The Team Model and Classroom Climate

Background: The team model was first introduced at 2013 by Yaacov Hecht, who developed this model together with a team of educators. The team model presents a social pedagogy for achievement and aspiration to excellence on the one hand and mutual responsibility and cooperation on the other.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine if the team model can improve classroom climate.

Methods: Forty-eight girls from the 6^th grade took part in the study and were equally divided into a control group and an experimental group. Both of the groups filled the Fraser`s classroom climate questionnaire before and after the intervention, which included five factors: Satisfaction, friction, competition, difficulty and cohesion. A 12-week intervention focused on the common goal of a better feeling in the classroom, when each student makes and receives a contribution during the process. The intervention included personal empowerment, identifying strengths, team work, leadership and team spirit.

Results and Conclusion: The results indicate that the level of satisfaction was lower in the experimental group compared to the control group before the intervention process, while friction and difficulty levels were higher in the experimental group before the intervention process. After the intervention process friction and competition levels were higher in the control group compared to the experimental group, indicating that the intervention process had a positive effect on the classroom climate.