together on projects that require each to use his/her prior knowledge and expertise for the group to succeed. Students will depend on one another for peer grading, reading, and tutoring (as recommended on combarriers.com). Without group success, no individual can succeed. Many strategies can support this, including: jigsaw teaching (where students in the group read different sections and report back to group about their section), assigning different roles (writer, reporter, artist, etc.) within the context of a group project, or creating assignments that require both group and individual products.
In the context of group projects in my teacher preparation program, as well as in non-teaching related jobs, I have experienced the amazing things groups of people can do that no individual could do on his/her own. On the other hand, in high school I also experienced the 'group' project that is assigned with good intention by the teacher and one group member does most of the work, either because of not trusting the rest of the group or because the rest of the group pressures him/her into it.
Cohen wrote an amazingly useful book regarding successful design of group work. She addresses issues of status that naturally occur within a group (noting the fact that this reflects realities in society). Part of teaching for social justice is helping students to face these types of real problems and learn to work through them. Cohen recommends use of group skill developing tasks, time for intentional reflection on group dynamics, peer grading/feedback, and assignments that are structured for interdependence (that it cannot be done by just one or two of the members).
An important side-note relates to how groups are assigned/chosen. Since a part of my goal is understanding across difference, I will often create heterogeneous groups (mixed abilities and readiness, cultural background, genders, first language, etc.). However, there are various indicators that students benefit from working in more homogeneous groups occasionally. Tatum argued that fostering positive racial identity development includes times of self-segregation in which safety is found. The same has been found in research for gendered groups at times. It is especially useful to English Language Learners to occasionally work in groups with others in their first language, allowing for higher levels of engagement with the content that is not hindered by language. The safety of alike groups may be particularly useful when working with content that may be hard to talk about at first in mixed groupings, such as racism, sexism, sex ed. stuff, etc.
In short, the social studies classroom, as well as high school in general, has the express interest in developing students who are prepared to participate in our democracy. A big part of that is learning to exist and thrive within the multicultural society in which we live. These are developed through learning to have a strong sense of oneself in relation to others, as well as a sense of others in relation to oneself. This develops primarily through experience across difference. Through this experience we can develop what Palmer called the 'community of truth' around a common subject of study, or what Freire referred to as fellowship and solidarity among the students (who he called students-teachers) that is the basis for full humanity. The community of humanity is a community that is concerned not for the individual, but for the group, a community in which Dewey's conception of Democracy may be attainable.
Sources:
Beegle, Combarriers.com
Cohen, Designing Groupwork: Strategies for the Heterogeneous Classroom (2nd ed.)
Dewey, Democracy and Education
Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Nieto, Affirming Diversity
Palmer, Courage to Teacher
Tatum, Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
My Self-assessment rubric: How do my students interact in my classroom?
Problematic
- Students only learn from teacher/text
- Students only engage with one another socially (mostly in homogeneous groups)
- No group work
- Students occasionally learn from/with one another
- Students work in heterogeneous groups when they have to
- Students work in groups, but the work is not always ‘interdependent’
- Students use each other as learning resources
- Students work in different groupings effectively, even grouping across difference when given choice.
- Group work is interdependent in nature, having both individual and group tasks.
