Middle Schoolers Need Friends | W4 Q2 | Discussion

Middle school students are in a period of transition where the importance of relationships is shifting away from student-teacher relationships, towards student-student relationships. Indeed, during the middle school years it has been shown that students, “…with no friends in the first grade of middle school were more distressed and initially received lower grades than students with friends.” (Juvonen, Page 660). Additionally, it has been shown that, “…friends are better than nonfriends in joint problem solving, especially when tasks are cognitively demanding.” (Juvonen, Page 660). This fact linking social interaction and cognitive functioning correlates with that Reis, Collins, & Berscheid state in their article. Reis et al state that activity and action are shaped not only by cognition about self, but by cognition about and with others. This displays the importance of positive social interactions in student success during the early middle school years (Reis, Collins, & Berscheid, Page 863).

While positive teacher-student interactions may still be impactful in middle school, student-student interactions gain importance. In order to foster success and engagement in middle school students, teachers should look to encourage positive social interactions between peers. One strategy to encourage social interactions is the use of base groups in the classroom. Base groups could be used for small group work with consistent members, with the goal of giving students a “home” within the classroom where they should feel safe to learn and share ideas. Also, with the use of properly implemented base groups students form social connections and bonds with multiple students.