At DYNSEO, we firmly believe that learning is a collective adventure. In a classroom, each student is a world unto themselves, with their own strengths, challenges, and unique ways of understanding what surrounds them. Our mission is to provide teachers with tools that not only transmit knowledge but also weave connections, encourage mutual support, and build bridges between these worlds. It is in this spirit that we have developed our COCO PENSE and COCO BOUGE applications, as well as our dedicated training programs.
Today, we want to explore with you an essential aspect of our approach: how COCO promotes pair work. Far from being a simple organizational modality, working in pairs is a powerful driver of social, cognitive, and emotional development. It becomes a lever for inclusion that is particularly relevant when addressing the issue of students with DYS disorders, a topic at the heart of our training for primary school teachers. Let’s dive together into this universe where cooperating means learning, and where helping each other means growing.
When we envisioned COCO, we did not aim for an application that would isolate the student in front of their screen. On the contrary, our ambition was to make the tablet a meeting point, a common playground where minds can connect. Interaction is embedded in the very DNA of our programs.
A platform for dialogue and shared reflection
COCO PENSE offers hundreds of logic, memory, general knowledge, and language games. While a student can certainly use them alone, their true potential is revealed when used in pairs. Take a logic puzzle: two students facing the screen will not just click randomly.
- One will propose a hypothesis.
- The other will question it, offering a different perspective.
- They will need to argue, justify their reasoning, and ultimately agree on a strategy.
This process of verbalization is fundamental. By explaining their thought process to their partner, the student structures, clarifies, and reinforces it. Listening to the other opens new avenues for reflection. The tablet is no longer a simple interface; it becomes the mediator of a genuine cognitive dialogue. Questions are not just knowledge tests but pretexts for discussion, negotiation, and the joint construction of knowledge.
The "Challenge" mode: collaboration in the service of healthy emulation
To go further, we have integrated a "Challenge" mode in COCO PENSE. Two students or two teams compete on the same tablet, which divides the screen in two. This mode is an excellent catalyst for pair work. Imagine two pairs of students facing each other. To win, it is not enough to be the fastest. One must be the most coordinated. Within each pair, communication becomes key. They must consult quickly, validate an answer together, and act in concert. It’s a kind of intellectual ping-pong where the ball is an idea bouncing between the two partners before being sent onto the field. This playful emulation transforms revision or exercises into a moment of sharing and cohesion.
COCO BOUGE: When the body unites minds
Collaboration does not only involve the brain. COCO BOUGE offers adapted, fun physical activities that can be done in class. Many of these exercises are designed to be done in pairs or small groups. Coordinating movements with a partner, performing a mirror yoga exercise, or following a common rhythm creates a very powerful non-verbal bond. These moments of physical sharing help to diffuse tensions, strengthen mutual trust, and create a sense of belonging to the group. It is another form of teamwork, more sensory, that contributes to building a calm and cooperative classroom climate.
Pair work: A pedagogical lever with multiple benefits
Organizing your class in pairs around a tool like COCO is not an end in itself. It is a means to achieve fundamental pedagogical and human objectives. It is a strategy that allows for cultivating a garden where each plant helps its neighbor grow.
Strengthening peer learning
The concept of peer tutoring is one of the most obvious benefits of pair work. When a student who has understood a concept explains it to their classmate, something remarkable happens. To transmit their knowledge, they must reorganize it, simplify it, and find analogies. This pedagogical effort anchors knowledge durably in their own mind. The "tutee," for their part, benefits from an explanation formulated in child-friendly terms, often more accessible than adult discourse. With COCO games, this dynamic naturally takes shape. A student more comfortable with mental math can guide their partner, who may be more proficient in a spatial recognition game.
Developing socio-emotional skills
Beyond academic knowledge, school is where social skills, those essential "soft skills" for life, are forged. Pair work is a wonderful laboratory for developing them.
- Active listening: To solve a problem together on COCO PENSE, one must truly listen to what the other proposes.
- Negotiation: What to do when there is disagreement on the answer? One must learn to argue, to compromise, to find a consensus.
- Empathy: Understanding why one's partner is struggling with an exercise, encouraging them, celebrating shared success... all of this builds emotional intelligence.
- Conflict management: Disagreement is inevitable. Learning to manage it constructively, without aggression, is a crucial skill.
These learnings are as important as mastering multiplication tables. They prepare your students to become citizens capable of collaborating and living in society.
Inclusion at the heart of the system: The case of students with DYS disorders
If cooperation is beneficial for all, it becomes absolutely essential for students with special educational needs, particularly those with learning disorders (dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, etc.). This is a topic we address in depth in our training: Identifying and supporting DYS disorders in primary school. Pair work, supported by an adapted tool like COCO, can transform their school experience.
Breaking isolation and valuing each student
A student with a DYS disorder can often feel out of sync, even failing. Difficulty reading, writing, or calculating can undermine their self-confidence and isolate them from the rest of the group. Pair work on a fun application changes the game. Attention is no longer focused on the student's difficulty but on the common goal: succeeding in the game. The partner's gaze is no longer that of a judge but that of a teammate. Success becomes collective, and pride is shared. It is an incredibly effective way to reintegrate the student into the group dynamic and rekindle their love for learning.
Highlighting different skills
It is crucial to remember that a DYS disorder is in no way related to a lack of intelligence. These students often possess other highly developed skills: great creativity, excellent spatial awareness, and very fine logical reasoning. The varied games of COCO allow these strengths to shine.
- A dyslexic student, who struggles to read an instruction, may excel in a spatial puzzle or shape recognition game. Their partner can help by reading the instruction aloud, while they guide the resolution of the visual problem.
- A dyscalculic student may have difficulties with calculation games but prove very proficient in vocabulary or general knowledge games.
By forming pairs with complementary skills, you allow each student to contribute their part to the whole. Each takes turns being the expert, the one who helps the other. This recognition of their own strengths is a powerful driver of self-confidence.
Our training: Giving you the keys to successful support
We are aware that using a tool, no matter how effective, is not enough. The effectiveness of COCO for the inclusion of DYS students depends on your ability, as a teacher, to understand their needs and implement appropriate strategies. This is precisely the goal of our online training, which you can discover here: https://www.dynseo.com/courses/identifier-et-accompagner-les-troubles-dys-a-lecole-primaire/.
Understanding to better identify
Our training first provides you with clear and accessible insights into the various DYS disorders. It is not about turning you into a speech therapist or a psychomotor therapist, but about giving you benchmarks to identify the signs that should alert you. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of dyslexia or dyspraxia will allow you to better grasp the difficulties the student encounters daily.
Concrete tools and strategies
Beyond theory, our training is resolutely practical. We offer you dozens of adaptation strategies that you can implement directly in your classroom: adaptations of materials, oral instructions, use of color codes, space arrangement... And of course, we show you how to integrate digital tools like COCO in a relevant way. We guide you, for example, on how to form caring and effective pairs, taking into account the profiles of each student.
Towards a universal and inclusive pedagogy
The ultimate goal is to help you build a classroom environment where every student, regardless of their particularities, feels at home and capable of learning. The adaptations designed for DYS students often prove beneficial for the entire class. A clearer instruction, a more visual support, a more playful approach... the entire group dynamic benefits from it. Our training supports you in this transition towards a truly inclusive pedagogy.
Concrete examples of COCO workshops in pairs in your classroom
To make these ideas more tangible, let’s imagine some scenarios for using our applications, available on our site https://www.dynseo.com/version-coco/, in your classroom routine.
The French reinforcement workshop
You can organize a workshop in a half-group. While you work with part of the class, the other part is independently using tablets in pairs. The goal is to work on reading fluency or spelling. One pair consists of a more confident reader and a dyslexic student. On COCO PENSE, they start a letter or word game. The first student reads the instructions and options aloud, thus relieving their partner of the pure reading task. Together, they think about the solution. Collaboration allows them to overcome the reading barrier and focus on the targeted spelling or lexical skill.
The fifteen minutes of logical "brainstorming"
At the beginning of the day or after recess, to refocus attention, propose a "logical challenge" in pairs. Each pair has a tablet and must solve a series of 3 puzzles from COCO PENSE. The goal is not speed but success. You will then hear the class murmuring: "What if we tried this?", "No, look, if we put this piece here, it doesn't work...", "Oh yes, you're right!". It’s a wonderful exercise for mental flexibility, communication, and perseverance.
The active and collaborative break with COCO BOUGE
After a long session of sitting work, the class's energy drops. Propose a 5-minute break with COCO BOUGE. The students, in pairs, follow the exercises displayed on the screen: stretching, miming, coordination. This short physical and playful interlude, experienced together, not only helps recharge their batteries but also strengthens camaraderie bonds in an informal and joyful way.
In conclusion, we at DYNSEO are convinced that educational technology should serve human connection, not the other way around. COCO PENSE and COCO BOUGE were created as catalysts for cooperation. They provide a structured and playful framework for your students to learn to work together, listen to each other, and help each other. By combining the use of these tools with the knowledge and strategies from our training on DYS disorders, you have a comprehensive approach to making your classroom a more collaborative, inclusive, and ultimately more human place. A place where not only knowledge is built but where solid bridges are built between students.
The article "Cooperation and mutual aid: COCO promotes pair work" highlights the importance of collaboration within teamwork. A related article that could enrich this discussion is available on the Dynseo website, titled What practical tools to use to simplify the role of the life assistant. This article explores various tools that can facilitate the work of life assistants, thus highlighting the importance of mutual aid and cooperation in assistance professions. These resources are essential for improving the effectiveness and well-being of professionals working in pairs or teams.
