Through educational opportunities, you can help students make lifelong connections by encouraging long-term relationships. Through learning and exploring topics collaboratively, you can set up students for the future by giving them confidence in their own abilities to build working relationships. These working relationships not only benefit students both in the workplace and educational environment but in their social life too.
The points below suggest how you can encourage, promote and bring to fruition long-term relationships between students.
- Group Projects
Group projects are a brilliant way to bring students together in a way they potentially would not otherwise. Group projects will encourage discussion, collaboration and debate, as students will naturally have to run through options and come to suitable conclusions with their group work.
Promoting cohesion amongst peers
Another benefit of group work or group projects is that it often sees students who usually may not work together, come together in a team scenario, working past any differences with a joint goal and aim. Doing so can improve their problem-solving skills as well give them a mindset that focuses on growth and mutual understanding.
Any project involves commitment of time and effort, however, group work adds the extra element of relying on each other to produce the result you would want. Students will, therefore, have to put a fair amount of trust in others, be able to communicate clearly and effectively and work with respect and cohesion to ensure deadlines are met and the quality of the work is to the level desired.
- Discuss Further Learning Opportunities
There is a world of accessible information out there that solely focuses on increasing awareness of unity and mutual understanding. You should capitalise on this so your students can benefit, and one simple solution is through further training. Training opportunities are easily found and can be easily accessible to students online. They can vary depending on subject areas that you feel are appropriate.
If you feel there are grey areas of understanding amongst your students when it comes to company culture and discrimination, for example, then reach out to Engage in Learning who offer relevant, cost-effective, speedy training for students. Training may also be a requirement in later life for many students, so giving them experience of this while they are still in a learning environment provides them with another vital life skill.
- Focus on Interconnectivity
As well as offering opportunities for group work to promote cohesion, you can encourage interconnectivity among your students by demonstrating to them the importance of retaining relationships. This could be in the form of online discussion boards, or group discussions, as well as keeping in touch once they go their separate ways.
Such actions will help to set them up in later life, as they will have an intrinsic understanding of the importance of maintaining relationships, and carry this on to workplace scenarios. This education will, in turn, see them stand out from the rest and make a difference in their working environment.
