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Chapter II
Literature Review

Classroom Communities

The Meaning of Community

There are as many kinds of communities as there are human beings. A group of two people or the entire
human race, communities exist on local, national, and international levels, in physical space and in
cyberspace. While scholars have explained community in various ways, common to all definitions is
the idea of shared experience. To investigate the concept of community in the classroom, let us
examine one definition from a group of educators. In Learning Together: Children and Adults in a School
Community, Barbara Rogoff, Leslie Bartlett and Carolyn Turkanis (2002) offer the following definition:

*. . .+ community involves relationships among people based on common endeavors trying to
accomplish some things together with some stability of involvement and attention to the ways
that members relate to each other. In other words, a community of learning develops cultural
practices and traditions that transcend the particular individuals involved, such as expected
ways of handling conflicts and interpersonal issues and crises, as well as traditions for
celebrating turning points and successes. The relations among the members of the community
are multifaceted. Although different members have different roles and responsibilities, their
relations are not just focused on getting tasks done but also involve relating to each other as
people and attempting to resolve inevitable conflicts in ways that maintain the relationships
(Kindle Location 130-134).

In this passage, the authors identify many characteristics that apply to classroom communities. The
common endeavour of classroom communities, it is safe to presume, is the pursuit of learning.
Assembled for this shared experience, a classroom community is not a space but a network of
relationships. Although the term leads with the word classroom, the physical space is not as important
as the bonds that people form with one another. These relationships, according to Paul Kolenick (2012),
are at the heart of a community-based perspective on learning (p. 36). A class may leave their room
and participate in new activities (e.g. electives, field trips), but its participants may still exercise the
cultural practices and traditions of their community. As the classroom community establishes itself,
there emerges some some stability of involvement and attention in how students relate to one
another; in short, there is a way of doing things. At the same time, as Rogoff, Bartlett, and Turkanis point
out, relationships are multifaceted. Beyond the conventional cast of a teacher, students, and parents,
these actors may discover different ways of interacting with one another to maintain the fabric of the
community. As in all communities, conflict is inevitable in the classroom; within its traditions and
practices, it must be able them to resolve them so that the classroom community continues.

The Pillars of Classroom Communities: Inclusivity, Participation, and Co-Creation

Classroom communities rely on several key pillars. Firstly, the community must be inclusive; all students
are seen and welcome. Inclusion means we all belong writes Mara Sapon-Shevin (2010). Inclusion
means not having to fight for a chance to be part of the classroom or school community (Kindle
Location 298). The act of noticing is one way to practice inclusivity in a classroom. As Roxann Kriete
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(2002) explains in The Morning Meeting Book, It is good for students to be noticed, to be seen by their
teacher. But it is only a start, not enough by itself. They must notice and be noticed by each other as
well (p.2). The second pillar, which goes hand in hand with inclusivity, is participation. In Rogoffs
(1994) community-of-learners model, both mature members of the community and less mature
members are conceived as active; no role has all the responsibility for knowing or directing, and no role
is by definition passive (p. 213). In short, everyone must participate in a classroom community for it to
function. Finally, a meaningful classroom community is co-constructed between students and teachers.
Of course, as community leaders, teachers play a number of special roles; they are interpreters,
synthesizers, balance-keepers, and safety-net holders (Kriete, p. 23). Meaningful communities,
however, do not emerge from the teachers imposing their will on a group of students; building a
community is a cooperative enterprise, not a dictation (Dewey, 1938, p. 46-47). These three pillars
inclusivity, participation, and co-creation are integral to a meaningful classroom community.

While all classrooms are tasked with the endeavour of student learning, the cultural practices and
traditions that come to characterize that endeavour are shaped by different values and activities. In An
Ethic of Excellence (2003), Ron Berger explains how new cultures in classroom and school communities
are built around a focal point (p. 8). Berger unites his classroom community by focusing on the
creation of beautiful student work. In her work with the OC, a progressive school in Salt Lake City,
Barbara Rogoff (2002) advocates for communities based on a collaborative relationship between adults
and children. Veteran teacher Ruth Sidney Charney (2002) takes a slightly different angle, focusing her
community-building efforts around giving children the power to care (p. 22). And Professor Sapon-
Shevin aligns her approach with the broader movement for social justice by placing emphasis on the
development of inclusive communities. Classroom communities are bound by their shared experiences
yet distinct in their cultural development.

A Focal Point: Peer Support

Inspired by each of these approaches, I aim to build a strong first-grade classroom community around
the focal point of peer support. Belonging to a group, writes Ruth Sidney Charney (2002), means
being needed as well as to need, and believing that you have something vital to contribute (p. 22). By
developing a deeper understanding of themselves, relying on others for support, and offering their
support to others, I believe students can forge a powerful sense of community. The idea underlying this
focal point is that learning our common endeavour - may be advanced by capitalizing on the diverse
strengths of students. John Bransford, Professor of Education at University of Washington College of
Education in Seattle, elaborates on this idea:

When you start to build on learning communities, *. . .+ what youre really starting to do is
celebrate the individual expertise that people bring. Ideally, you help people realize that
diversity of experiences and ideas is the best way to get smart in the world because the more
we push ourselves by looking at a diversity of ideas, the more we break out of our own little
ponds and our own little boxes *. . .+ (Advanced Technological Association, n.d.).

By focusing on peer support, my aim is for students to consciously recognize each other as resources in
the learning process.



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Building Blocks for Peer Support: Cooperation, Agency, and Diversity

In addition to the pillars of inclusivity, participation, and co-creation, a classroom community focused on
peer support requires several additional building blocks. First, the community must emphasize
cooperation over competition. Alfie Kohn (2008) contends that learning itself occurs not in isolation but
within a cooperative, caring community:

Learning isnt something that happens to individual children separate selves at separate
desks. Children learn with and from one another in a caring community, and thats true of moral
as well as academic learning. Interdependence counts at least as much as independence, so it
follows that practices that pit students against one another in some kind of competition,
thereby undermining a feeling of community, are deliberately avoided (p. 1).

While competition is not inherently negative, it can negatively impact the spirit of a classroom
community. From personal experience, I have implemented and observed classroom management
systems that use points to engage student groups in competition. If one member of the group is not
conforming to expectations, other members can become frustrated and vent their anger towards an
uncooperative group member, creating a hostile atmosphere. Sapon-Shevin (2010) suggests turning
these kind of practices on their head. For instance, instead of playing a game of musical chairs where
students competed for a decreasing number of chairs by pushing shoving, what if the goal was for
students to work together so they could all fit, no matter how many chairs were available. Embracing
cooperation as a guiding principle, remarks Sapon-Shevin (2010), would mean believing the poster
that says, None of us is as smart as all of us *. . .+ (Kindle Location 483). Promoting cooperation
between students is an important step in building a classroom community around peer support.

To build a classroom around peer support, students must believe in their own capacity to help one
another. They must view themselves as agents not objects in the learning process. In his classic work
Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire (1993) describes the prevalent banking model of education,
in which students are considered passive objects; the scope of action allowed to the students extends
only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits (p. 72). In this model, teachers are the guardians
of knowledge and, projecting absolute ignorance on their students, bestow it as a gift (p. 72). Sadly,
many classrooms today still exhibit characteristics of the banking model. In The Case for the
Constructivist Classroom, Brooks and Brooks (2001) lament how many modern American classrooms are
dominated by teacher talk: In accordance with the banking model, Teachers often disseminate
knowledge and generally expect students to identify and replicate the fields of knowledge
disseminated (p. 6). To support one another in the classroom, students must recognize that they are
more than empty vessels to be filled; they are active agents who can shape learning for themselves and
others. As educator Cheryl Irvin postulated in a personal conversation, students may need to shift their
mindsets to discover the teacher in themselves (personal communication, 2013). Freire believed that
the antidote to banking was a dialogical model where the teacher-student relationship dissolved and
all parties see themselves as active participants in the learning process. In a classroom community based
on peer support, students must feel this sense of agency.

Finally, to build a community around peer support, students must recognize their collective diversity.
Every student has a different combination of strengths and areas for improvement. The goal, writes
Professor Sapon-Shevin (2010), is to acknowledge those differences and create a classroom community
that works with those differences (and sometimes around those differences) so that every student can
feel a sense of connection and belonging (Kindle Location 1766). When students have a need that they
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cannot meet independently, they must be able to identify students who are can assist them. To this end,
students must have a sense not only of their own strengths but their classmates strengths as well.
Given the need for inclusivity in classroom communities, it is important that every member of the
community be valued for their strengths, even if they do not fit into conventional academic categories.
The ability to make friends, tie shoes, and draw pictures are important, relevant skills in the lives of
children. For a classroom community to flourish around peer support, students must be aware of the
varying ways that their peers can help one another.

Three Possible Areas for Peer Support

How might students support one another? In my view, there are three specific areas. The first area
involves the skills for learning. In lower elementary school, students are not only learning how to read
and work through problems; they are developing the foundational skills for learning itself. According to
the Committee for Children, a non-profit organization which distributes the social-emotional learning
curriculum Second Step, these skills include listening, being assertive, using self-talk, focusing attention
and following directions. By modeling how to listen appropriately, encouraging quieter peers to speak
more assertively, or redirecting a distracted classmate, all students can help one another to develop
these skills. The second area for peer support is academics. Some students may demonstrate strengths
in particular subjects, such as reading, writing, math, and project work, and might offer their assistance
to students who struggle in those subjects. All students, however, could support their peers by checking
work and offering feedback; academic support is not limited to those with higher skill levels. Finally,
students may support each other with social-emotional learning, which involve skills like perspective-
taking, managing feelings, problem-solving, and making friends (Second Step Grade 1 Kit, n.d .). When
students see their peers struggling with these skills, they could offer their assistance. Within these three
areas, students may support their peers in various ways.

Practices

Purpose Before Practice: Setting Goals for our Classroom Community

There are many teaching practices aimed at developing meaningful classroom communities. To identify
which practices will be most helpful for creating a community around peer support, it is helpful to clarify
the goals of the research:

1) To prepare for the process of community building, students will develop their individual
skills for learning: listening, focusing attention, and following directions.
2) Students will gain a deeper understanding of themselves: their individual strengths and
areas for improvement.
3) Students will construct an understanding of community around classmates diverse
strengths and capacity for support.
4) Students will reach out to others for support and offer their support to others.

Before discussing practices most relevant to promoting peer support, it is important to acknowledge
that practices by themselves are insufficient; they rely on a clear articulation of the communitys goals.
As Barbara Rogoff (2002) warns, Adding new techniques to the classroom does not lead to the
development of a coherent philosophy *. . .+ (Kindle Location 172-181). This philosophy, based on the
pillars of inclusion, participation, and co-creation, means that these practices will develop with input
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from the class. Adopting Rogoffs participatory model, members of classroom communities are
employed in inventing and adapting customs and traditions (Kindle Location 134-143). The tone with
which we develop these practices is as important as the practices themselves. In How to Talk So Kids
Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlich (2012) remind us that attitude is
more important than words: If our attitude is not of compassion, then whatever we say will be
experienced by the child as phony or manipulative. It is when are words are infused with real feelings of
empathy that they speak directly to a childs heart (p.18). With that said, let us examine some practices
for developing a community around peer support.

Skills for Learning

First and foremost, young children must develop the skills for learning, embodied by self-control, that
are necessary for meaningful participation in a community. Repeated practice, otherwise known as drill,
is one method for developing skills such as focusing attention and following directions. Another way to
teach these skills is through games. More than just fun, games can be viewed as ways of structuring the
environment for a brief period of time according to very specific rules (Sapon-Shevin, Kindle Location
785). According to researchers Bodrova and Leong, the rules inherent in games and other forms of play
offer a unique context in which children are motivated to act and at the same time develop the ability
to self-regulate their behavior (p. 16). In this way, specific games can be devised to develop specific
skills for learning, and simple games such as Simon Says or Stop! Go! take on renewed purpose.
Video can also be a powerful tool in helping students to reflect on their own learning skills. By watching
and analyzing footage of their participation in learning activities, students can develop an awareness of
their own strengths and weaknesses. Procedures that incorporate reminders of expected behavior,
particularly through physical movements, may also be effective. Instead of simply calling a class to
attention, the teacher might engage students in chorus: Eyes watching (point to ears), ears listening
(Cup Ears), body still (fold arms), voices off (fingers to lips) (Committee for Children, n.d.). Instead of
punitive measures, teachers must find positive and creative ways for young children to develop their
capacity for self-control.

Understanding Individual and Community Identity

In preparing to build a community around peer support, students need to gain a deeper understanding
of themselves. While it is possible for all students to assist with a particular task, students may derive
more meaning in their role if they can identify areas of strength. In turn, they may feel more
comfortable seeking out support from those who feel qualified to do so. In a chapter entitled Sharing
Ourselves with Others, Mara Sapon-Shevin (2010) lists several familiar classroom activities for exploring
identity: written projects such as me collages and family timelines, games such as Who Is It? and songs
such as Look What I Can Do. (Kindle Location 1031-1077). All of these activities can be adapted with an
emphasis on peer support. For instance, during a game of Who Is It? students might ask their peers to
identify a person who is not wearing a yellow shirt but a person who can help others to tie their shoes.
In laying the groundwork for a community based on peer support, there are countless ways to help
students understand themselves as individuals.

Along with the prerequisite skills for learning and a fuller understanding of themselves, students must
understand the values that characterize a meaningful community of peer supporters: inclusion,
participation, co-creation, cooperation, agency, and diversity. One of the most popular practices for
discussing such ideas is the class meeting. In their manual on elementary teaching, Bickart, Jablon, and
Dodge (1999) state the meeting area of a classroom is the center of community life (p. 57); here,
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children learn how to be part of a community where all members exchange ideas and listen to one
another (p. 57). Bickart, Jablon, and Dogde go on to describe several types of class meetings, with
different times and purposes; some meetings are designed to start and end the day while others are
intended to initiate discussion or address a teachable moment (p. 52-62).

Class Meetings

In addition to values, class meetings are an ideal space for exploring expected behaviors for enacting
peer support. Through role plays, teachers and students can model how to offer and request support,
and other members of the community can practice. In his blog Smart Classroom Management, Michael
Linsen (2012) offers an outline for detailed modeling, which includes identifying desired outcomes, using
clear language, and providing helpful feedback. In the case of peer support, teachers might model how
students how students can respectively request help and hone in on specific tasks where assistance is
needed. Linsen also explains the importance of modeling what not to do so that students have a basis
for comparison. On this subject, it is critical for students to understand that peer support does not
equate to dependency; the goal is not to do things for other students but to lead their thinking.
Furthermore, students should be made aware of times when it is not appropriate to help, such as when
a class mate is acting out or deeply engrossed in their work. While it is praiseworthy of students to offer
their support, more productive partnerships may result from students reaching out only when they truly
need it. During role-plays, it is also important for teachers to promote positive language. In preparation
for these sessions, visual aids displaying lines of questioning and sentence starters may help to guide
students thinking. Class meetings are the starting point for developing common practices and building
meaningful communities.

Critique

Another major tool for peer support is critique. In Trisha Magoons first grade class, a visual next to the
board reads Critique is giving ideas to friends to help them make their work better. This process,
whereby students offer kind, specific, and helpful feedback, is a natural starting point for establishing
expectations and language for other peer support interactions. In An Ethic of Excellence, Ron Berger
(2003) describes how critique not only helps students to improve their work but provides a context for
sharing knowledge and skills and positively shapes the classroom community (92). As he explains,
Formal critique sessions is a cornerstone of my practice, and the informal culture of critique they
spawn is at the core of work improvement. In developing a community around peer support, students
may be encouraged to practice critique beyond formal sessions, giving feedback to one other during
other times of the day, such as morning meeting, guided reading groups, or recess.

Peer Tutoring

Organizing students by partners is another avenue for peer support strategies. Peer tutoring, through
which partners support each others learning, is another popular method. Advocates of peer tutoring
draw upon the work of educational theorist Lev Vgotsky and his concept of the more knowledgable
other (McLeod, 2007, para. 20) . Vygotsky believed there was a difference between what a child can
achieve independently and what a child can achieve with guidance and encouragement from a skilled
partner (para. 24) This skilled partner, or more knowledgeable other, could be a teacher or a peer,
provided they were qualified to push their partners thinking to the next level (para. 27). In her study on
building classroom communities, teacher researcher Heather Papandrea (2013) suggests that peer
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tutors take greater responsibility for their learning instead of passively receiving information from the
teacher (p. 2). In the same year, fellow researcher Melissa Han (2013) explored a more informal buddy
system, where students picked a classmate who they felt comfortable sharing their work with and
thought could help make it stronger (p. 11). Han also asked partners to work together on think-pair-
shares, next-step plans, and exit plans; to keep partners accountable, they were asked to share their
partners responses (p.10).

Other Structures for Peer Support

Beyond class meetings, critique sessions, and peer-assisted learning, there are many structures for
practicing peer support. To cultivate students sense of agency, students could be given opportunities to
share new information with the class during whole-class and small-group lessons. Even when the
teacher is leading the class, it is important to honor the contributions of individual students. When first
grade teacher Trisha Magoon takes notes during brainstorming sessions, she includes the names of
students in parentheses next to their respective ideas. During independent work, students may use
systems for facilitating peer support. During her tenure in the classroom Instructional coach Kimber
Brown used Helper Hats to identify which students could circulate and assist others (personal
communication, 2009). Educator Cheryl Irvin has experimented with a system called Helping Hands, in
which students signal their request for support by dropping a paper cut-out of a hand on the desk of a
fellow classmate (personal communication, 2013). While specific systems and strategies may be
effective for particular types of work, cultivating a classroom community is a constant endeavor;
students are always interacting with one another in the classroom, the hallways, the playground and
the community is always evolving. When teachable moments arise, teachers need a way to seize and
project those moments for the benefit of the class. To celebrate students who have demonstrated the
communitys values around peer support, an immediate signal or token of gratitude may be
appropriate. In the ebb and flow of classroom life, there are numerous structures for practicing peer
support.

Considerations and Challenges

Developmental Trends

In working with first-graders, whose ages range from five to seven over the course of a year, it is
worthwhile to consider the implications of their development on building a classroom community.
While every child develops at a unique pace, there are particular trends that may inform the process of
community building. In his book Yardsticks, Chip Wood (2007) generalizes that five-year-olds struggle
with perspective taking but can express great concern and caring for others. He goes on to say that five-
year-olds may delight in independent activity or become instantly dependent on adult intervention (p.
61). In developing a community around peer support, teachers must push young children to imagine life
in another persons shoes and resist the temptation to intervene when students can reach out to one
another. Moving on to an overview of six-year-olds developmental trends, Wood captures the
enthusiasm of and vulnerability of typical first-graders: No job is too big, no mountain too high. Their
enthusiasms, however, can outstrip their skills, and sixes risk an overpowering sense of inadequacy and
inferiority as they tackle new frontiers (p. 75). While six-year olds may embrace the challenges of peer
support, teachers must clearly and carefully scaffold new exercises to avoid frustration and
disengagement. Bridging the gap between six and seven, Mr. Wood makes this comparison: At six
children are noisy, verbal, active, and brash; at seven, they are quieter, more specific in their speech,
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passive, and sometimes tense. Sevens industriousness is now concentrated on individual work (p. 88).
To build a community around peer support, teachers must look out for students who are turning inward.
To suit their stage of development, teachers and students must work together to find personalized
strategies for connecting students with the classroom community.

Many of these developmental trends were explored by educational theorist Jean Piaget. Based on his
experimental studies, Piaget theorized that children progress sequentially through four stages of
cognitive development: sensorimotor (0-2 years) preoperational thought (2-7 years), concrete
operational thought (7-11 years), and formal operational thought (11 years and older) (McLeod, 2009,
para. 39). For the most part, first graders find themselves in the preoperational thought stage, which is
characterized by egocentrism and static ways of thinking. In other words, children may attribute human
feelings to inanimate objects, struggle to view situations from perspectives other than their own, and
find it difficult to conceive of change processes (McLeod, 2010, paras. 2-4). Piaget also investigated
moral development, concluding that young childrens egocentrism and their relative lack of power in
relation to adults result in a heteronomous moral orientation; children see rules as absolute, rarely
question their purpose, and expect students to be punished for wrong doing (Murray, para. 5). Piagets
judgments about the preoperational thought stage provide a challenge for first-grade teachers seeking
to build meaningful communities with their students. While respecting the developmental level of
students, teachers can offer learning experiences that push their students to think in new ways, moving
them towards higher-order thinking. It may be possible to develop students perspective-taking abilities
by playing games that target this skill. In fact, it may be possible to draw upon one aspect of childrens
development stage to advance another. Childrens animist tendencies are often displayed during
imaginative play, when toys are treated like human beings. Consequently, as precursor to role play,
teachers may encourage students to practice social situations and solve problems by using toys to
represent human beings. Jean Piagets framework for cognitive development offers valuable insight into
building and shaping a classroom community for young children.

Conflict

While this research does not intend to study misbehaviour, it is critical to consider the effects on a
community when students challenge its philosophy, goals, and practices. One approach to these
challenges is to view them as opportunities for growth. In their definition of community, Rogoff,
Bartlett, and Turkanis (2002) describe conflicts as inevitable; the way that its members respond and
strive to maintain relationships is, in truth, a measure of the communitys strength (Kindle Location
130-134). Ruth Sidney Charney (2002) explains how she used to clench her teeth over unhelpful
behaviors. Over time, however, she came to embrace the work of helping children learn to take better
care of themselves, or each other, or their classrooms (p. 18). When students come into conflict with
one another or transgress norms, it is a chance to assess the strength of the community by observing
how its members respond. To maintain relationships, the community must have means for resolving
conflicts around peer support. Spontaneous community meetings, problem-solving protocols, and
teacher-led mediation may be appropriate responses, depending on the situation.

Self-Regulation

One potential source of disruption in a first-grade community stems from individual difficulties with self-
control. For ages five through seven, Charney (2002) lists several common challenges, including calling
out, losing ones attention, and engaging in conversations rather than task completion (p. 427-429). To
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build a community around any focal point, students must exercise the self-control necessary to engage
in a meaningful way with their peers. While helping students to develop these skills, teachers must also
adapt their plans for the developmental needs of young children, offering them opportunities to move,
play, and create. Some programs, such as the Tools of the Mind curriculum focus explicitly on
developing self-regulation through age-appropriate literacy and play activities (Tough, para. 17). When
individuals challenge the specific philosophy, goals, and practices around peer support, the community
must respond. Beyond surface-level techniques for classroom management, teachers and students must
seek to understand the motivation for transgressions, solicit buy-in from the students, and co-create a
plan that reintegrates students into the community. To this end, problem-solving sessions between
students, individual conversations with adults, and discussions during class meetings may be helpful.