Stop! Collaborate & Listen

As many of you know, my little Owen is almost 23 months old now (side note: I can't wait until I can stop counting months...) and Domino, my lab, will be 11 in November. As nervous as I was to see how the two of them would get along, knowing Domino had me all to herself for 9 years, I must say...they get along SO WELL together!!!! Or.... at least that's what I tell myself. You see, it's moments like this one that make my heart smile to watch the two of them coexist:

And while I love re-watching this moment, the educator in me also reflects on the behaviors Owen is learning and showing both at home during playtime with Domino, at the library during story time with other toddlers, and even interacting with his cousins at Grandma's house! You see, at New Tech Network (NTN), we believe that collaboration involves behaviors under the control of individual group members including effort they put into group tasks, their manner of interacting with others in a group, and the quantity and quality of contributions they make to group discussions. (You can take a look at the individual behaviors we feel lead to successful collaboration here, on our NTN Website. Because of Owen's age, let's glance at the Elementary - 2nd grade, Individual Collaboration Rubric, shall we?!)

While Owen never hesitates to share his ideas/ramblings with others, and often shows interests in what others working/playing around him are doing by offering help (whether they need it or not), he CLEARLY struggles to follow group norms and processes. (Re-play that video if you don't believe me!!!) At his age, it's my role as his parent/his teacher to offer supports as he learns to navigate in situations with others (hopefully so that tears aren't shed every. single. time!!!!) I know that he will learn to understand his role in group situations once these other behaviors are learned and refined, so for the time being, I'll choose to focus my energy with him on "Supporting Equal Participation" and "Using Group Norms".

What about the students in your class? Don't be fooled by their ability to play nice in the sandbox!!! I need you to look closely and see if they're showing behaviors which allow them to not just sit in the sandbox together, but actually build a sandcastle as a team!!! How are you supporting each INDIVIDUAL student in their learned behaviors to support collaboration? Which TEAM dynamics could be strengthened to give students a strong foundation when their progress is stuck, or to reflect on successes and challenges?!

If we aren't supporting the individual and team behaviors to become effective collaborators, it's likely that one student will run the show and that others will allow that to happen. Why? Because they don't know what any other "normal behavior" looks like....

Peace, love, and Ice Ice Baby,
Sarah