Sharing Student Projects

Vygotsky (1978) argues that the social interaction a child has is essential for cognitive development. An important tool to aid this is communication. Vygotsky (1978) also invented the concept Zone of Proximal Development. This process indicates what a child can do with and without assistant of a more knowledgeable person. Vygotsky’s (1978) theory resulted in researchers and practitioners indicating the importance of communication in aiding learning in education, resulting in the emphasis of using collaborative learning in the classroom. Collaborative learning is a tool which allows students to communicate with each other by defining concepts, challenging ideas and asking questions, resulting in the sharing of knowledge, students achieving their learning goal and the development of social and communication skills. Teachers are considered important in enabling successful collaboration in the classroom. But teachers do not consistently implement this method due to its challenges, such as curriculum demands, time and practical constraints. This study explored how primary school teachers facilitate collaborative learning for SEND children. Five primary school teachers were recruited. Semi-Structured were conducted on Zoom and participants provided consent prior the interviews. The interviews followed an interview schedule and were audio record, anonymised and transcribed. Once data was collected, reflective thematic analysis was conducted, leading to the identification of codes and five themes: the organisation of collaborative learning, providing support to SEND children during collaborative learning, the challenges of collaborative learning, training and support and the benefits of collaborative learning. The findings from this study suggests that teachers have a clear process when facilitating collaborative learning. This involves teachers’ planning collaborative learning by considering the suitability of subjects and the organisation of the children. Moreover, teachers provide support to SEND children to allow them to effectively take part in collaborative learning. For example, they monitor, question, prompt and lead groups. Teachers also use a range of resources, such as Colourful Semantics and Social Stories, and collaborative learning methods, like Talk Partner and Think Pair Share, to provide additional support for SEND children. However, teachers also encounter a range of challenges when facilitating collaborative learning for SEND children. The most significant challenge are social and communication needs becoming a barrier for children to access collaborative learning. As a result, children may demonstrate disruptive behaviour and an unwillingness to participate, which can become challenging for teachers to monitor and manage. Nevertheless, teachers try to overcome these challenge by understanding the needs of the children and using training and support from the SENDCO, but this can be limited. Teachers consider it important to overcome these challenges because of the benefits of collaborative learning for SEND children. Collaborative learning allows SEND children to develop their team working, communication and social skills, resulting in improved peer relationships, a growth in self-esteem and resilience and the inclusion of SEND children in mainstream classroom. However, more training is needed for teachers to allow them to build their confidence in using different collaborative methods and ensure collaborative learning can be accessed by all. This study adds to the research surrounding collaborative learning, but also addresses the research gaps in this area, as there is little research about collaborative learning and SEND children. This study did have a small sample size, meaning futures studies are needed to expand these findings. Future studies should involve understanding the experiences of teachers who have worked with students with severe communication and social needs, like mutism, as well as listening to the experiences of students with communication and social needs to further understand the challenges and benefits of collaborative learning.

This dissertation can have potential impact on the learning practices in the classroom. Teachers, senior leadership teams, SENDCOs and other educational practitioners can benefit from the findings. These practitioners can develop their understanding about how teachers effectively facilitate collaborative learning and its importance within the classroom in aiding SEND children’s academic attainment and development. Furthermore, the findings show the importance of senior leadership teams and other educational practitioners providing a range of training and support for teachers. Teachers want to incorporate collaborative learning but find it challenging due to the lack of training and support. By providing training and support, teachers can develop their teaching practices, knowledge of collaborative learning methods and understanding of how to ensure all children participate. This will allow teachers to become more confidence in facilitating collaborative learning, resulting in a classroom which promotes child centred learning, allows for children to develop their communication and social skills, increases peer relationships and promotes inclusivity of all.