Building relationships through cooperative learning

Abstract

Based upon several years of team‐teaching intensive early childhood education courses, the authors discuss their experiences of building teacher‐learner relationships through cooperative and collaborative learning. After witnessing significant conflict occurring within groups over the years, the authors began to investigate, discuss and integrate notions of cooperative learning, collaboration, conflict and change within their early childhood courses. Considerations for limiting unproductive conflict and encouraging productive conflict among adult learners are highlighted. Guided by current research, the authors developed and applied several practices and strategies to support relationship building, promote respectful interactions, and to assist groups to negotiate conflict and work collaboratively on goals and projects.

Notes

Corresponding author. Tel.: [phone]; fax: [phone]. E‐mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (J. Bullard).

Tel.: [phone]; fax: [phone].