Engaging Students in Learning (TESS 3c) + Implications of Young

Adolescent Development for middle Level Curriculum and Instruction

(AMLE Standard 1, Element c) + The School environment is inviting,
safe, inclusive, and supportive of all (This We Believe 16
Characteristics, Characteristic 11)

When constructing the perfect environment

for students to work together, the most that a teacher
can do is ensure that the groups are cohesive. The
the right you will see a model of a classroom where
the students are assigned to different groups. The
model illustrates the way in which I can organize my
students into teams in a way that is manageable,
malleable, and tailorable to each student’s individual
needs. This method of group creates structure in the
classroom, cohesiveness in group participation, and
the option for students to choose who they want to
be in teams with. For instance, in the model most of
the grouping is done in a way where each group would have at least one healer, mage, and
warrior. This ensures that the groups are balanced inside the Classcraft website. Through this
method, the students are then able to work together in order to complete tasks assigned to
them, or benefit each other in the instance that they are taking the test. When examining their
ability to cooperate in a group, depending on the level of cooperation, I can ensure that they are
cooperating. If they are not, the flexibility of the grouping system allows me to change the
arrangement of each group so that the students are able to achieve more in class.

Teaching students by having them grouped together is also an aspect of using the
knowledge that learning is primarily a social based ideology, which would make doing this fulfill
AMLE Standard 1, element c which covers “Implications of Young Adolescent Development for
Middle Level Curriculum and Instruction.” Grouping the students in this fashion lines up best
with the 11th This We Believe characteristic which states that “The school environment is
inviting, safe, inclusive, and supportive of all.” This proves true when one examines the level of
interaction between all the students which ensures that each student is included in the learning
process. Without a means of grouping such as this one, the students are unable to learn the
social skills necessary for the social development. Thankfully, using classcraft has made
managing a classroom and giving the students ample time to grow socially through a format that
engages them in the real world while giving them the mirage of operating in a digital one.