The Cooperation Council as an Action Research Project in a grade 5 Class

By Marcelle Boulanger

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In May of 1995, I went to Ottawa to participate in a conference for French First- Language Teachers, (Association Canadienne des Responsables de l'Enseignement du Francais). I had the opportunity to visit a grade 5-6 class in one of the Ottawa schools to observe different styles of teaching and I also had the chance to chat with the teacher of that class. The most interesting thing I learned during this visit was the concept of the cooperation council. Even though I wasn't searching for this kind of act ivity at this conference, it turned out to be exactly what I needed.

Let me explain what a cooperation council is. A cooperation council consists of a weekly meeting that includes all of the students from a class and the teacher. The ideal arrangement would be for everyone to be sitting in a circle; this way, participation and involvement from all are encouraged. The agenda is prepared by the students throughout the week as they write out their comments on pieces of paper that are posted on a journal mural in the classroom. The journal mural is divided into three catego ries: I thank you or I congratulate you for; I criticise you for; and I would like to talk about. On the day of the council meeting, I gather the pieces of paper, and these are the topics of discussion. Each contribution to the agenda must be signed in order to be read; if it is not signed, it is put in the recycling box.

I was immediately interested in trying out this concept with my students. I started organizing my thoughts to include the cooperation council in my plans for the 1995-96 school year.

In September 1995, I chose to enrol in The Improvement of Teaching, as part of my M. Ed. programme at Queen's. I could not have made a better choice. Tom Russell's course opened my eyes to action research. This was the ideal way to introduce the cooperation council in my class and, at the same time, document and evaluate the steps I was going through. By combining my new project with the concept of action research, I had the structure and direction I needed to guarantee personal satisfaction and pro fessional development at the same time.

Discovering action research has been a highlight of my teaching career. During my ten years of teaching, I have often looked to others to tell me how to improve my teaching skills. I have attended numerous conferences and taken many courses in the hope of becoming a better teacher. I have definitely become better at my work throughout the years, learning from my own experiences and from others' work and also from reading and observing what was going on in the world of education.

I now believe that reflecting on my own work and documenting the steps I take and the results that I obtain is the best way to learn. I have developed a professional relationship with a critical friend in my school who is also trying out the cooperation council in her class. We always look forward to our weekly meeting when we share the progress we see, the barriers we encounter, and our new insights into our own classrooms. To carry this even further, we have both received permission from our students to visit the other class's cooperation council. Of course, we will be there as observers and not be allowed to participate in the discussions. This will offer to us a wonderful opportunity to learn more from one another.

By sharing my thoughts with my critical friend, I have a better understanding of what I am doing, and together we can find solutions and rewards toward the improvement of our teaching. For example, when I first started the cooperation council with my class, I presented the three categories of the journal mural as being I thank you or I congratulate you for; I accuse you of; and I would like to talk about. After having had the opportunity to discuss this with my critical friend, we both agreed that the wo rd Accuse is a very strong and hurtful word. It made the cooperation council take on the character of a judicial process. The children were very pleased and relieved when I suggested, in the third part of the journal mural, that we change the word accuse to criticize. This adjustment in my class' cooperation council helped to improve our meetings. Had I not had the opportunity to share my thoughts and ideas with a critical friend, I might not have realized the weight of the word accuse. This would have perhaps caused a reluctance on the part of my students and thus, a less than optimum participation level. It would be ideal for all teachers to get better acquainted with their teaching, simply by reflecting upon what they are doing, documenting what they see and how they feel about it, sharing it with a critical friend and then implementing appropriate action.