In some student age groups, conflicts in the classroom can be a vexing issue for teachers. The learning climate can quickly deteriorate if students are not respectful and friendly towards each other and their teachers. Value creation pedagogy can alleviate this problem. When students work in teams to accomplish important and valued results for external people, they tend to be more friendly towards each other. This reduces the workload for many teachers. They find themselves no longer having to spend as much time on mediating between upset students and other practical issues around classroom conflict.
Caring for others is a sound value base
One reason why value creation pedagogy helps teachers with the classroom climate is because of its emphasis on the other person. In today’s self-oriented society, there is a need to find ways to practice empathy for other people who think and act differently from oneself. Value creation pedagogy takes such empathy as its key starting point. This facilitates values based work in the classroom. When students get to create value for others they get an opportunity to act upon a sound value base. Enacting a behavior triggers attitude changes on a deep level among students.
Teamwork builds trust
Value creation pedagogy brings people together in very tight teamwork. In order to succeed in creating something of value to external people, students often find that complementary skills are crucial. One person might be strong on oral communication, another one might be strong on writing clearly. Value creation assignments often span disciplines, just like any value-creating activity in society would require interdisciplinary skills. This makes students become more dependent upon each other than otherwise. This changes students’ attitudes towards each other. It does not make sense to start a fight with someone you might be dependent upon later that day, in something you care strongly for. Instead of conflicts, we see mutual trust being built in classes where student are exposed to value creation pedagogy.