Group Work in Scotland        

  Scottish Social Pedagogic Research into Grouping (ScotSPRinG)

 

Welcome to the home page for the ScotSPRinG project.

 

The ScotSPRinG project is engaged in carrying out a programme of work under the title "Supporting Group Work in Scottish Primary Schools: Age and the Urban/Rural Divide". This work, funded by the ESRC as part of their Teaching and Learning Research Programme, is an extension of the SPRinG project currently running in the south-east of England, and is a joint venture between the Universities of Strathclyde and Dundee, involving the following staff:

University of Strathclyde

Donald Christie

Christine Howe

Kay Livingston

Andy Tolmie

Emma Jessiman

 

University of Dundee

Keith Topping

Caroline Donaldson

Allen Thurston

 

 

East teachers involved in groupwork on CPD Day1.

The SPRinG project is intended to establish the conditions necessary for group activities to produce definite educational benefits (in terms of learning and quality of classroom relationships), and to design ways of helping teachers to introduce effective group work into their classes at Key Stages 1-3 of the National Curriculum in England. The ScotSPRinG project seeks to extend such support to science teaching with 10-12 year olds in three types of primary school in Scotland:

 

1.Small rural schools with composite classes and cross-age group work between familiar peers;

2.Urban schools with composite classes and cross-age group work between less familiar peers;

3.Urban schools with same-age group work.

 

Interest centres on the fact that group work between children of different ages tends to lead to older children tutoring the younger ones, rather than to more equal collaboration between them, which is what the programmes of support for teachers are designed to encourage.

The research is intended to test how far the SPRinG support programmes need to be modified to promote group work in Scottish contexts, where there might be a different natural dynamic. The project should add to understanding of the ways in which different forms of productive group activity can be promoted, and extend the social pedagogy developed by SPRinG.

  

Elsewhere on this site, you will find a more detailed description of the project and a page inviting comments and reactions .