TASKs for democracy

Conscious competence development
“How can teachers develop the expected competences in this context of
spontaneity and self-articulation?”
Conscious competence development is part of the set of basic principles of co-operative learning. Johnson
and Johnson (1999) emphasise the role of the conscious development of interpersonal and small group
skills. They divide the field of competence development into two parts – one is to follow academic goals,
the other is to follow co-operative goals. Kagan (1992) accepts this distinction and speaks of “conscious
team-building”, while Johnson and Johnson (1999) speak about “group processing”. In a co-operatively
structured learning situation facilitators and learners have the opportunity to reflect on their own and on
their peers’ competences, thus achieving a higher level of consciousness about where they are at concerning
the needed competences. When teachers are monitoring the learning process in the micro-groups, they
can concentrate on the performances of learners regarding different competences. They can plan, design
and invent learning activities that have more potential to improve the academic as well as co-operative
competences of their learners.
In our example of the jigsaw or roundtable we can also identify the academic goals: collecting information,
memorising information, transcribing and higher order cognitive processes such as the development
of critical thinking, exercising multi-perspectivity, comparing, organising, writing, etc. Everyone has the
duty to articulate an item of his/her individual set with the group and also work with a partner by writing
down what the person next to him/her is saying. The note-taker can develop his/her ability to listen to
others, and the person sharing the item is pushed to be articulate.
While co-operative structures improve personal and social competences in general, teachers should focus on
specific fields of intra and interpersonal competences needed for learning and working in small groups. In our
examples important areas of social competences, such as a disposition for empathy and a readiness to listen
and to understand others, are developed through the tasks.
On the importance of co-operative roles
“How can teachers provide a clear framework for learners in view of enhancing
conscious competence development?”
Johnson and Johnson (1999) emphasise the importance of co-operative roles and provide the following
guidelines:
Initially, students may need to be assigned roles that help them form the group. Second, the roles may be assigned
that help the group function well in achieving learning goals and maintaining good working relationships among
members. Third, roles may be assigned to help students formulate what they are learning and create conceptual
frameworks. Finally roles may be assigned that help students ferment each other’s thinking. It is at this point that
cognitive and social roles merge. The social skills represented by the roles should be taught like a spiral curriculum
with a more complex version of the skill taught every year. (Johnson and Johnson 1999: 24-5)
Co-operative roles are interconnected, complementary, and partner-based behavioural patterns that can serve
as a framework of individualised competence development. In the beginning it is the teacher who gives roles
to the participants, roles that are useful for accomplishing the learning tasks.
The interconnectedness of the roles means that the roles themselves are created focusing on positive
interdependence. For example, when the group works on exploring animals, the “time manager” controls
the time frame of common learning, the “encourager” focuses on equal access and participation, the “tracer”
keeps the micro-group on task when needed, and the “recorder” organises the documentation of activities
which are based on every micro-group member’s contribution. Four different fields of competence are
presented in four interconnected roles within the micro-group.
Part One – Principles and pedagogical approaches Page 27