Teaching the Social Skills of Academic Interaction, Grades 4-12. Harvey "Smokey" Daniels

If students are in writing circles, each member needs to come to the group with a piece of writing ready to share. If students are working on a research project, each member needs to take responsibility for completing certain components by the time of the next meeting.

      The second responsibility juncture occurs during the meeting. At this point, a proficient collaborator is asking three questions:

      • How are my contributions going to make an academic difference to this meeting?

      • What skills must I use to help the group function on a high level?

      • How can I learn from the other members of this group?

      And then, when a meeting concludes, each individual must begin to plan for the next meeting:

      • How can I be more skillful in my contributions and my interactions?

      • What might I do differently so that I can learn more from the rest of my group?

      • What do I need to do in order to get ready for the next meeting?

      As students work together, we use the occasion to develop a culture of personal responsibility. Students need to be able to articulate how they are contributing to the group and how they are helping others to contribute as well. They also need to understand the negative impact of not being prepared, not thinking ahead, or not setting goals for improvement. That's taking personal responsibility.

      Whenever people groan at the mention of groups, it is probably because they have been trapped in groups whose members didn't take responsibility. Every so often, you'll run across articles deriding teamwork as a useless waste of time prone to circular brainstorming, unimaginative thinking, and collaborative inhibition. However, when you read these articles carefully, it turns out that these teams are failing because the personal responsibility expectations are unclear. For any high-level group to fully function, members need to come with their best contributions in hand and their best interpersonal skills at the ready. This means that a work group must have clear goals and expectations for individual members, just as a student group would.

Teaching Interpersonal Skills Explicitly

      Most students do not come to us equipped with all the skills they need to function in a group. However, since we are teachers, we can teach them those skills and then have kids practice them every time they work together. But sometimes teachers feel reluctant to explicitly teach interpersonal skills. Some find it a little too “touchy-feely” Others cling to a romantic view of their content: engaging curricular material by itself should be enough to generate good small-group interactions. And then there are those who are waiting for the right kids to come along, the ones who already have the skills when they show up in September.

       Students need to be able to articulate how they are contributing to the group and how they are helping others to contribute as well.

      If you feel any of these types of reluctance, we recommend that you push them all aside and try a few explicit social-academic lessons. Once you've begun, this will feel like smart classroom management, not a squishy sidetrack. You'll no longer be waiting for the right kids to show up, because you'll be making sure you have “a good group” every year. And, thanks to that training, your highly engaging curriculum material will create great discussion, because the kids are going to have the skills to work with it!

Stages of Learning Social Skills

      If you look over our interpersonal skill lessons, you'll notice that they all follow a similar format. Getting kids to buy into a skill starts with getting them to recognize a need for it. Then we ask students to imagine the following: How would a group function if they used that skill? What kind of body language might an observer see? What would members say to one another? Finally, students get to practice the new behavior with their partners or groups. This practice is what takes some time. Learning a new skill moves through four predictable stages (Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 2008).

      1. Discomfort and Avoidance. Actually saying things like “That was a great answer; I didn't think of that” will feel weird and unnatural to students who have never before vocalized friendliness and support to their peers. At first, students will attempt to avoid using a skill and may even argue about it because it makes them uncomfortable. Keep in mind, the harder kids resist, the more they need that skill. In response to that resistance, just smile patiently and insist that you're not leaving until you hear some specific skill statements from the group. At that point the members will give in because they want to get rid of you. Once you've heard the skill, compliment them enthusiastically and move on.

      2. Phony Use. If you have persevered, your students have given up the fight. Now, when you drop by the group, they collectively go, “Uh-oh, better whip out that skill she wants us to use.” As you observe, members will say the same rote phrase every time anyone says anything. It would be nice if they could expand their repertoire, but the kids are still a bit uncomfortable. But at least you didn't have to prod them this time! Celebrate their improved skillfulness and move on.

      3. Overuse. At this stage, group members have finally bought into the skill. As a matter of fact, now it's kind of fun—sort of an in-joke. They challenge one another to see who can use every phrase on the class list. They high five every other minute. To the outsider this might all appear kind of goofy, but the group members have discovered that they really do have more fun and enjoy one another when they use these skills. Be happy when they mock the process. High five the groups and compliment them on their extreme skill usage!

      4. Integrated Use. When students reach this stage, they are using the skill appropriately and automatically. They don't need to stop and think, “I'd better use this skill." Instead, when they hear another member say something really interesting, “Wow, I didn't even think of that!” just pops right out. It takes a long time for students to get to this final stage. But the more opportunity students have to work together and the more you encourage their practicing the skill, the quicker they'll achieve proficiency!

      After the initial introduction of a skill, the best way to shepherd its mastery is to keep insisting the kids use it, day after day, meeting after meeting.

Positive Interdependence

      Students should only be working in groups if it will enhance the task and the learning. Never put students together if a task could be completed just as well individually. That's one of the reasons why we insist on students preparing their discussion notes individually. We want them to take the time to think deeply and gather their own unique thoughts about the content. When students prepare for a discussion together, face-to-face, they often end up bringing fewer new ideas to the group. Plus, working together at this stage often produces the kind of “collaborative inhibition" that teamwork naysayers frequently cite. Rather than disagreeing or challenging ideas, the less confident (or hitchhiking) student will typically respond, “That's a good question. I'm going to put that down too. What else did you think of?” Remember, for groups to function at a high level, personal responsibility must also run high, and that begins with bringing your share of ideas to the group. Groups will thrive when everyone feels like all members are doing their share of the work.

       Students should only be working in groups if it will enhance the task and the learning.

      How does positive interdependence occur when a group does meet face-to-face?

      First, the group's task cannot be completed alone. Members need one another to get the job done. It's hard to have a discussion with yourself.

      Second, the group is responsible for specific learning goals. Toward the end of a meeting, our lessons often include each group sharing its most interesting discussion item. We always recommend that you call on members at random rather than having groups designate a member to report