O TRABALHO EM GRUPO COMO ESTRATÉGIA PEDAGÓGICA PARA OS ANOS INICIAIS DO ENSINO FUNDAMENTAL

Abstract

This study delves into the group work methodology employed by elementary school teachers. Its investigative objective is to comprehend teachers' perspectives and how they structure group activities, analyzing the influence of cooperative learning on thinking development, interaction skills, and autonomy. The research involved a bibliographic survey due to the subject's complexity, filtering through theses, dissertations, and articles using keywords "group work" and "cooperative learning." The temporal scope spans a decade (2013-2023) across Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD), Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) Thesis and Dissertations Portal, and Science Electronic Library Online (SciELO). This work stems from an action research intervention inspired by Cohen and Lotan's (2017) group work framework, implemented with 1st and 3rd-grade students in the early years of elementary education. The intervention involved teachers through interviews to understand their profiles, beliefs, and strategies in adopting group work. Cooperation and leadership meanings were explored as distinct pedagogical strategies from the traditional method. The scarcity of group work, despite being widely discussed, highlights a lack of teacher preparation for this methodology. The study emphasizes the relevance of these findings for prioritizing children's development, given the constant societal conflicts and divergences crucial for each individual's integral growth.