Cooperation in the classroom

Abstract

When we aim to teach students how to cooperate and assist others, we shift students’ focus to self- satisfaction and collaborative support. To fully appreciate this shift, it can be helpful to consider some differences between competition and cooperation. Alfie Kohn tells us that structural competitions are contests that require one’s failure for another’s success. Intentional com­petition occurs when we purposely set up mini- competitions to see who will win. These competitions may focus on attire, attrac­tiveness, being first on the bus, having the nicest home, and so on. When structural competition coats our habits of mind, we can unknowingly develop tendencies toward intentional compe­tition: we constantly judge who is better or worse. Our sense of accomplishment is often only momentary. Learning the skills of cooperation could be an antidote to the drawbacks of competition for our students, but such goals need not be systematized. Simple, consistent acknowledgments of cooperation can inform and facilitate throughout classroom activities. • “I’m interested in hearing your observations, not your evalua­tions of classmates’ efforts.” • “Check with your partner about his or her idea before you tell me what you think.” • “Our reward for meeting all those challenges is the feeling within us. Can you feel it?” • “In this lesson, you need to consider yourselves thinkers, not winners.”

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