Early in my school psychology days, before the Internet, smartphones, iPads, and social media, I had the opportunity to work with groups of fourth-grade students referred to me for academic and social-behavioral support. Some of these students had problems following behavior expectations and completing tasks when they worked in groups, even when the group work centered around a computer. Basic skills such as listening, attending, and turn-taking were skills that needed lots of support.
One of my bright ideas was to pair the students up, two to a computer, to practice turn-taking skills as they played an educational game. Although I thought I sufficiently prepared the students for the activity, one student promptly became impatient waiting his turn, grabbed the mouse from his partner, and bopped him on the head.
I only had a mouse to worry about. In today’s classrooms, teachers have so much more to manage!
