Two Cs Competition vs. Collaboration | By: Committee for Children I watched a lesson the other day where a teacher was assessing the students on who could “read” a word the fastest. The first one to read it was praised. The others were told to pay attention, hurry up, look at the list, etc. How does that promote social-emotional learning? How does that promote the joy of reading? When did we decide the child who could read the fastest was the best reader? How will that affect the other children’s attitude toward reading? This teacher was just following the curriculum. This was a “fun game” for assessing which word families the children knew. One child “won” the game, but the other three sat defeated. We teachers must be thoughtful and strategic in the way we used competitiveness in the classroom. Our children are exposed to competition enough in sports and outside of school. Even the workforce these days is longing for people who can work collaboratively. Top CEOs of companies will tell you they are looking for team players. Yet time and time again I see a competitive classroom environment that fosters just the opposite. How are you fostering collaboration in your classroom? How to Increase Collaboration and Decrease Competitiveness To foster collaboration and minimize competition: Highlight team players—those who help one another, listen to one another, and can repeat what another child says and adds to discussion. Highlight encouragers—those who lift others up. Highlight those who may finish first and choose to help others (or at least not distract others). Highlight children working together as a whole group, small group, or in partnerships as much as possible. When playing games, make it teacher vs. the class. They love this! Integrate games/activities that bring students together such as a scavenger hunt, a class time capsule, and school treasure hunt. Highlight that we are all special in our own way. We all do things differently and can learn from each other always. Never allow words like “loser” in the classroom. Talk about how that makes someone feel. Make the idea that there are no winners and losers but that we are all “learning together” the class philosophy. Highlight each child’s strengths. Use small groups. Make sure roles are clear and have clear goal in mind. Check in to make sure. Highlight respectful talk technique such as, “I appreciate what you are saying, but I disagree” or “I agree with that point but not sure about. The overall culture of your classroom depends a lot on the words you use, the activities you choose (not always what the curriculum calls for), and how you handle conflicts when they arise. Providing a collaborative environment where each child is doing his or her best instead of a competitive environment where each child is trying to be better than the others will not only create better team players, but better learners. Academics will improve and social-emotional skills will as well. Let’s think collaboration!