Since Richland Academy is now an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, we encourage students to demonstrate cooperation as part of the IB-PYP program; an attitude which emphasizes the ability to work with others in a collaborative manner. Cooperation at Richland is meant to be a clear part of our learning and daily school life. It is an expectation which is explicitly taught, practised and modelled by our students.
Our Grade Two students are given ample opportunities to work together in small groups and as a team. By doing that, they are able to think more deeply and creatively about the given task, as well as develop more empathy and respect for their peers’ opinions and understandings. They are guided to listen attentively to each other, and share the work equally taking into consideration areas of strength and weakness.
Furthermore, the students are given opportunities to reflect on their ability to cooperate with each other during and after our learning experiences:
“When we cooperate we waste less time and we make friends.” J.L.
“Cooperation is easier because you can complete things faster but we get to listen to each other.” D.X.
“Cooperation is important. It makes the learning environment work better.” J.S.
“I like cooperation because we get to do good and fast work.” T.T.
“We can come up with more ideas.” S.Z.
“It is easier to work with others.” R.H.
“I like to cooperate with my friends. I can make more friends.” A.T.
“Working together in a team is easier.” A R. B.
“I like to team up with my friends.” B.P.
“It is easy and fun to cooperate with each other.” “We can learn a lot!” K.P.
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
– Helen Keller
