Redding School District

Working with a Partner

Working With a Partner - Teamwork is an important life skill and many classroom activities lend themselves to working in pairs. However, when working with a peer, some students may use the opportunity to socialize, act silly, or otherwise avoid doing the assigned work. Since there may be from 10-15 different pairs working at one time, you can end up running from one pair to another responding to problem behavior rather than offering constructive instructional help. Making sure students learn how to work in pairs is an important prerequisite for their academic success in partnership activities.

Pair Students to Support Academic Success - Pair students up in a manner that will maximize the learning experience.

Weaker and stronger learners - When students are occasionally paired in "weak-strong sets," typically both students gain. The more knowledgeable student practices thoughtfulness with the finest learning device - teaching. The weaker student profits from one-on-one attention, repetition, and perhaps a non-teacher approach that works. Be aware that "expert" students rarely enjoy or have success working with non-users of a concept. You are better to pair a student who just acquired the skill with the non-user student of that skill as the new learner always loves to share their new learning. Experts of a skill or concept mostly become frustrated with others that don't know how to do any part of a process or skill.
Learning styles - Pairs with similar skill levels may have different learning styles. For example, in math some students may solve word problems by drawing pictures; others may just do the work in their heads. Some may solve complicated math problems by writing down the steps first; others may have developed a method to remember the steps. After reading a question, one student may encourage another to look up an unknown word in the dictionary. These pairings can deepen understanding for both learners.

Use a Two-Step process when students first work in pairs - When you initially have students pair off, there is a high potential for students to become disruptive. The more structured the transition, the better the chance it will go quickly and smoothly. Thus, it is useful to break the process into two steps. First, have the students pair off and then, when they are settled, give them directions for how to work with their partners.

Use Simple Methods for Pairing Off - When you first have the students pair off, use simple methods - Pairing students with those they sit next to or across from often works best.

Monitor Students Behavior and Content - When students begin working in pairs, let nothing distract you from monitoring their behavior and narrating or correcting it. Do not take any questions or become involved in any other activity besides making sure the students learn how to successfully work with their partners.

Work the Room - Avoid the temptation to spend too much time helping students, standing at the front of the room, doing paper work, or preparing materials for another activity. When students pick up on the fact that you are not "withit", you know what can happen! While students are paired off, keep moving around the room to monitor and give feedback to the students.

Give a Heads-Up - If you have a student who exhibits antisocial behaviors that alienate potential partners, pull the student aside before the activity and encourage him or her to display pro-social conduct that will make working with a partner more enjoyable.

Teach Social Skills - Many students have not learned the appropriate social skills to effectively work with a partner. Before you have the students work in pairs, you may want to teach the students some basic social skills they will need to be successful.

Be a good listener - Developing effective listening skills is critical if students are going to work and cooperate with each other. These skills include being able to listen attentively to understand another person's point of view, feelings, or needs.
Give compliments - Students often use sarcasm and put-downs in interactions with their peers. Unfortunately, many students have not learned the skill of making positive and complimentary comments to other students. Giving a compliment makes both the listener and the receiver feel good and helps to create a positive bond between them.
Express disagreements - Many students do not have the prosocial skills to express disagreement with a partner. Teach the class some phrases they can use to respectfully disagree with a partner, such as "I don't think that will work, I would rather try _________." "What if we do this?" or "Can we try it this way?"
Take turns and share - A lot of students have learned to only take care of what they want. Working with a partner gives students the opportunity to learn how to take turns and share.