A few days ago, my children and I walked over to our neighborhood park. They were ready to play woodchips (tag) and began generating a list of rules and protocols for the game. Whoever was it first would start at the park's tallest point, which is difficult for my son to reach. His sisters promised to help him reach the balcony -- even if he would soon be chasing them. Despite the game's competitive nature, they were still ready to support him. Regardless of who was chasing whom, they would ensure they could participate.
As I watched them begin to play, I was moved by how naturally they collaborated and cheered each other on. The game was more fun when everyone could contribute. How do we replicate this productive and positive rivalry in our own classrooms? How can we encourage students to recognize the value in playfully pushing each other to learn, grow, and in this case, reach the peak of the park?
Bring positive competition to the classroom.
"We're all winners when we all learn" is a phrase met with eye-rolling and groans in my classroom, but it's true. I love incorporating friendly, low-stakes competition into my classroom. Sometimes we compete for bragging rights or a chance to choose a desired place in the speaking order. Other times, the winners of these competitive experiences earn stickers or candy. The reward is never significant, but the learning process can be an enjoyable way to practice essential classroom skills. Whether we play a review game such as Kahoot, deliver impromptu speeches, or complete a puzzle, these gamified experiences challenge students to apply content knowledge to an often collaborative activity. The motivation to succeed pushes students to test their skills and measure what they need to improve before a summative assessment.
Positive competition also encourages students to challenge each other and recognize where they are in mastering a concept or skill related to others. With this knowledge, they can identify what they still need to work on. If we are playing a review game, I share the materials and games for asynchronous play so that students can revisit skills and resources as needed. By establishing that everyone succeeds when we all achieve mastery, students can begin to self-reflect on their own skills and find ways to support others in the learning process.
Remind students that we achieve more when we work together.
Collaboration and communication are critical skills employers in any field seek. Soft skills are essential for our academic, professional, and personal success. As instructors, we can facilitate the development of these skills through collaborative games and experiences in which students work together to achieve an end goal - whether it be a presentation, a score on a review game, or a solution to a puzzle.
When we create a collaborative environment, we also prepare students to navigate real-world challenges. They develop problem-solving skills and recognize the power of leveraging everyone's skillset to innovate and create. When students can value the strengths of their peers, the collaborative spirit extends beyond the classroom into their personal and professional lives.
Socratic seminars and group discussions are wonderful ways to encourage students to use active listening skills and develop empathy.
Problem-solving scenarios can also provide real-world applications. I love challenging students to create public service announcements. PSAs encourage students to formulate a message for a specific audience and narrow the focus of the situation. Students then consider how to craft an impactful message while working together to create a final product.
Creative writing assignments open the door for collaboration. Whether students are writing a short story or generating RAFT assignments, they can work together to build a common narrative that can impact a much wider audience than a single teacher or reader. I love letter writing and using the RAFT writing format to encourage students to assume another person's perspective and use empathy to recognize the experiences of others who differ from them.
These assignments are playful in nature. They involve creative thought and engagement with others. While infusing our classroom with these tasks, challenges, and collaborative experiences, we must also encourage them to provide constructive feedback to their peers. This feedback allows them to stretch their thinking and adjust their approach to a given task as needed. While students are collaborating, we need to help them understand that they need to collaborate peacefully and find value in the strengths of others.
Foster a cheering section.
On the first day of any course, I use a meme of vegetables holding hands, saying that "We're rooting for you." I remind them that when they enter my classroom, I am rooting for their success and will partner with them to help them master the skills our class will focus on this term. I also remind them that we want to be successful, so we must understand and recognize that we significantly impact each other. Our actions directly lead to the success and growth of the people beside us.
The best learning occurs when we make mistakes or fall short of our goals. When we collaborate with others, we must shift and redirect our thinking. We won't always win the review game or solve the problem the fastest, but we will develop soft skills that will make us better professionally and personally in ways that we won't recognize immediately. Even when we are competing for first place in a Kahoot, we can take the time to lift each other up. There's room for everyone at the top, especially when we take the time to help each other along the way.
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