Strengthen a supportive peer culture
Suggestion for implementing the strategy ‘Establishing a caring, supportive, and respectful class climate’
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Encourage peer support
Encourage peer support
Recognise and value the practical support peers can give to each other.
Develop shared expectations
Develop shared expectations
Promote interactions that support a positive peer culture.
Agree with your students on the behaviours that will help ensure a safe and respectful learning environment.
Consider how you will:
- collaborate and agree on behaviours and expectations with your students
- support students to understand the language and words used within the expectations, for example use pictures, words, and diagrams
- plan to prompt or remind students of expectations prior to learning activities
- display expectations so they are easily accessible as a tool to support student self management.
Source: Positive Behaviour for Learning (opens in a new tab/window)
Discuss friendships
Discuss friendships
An animated video to support junior classes to talk about friendships.
No captions or transcript
Develop peer tutoring approaches
Develop peer tutoring approaches
The advantages of peer tutoring.
Benefits for tutees
- more individual teaching
- gains in learning
- gains in social/relationship skills, for example, communicating, accepting help
- improvement in attitude towards learning
- improvement in self-esteem.
Benefits for tutors
- practice/reinforcement of skills at earlier levels
- gains in learning
- insight into the learning process
- development of social/relationship skills, for example, listening, encouraging
- development of responsibility
- development of self-esteem.
Benefits for teachers
- increased opportunity to interact effectively with a range of individual students
- more effective use of time
- greater coverage of individual needs
- opportunities to observe students at work, and to assess skills.
Strengthen collaborative strategies
Strengthen collaborative strategies
A skilled teacher optimises task sequences, not only to directly facilitate the different stages of learning cycles for individual students, but also to build up a peer learning culture that can intensify the challenges and supports for learning.
Useful resources
Useful resources
Teaching strategies for inclusive classrooms part 2: Peer tutoring
Read time: 3 min
Information to support setting up a successful peer tutoring programme in your classroom. Created for the NZ Ministry of Education.
Download PDF (6.2 MB)
Teaching strategies for inclusive classrooms part 1: Cooperative learning
Read time: 3 min
Information to support setting up a successful cooperative learning programme in your classroom.
Download PDF (3.2 MB)
Next steps
More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Establish a respectful class climate”:
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How to use this site
Guide to Index of the guide: Inclusive classroom culture
Strategies for action:
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Value what each student bringsShow suggestions for Value what each student brings
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Establish a respectful class climateShow suggestions for Establish a respectful class climate
- Learn about diversity and equity together
- Have high expectations
- Support student leadership
- Strengthen a supportive peer culture
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Plan for everyone to participate and achieveShow suggestions for Plan for everyone to participate and achieve
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Take a community approachShow suggestions for Take a community approach
