Diliana Popova
Helping Boys Collaborate More Productively
See Ms. Popova’s action research poster here.
Diliana Popova is an Upper School Visual Arts teacher. She conducted her action research project in 2016/2017.
Back
Diliana Popova is an Upper School Visual Arts teacher. She conducted her action research project in 2016/2017.
What question did your action research explore?
How might changing the language of collaboration from group to team foster collaborative skills in high school boys?
What were your key findings?
By shifting the conceptual framework around collaborative work from 'group' to 'team', students experienced increased feelings of connectedness to their team members and an improved awareness of positive collaborative language. “There is a difference between working in a team and working in a group, because in a team you are more connected to your teammates than in a group”, remarked one Grade 11 student. I also found that a well-designed team task is crucial for laying the foundation for a successful collaboration, especially in the creative classroom.
How have these findings influenced the teaching and learning in your classroom?
My findings have given me clear insight on what works well in collaborative work and what doesn't. I have already run a few other collaborative projects with similar parameters and I see a huge difference in the way the boys engage with the work. The way in which I design collaborative work has also changed as a result of my findings.
What new ideas did the research uncover that you would be interested to explore in the future?
I would like to explore more opportunities for linking projects to real world problems and applications. I discovered that this aspect of collaborative project design was crucial for optimizing engagement and buy in from the kids. Our research project allowed us to communicate with a variety of stakeholders at the school and I would like to explore the possibility of running inter-disciplinary course work.
