Organise a collaborative environment
Suggestion for implementing the strategy ‘ Facilitate collaborative learning’
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Provide flexible learning spaces
Provide flexible learning spaces
Organise the classroom to support your students’ learning and social needs.
Provide a range of spaces for different types of activities.
![6015 [quiet-space-to-concentrate.png]](https://inclusive-live-storagestack-assetstorages3bucket-3uty0hejzw6u.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/public/inclusive-education/example-images/quiet-space-to-concentrate__ScaleMaxWidthWzEwODZd.png)
Facilitate a positive environment
Facilitate a positive environment
Create a warm classroom climate to facilitate positive learning and social behaviours.
- Set clear boundaries and high standards and expectations.
- Be fair.
- Be aware of, acknowledge, and label your own feelings.
- Acknowledge and affirm students’ feelings.
- Talk through emotional situations.
- View emotional events as “teachable moments.”
- Avoid punitive tactics, put-downs, sarcasm and criticism – specify the positive alternatives.
- Be self-accepting, confident, and secure.
- Remain calm – your emotional state is mirrored by students.
- Develop student supports.
- Accept and empathise with students’ feelings
- Listen with interest.
Source: Warming the emotional climate of the primary school classroom (opens in a new tab/window)
Consider classroom layout
Consider classroom layout
Design your classroom layout to support students with varying learning needs and preferences in their collaboration.
- Choose a flexible layout that adapts to the learner, rather than limiting the learner.
- Offer seating patterns, configurations, and spaces to facilitate social exchanges among students alongside quiet reflection time.
- Provide a variety of technologies to support participation, communication, and collaboration.
- Use visual supports such as timers, visual displays, and graphic organisers to support self management.
- Provide different types of furniture to support students’ varying physical needs and preferences (for example, wobbly stools for students who move to concentrate).
Open flexible spaces
Open flexible spaces
In this section of a longer video, teachers and students from Albany Senior High School describe how their spaces enable differentiated learning.
No captions or transcript
Support student preferences
Support student preferences
Encourage students to utilise all the spaces in the classroom to support their collaboration.
![8809 [Students-reading-under-bookshelves.png]](https://inclusive-live-storagestack-assetstorages3bucket-3uty0hejzw6u.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/public/inclusive-education/example-images/Students-reading-under-bookshelves__ScaleMaxWidthWzEwODZd.png)
Source: Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga
Useful resources
Useful resources
Building an inclusive classroom culture
This guide provides New Zealand illustrations of the distinguishing features of classrooms that value diversity and are truly inclusive.
EDtalks: Modern learning environment
Videos of interviews and discussions about modern learning environments in New Zealand.
Next steps
More suggestions for implementing the strategy “ Facilitate collaborative learning”:
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Current page Organise a collaborative environment
Return to the guide “Supporting positive peer relationships”
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How to use this site
Guide to Index of the guide: Positive peer relationships
Strategies for action:
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Support and strengthen peer relationshipsShow suggestions for Support and strengthen peer relationships
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Facilitate collaborative learningShow suggestions for Facilitate collaborative learning
- Organise a collaborative environment
- Plan opportunities for collaboration
- Cooperative learning strategies
