Children Must Be Taught to Collaborate, Studies Say

"At its worst, group tasks can deteriorate into awkward silences, arguments—or frustration for the one child who ends up doing everyone else's work." Throughout the year, I've witnessed every teacher emphasizing collaborative work in their classrooms. I've also listened to students and parents as they continue to struggle with the imbalances of group projects. We all strive to make the process inclusive, fair, and purposeful for kids. We assign roles, have students grade each other, etc. 

This article includes some ideas about how to accomplish equity and reinforces the importance of teaching students the skills required for group work, including: communicating with others, resolving conflicts, and managing tasks.

I also noted that the article indirectly supported our co-taught and honors cluster models in saying, "Instead of trying to choose whether the high-performing students will benefit the most or low-performing students will benefit the most, if teachers focus on prioritizing interaction quality, … both benefit."