Creating a Cooperative Group in the Classroom:

A Teaching Strategy

Excerpted from: A. Tiatorio: Freedom and Equality: The Human Ethical Enigma

            Human beings interact socially within ethical cooperative groups, which they expect will ultimately enhance their own individual self-interest.  Students innately know the advantages of teamwork and are predisposed to cooperate.  The drive to remain equal and independent while participating in the group is furthered by a sense of common cause. Albeit very small, your classroom should aspire to become an example of a functional ethical cooperative group and as such offer an opportunity to live the fundamental elements of  ethical cooperative groups generally, which are balanced, self-regulatory and don’t require external authoritarian measures to remain stable.  The genetic ethical imperative to pursue group association as a means of maximizing self-interest is basic to human nature.  Expanding the scope of these groups is the goal of ethics education.

            Consistent success in ethics education rests on the creation of an ethical cooperative group in the classroom. It is necessary, at the very beginning of the ethics program, to encourage each student to participate fully and cooperatively with each other student. This takes time, but is critical to prevent the discussions from deteriorating into pointless argument.  Careful attention to this in the beginning will pay huge dividends later in the form of positive thoughtful participation.  As the years passed we steadily increased and improved our efforts to build a sense of community within the classroom. An example of these was a “walk and talk” activity during which each student, in a series of one on one round robin discussions, would spend 10 minutes with each other student discussing an assigned topic intended to break down barriers and bring the students closer together. Topics such as: tell about a time in your life when you felt cheated or betrayed or describe your most embarrassing experience, encouraged students to forge new friendships with classmates they had often times not spoken to before.

            We found that while this strategy worked well enough within the classroom, it was more personal and effective if students were allowed to walk around the corridors, or outdoors.  Students generally responded very positively to this and rarely abused their freedom.  This strategy, over time, changed the dynamic of the class and I believe vastly improved the quality of later emotionally charged discussions. Ethical issues are far more profitably considered in a supportive environment. Students should be reminded that ethics education requires a mature level of participation and that success relies on their cooperation and effort. They are actually working on themselves and they should treat the time as an opportunity to grow and to learn about themselves.  This has tremendous appeal for students and they respond very positively to it. The “walk and talk” activity should be used in the first few weeks of the program as a way of promoting a sense of community within the classroom.

Walk and Talk Activity

Each student, in a one on one round robin discussion, will spend 15 minutes with each other student discussing an assigned topic intended to break down barriers and bring the students closer together.

             Each person must be the focus for at least five minutes.  Questions may be asked of the focus person but they should not shift attention away.  The listener should be supportive and attempt to draw the focus person out.  The listener should not react negatively to the comments of the focus person.   The listener should attempt to understand the focus person’s position and ask questions to clarify what is meant but not to take issue with the focus person.

              While this strategy will work within the classroom, it is more private and effective if students can be allowed to walk in pairs around the corridors or outdoors.  Keep the pairs well spaced apart to avoid “group” discussions and caution them not to cause any disruptions.  Students generally respond very positively to this activity and rarely abuse the freedom. 

Begin by creating a round robin schedule for the class:

A Round Robin Schedule is easy to make and will ensure that two students don’t walk and talk together twice.  

If your class has an odd number of students, add Bye to create an even number of names.  Assign each student a number (including Bye if needed). 

Make two columns, starting in the upper left and numbering sequentially "down" until you reach half your total -- then proceed counterclockwise back "up" until your last number is placed beside the "1" ... as shown below (with six players in this example). This becomes your first round of play. Since students will not be scheduled to talk to themselves, the number of rounds will be 1 fewer than the number of names.

To set up the next round, move the number directly beside the "1" counterclockwise to the spot below the "1" -- then rotate all the remaining numbers counterclockwise. The "1" is fixed and never moves. Repeat this circular pattern for each successive round always leaving the "1" in the upper left position.

Announce the pairings by number rather than name.  It is not necessary to use the rounds in sequence. Since a class of 20 will require 19 rounds, it is not likely that you will fully complete the strategy.  By creating all the rounds in advance, the teacher can preview the pairings and select the most optimal. To maximize its impact, use your judgment to select rounds which will pair students who do not normally talk and to avoid pairs which might prove problematic. Also, for example, if two students are absent the teacher could select the schedule that pairs them with each other to avoid having students unassigned. 

 Announce the pairings for Round One and assign the following topic: 

 Tell the other person something about yourself which you believe to be unique or unusual in some way.

Reconvene the class after the first round and briefly discuss the walk and talk.  Correct any identified problems. Then assign new pairs and do a second “walk and talk”, this time ask:

Tell about a time in your life when you settled for less than you would have liked and think now you should have done better.

Repeat the walk and talk activity as often as possible during the first few weeks.   This activity will help create a cooperative group within the class and can vastly improve the quality of values laden discussions.

 Some additional suggested discussion questions:

 Tell the other person about your greatest disappointment in life so far.

Describe the social event which you would rank as the best of your life so far.

Describe the social event which you consider the worst experience of your life so far.

Tell about a decision you made when you weren’t sure what was right.

Tell about how you see your life turning out 15 years from now?    What are you doing?   Are you happy?

How would you improve your relationship with your family or friends if you could?

Tell about the person who had the greatest influence in your life so far.

Tell what you think about cheating in school.

If you had the power, where would you be and what would you be doing right now?

Do you see yourself differently now than you did in the past?

Tell about a time in your life when you felt discriminated against.

Tell about a time in your life when you felt let down or betrayed by a friend or relative.

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