5 Tips for Successful Group Work in the Classroom
- 1. Assign roles. “Assign each student in the group a unique role so that everyone has to work together to make the project a success,” said Jaime L. Being solely responsible for a portion of the work gives students ownership over the project’s success. ...
- 2. Make sure every group member has access. ...
- 3. Ask for input. ...
- 4. And grade accordingly. ...
- 5. Speak to outliers privately. ...
- Share your rationale for using group work. ...
- Have students form groups before you give them instructions. ...
- Facilitate some form of group cohesion. ...
- Explain the task clearly. ...
- Set ground rules for group interaction. ...
- Let students ask questions.
How do you get students to work in groups?
Have students form groups before you give them instructions. If you try to give instructions first, students may be too preoccupied with deciding on group membership to listen to you. Facilitate some form of group cohesion. Students work best together if they know or trust each other, at least to some extent.
How do you introduce a group activity to students?
Introducing the group activity Share your rationale for using group work. Have students form groups before you give them instructions. Facilitate some form of group cohesion. Explain the task clearly. Set ground rules for group interaction. Let students ask questions.
How do teachers work in groups?
Teachers collaborate with their peers, police officers work in teams, and sales engineers work in groups to hit their monthly goals. Working together is something we all do in adult life, so teaching our students how to work with a diverse group from a young age is important.
What do students need for group learning to be effective?
Roberson and Franchini (2014) emphasize that for group learning to be effective, students need a clear sense that group work is "serving the stated learning goals and disciplinary thinking goals" of the course (280). When deciding whether or not to use group work for a specific task, consider these questions: What is the objective of the activity?
How do I teach my child to do group work?
Use these tips to help your child fit in when doing school group work.Communicate with your child's teacher. ... Talk to your child about school group work. ... Help your child read social cues. ... Encourage social interaction with other kids. ... Discuss social challenges with your child. ... Nurture your child's interests.
How do you teach students to work together?
10 Strategies to Build on Student Collaboration in the ClassroomDeliberately select which students will work together. ... Size the groups for maximum effectiveness. ... Teach your students how to listen to one another. ... Set the rules of language and collaboration. ... Make goals and expectations clear.More items...
How do you facilitate group work in the classroom?
Facilitating In-Class Group WorkEstablish classroom ground-rules or expectations that can promote respectful, inclusive interactions in the classroom. ... Define group member roles and rotate these frequently. ... Develop and communicate a set of clear instructions. ... Provide careful discussion prompts.More items...
What are some grouping strategies?
10 Easy Grouping Techniques for the College ClassroomPlaying Cards. ... Clock Partners. ... Dot Stickers on Handouts. ... Numbers/Letters on Handouts. ... Color-Coded Paper. ... Markers. ... Numbered Index Cards.Index Cards with Letters.More items...•
How do you engage students in group work?
Strategies for helping students work productively in groupsFollow up group work with individual assessments of learning. ... Use assessments of individual effort to adjust grades. ... Give students goals as a group. ... Consider assigning roles to students. ... Use appropriately sized groups.More items...•
How do you motivate students to work together?
End of newsletter promotion.Create Learning Activities That Are Complex. Students need a reason to collaborate. ... Prepare Students to Be Part of a Team. ... Minimize Opportunities for Free Riding. ... Build in Many Opportunities for Discussion and Consensus. ... Focus on Strengthening and Stretching Expertise. ... Reference:
What is the teacher's role in group work?
Teachers need to manage the process from task selection through to determining appropriate learning groups. Students will work collaboratively, discuss, support and challenge each other if the learning environment, generated by the teacher, is good.
What does good group work look like?
In 'Group Work' An effective group work together to complete a task in an agreed time, with each member contributing to the team according to their skills, experience and personality. There are various stages that you will go through in a group project to achieve a task.
What makes successful group work?
Continuity: It not only takes time to get a group established, but to keep it working. Communality: Meet new people, make friends and gain networks for your career. Disparity: or anxiety can hinder contribution of all equally. Conviviality: Group work can be really good fun if all members embark it.
What are group learning activities?
Completing shared tasks in a pair or group, e.g. matching, sorting, ranking. Activities or games with a competitive element, e.g. bingo. Drama and role play. Information exchange activities, including barrier games and jigsaw activities.
What are grouping activities?
More Definitions of Group Activity Group Activity means any organized activity of ten or more individuals, whether recreational, non-profit, commercial or otherwise, involving the use or planned use of District owned or operated property or facilities.
What is the process of grouping?
Group process refers to how an organization's members work together to get things done. Typically, organizations spend a great deal of time and energy setting and striving to reach goals but give little consideration to what is happening between and to the group's greatest resource – it's members.
How do you connect students together?
20 Student Engagement Strategies for a Captivating ClassroomConnect learning to the real world. ... Engage with your students' interests. ... Fill “dead time” ... Use group work and collaboration. ... Encourage students to present and share work regularly. ... Give your students a say. ... Get your students moving. ... Read the room.More items...•
How can teachers and students work together to build relationships?
One of the strongest ways teachers can connect with students is by making them feel valued and respected. When students feel their teachers care about them, want what's best for them, and have confidence in their abilities, this can be powerful enough to move mountains.
Why is it important for students to work together?
Why use collaborative learning? Research shows that educational experiences that are active, social, contextual, engaging, and student-owned lead to deeper learning. The benefits of collaborative learning include: Development of higher-level thinking, oral communication, self-management, and leadership skills.
Why do teachers make students work together?
Collaborative learning has been shown to not only develop higher-level thinking skills in students, but boost their confidence and self-esteem as well. Group projects can maximize educational experience by demonstrating the material, while improving social and interpersonal skills.
Why is group work so important?
Group work is important in education because it benefits students in that it helps them to learn about the way that others think. Students are able...
What are examples of group work?
Collaborative group work is a form of academic learning in which students work in pairs or groups to solve a problem, usually in a time-limited per...
Is group work beneficial for students?
Group work is beneficial for students because it allows them to collaborate with one another in a way that they can learn from each other, and work...
What is the purpose of group work?
Group work is a great way to get the benefits of working collaboratively and sharing ideas and insights. When you work in a group, you can get bett...
How to encourage students to do group work?
Make the task challenging. Consider giving a relatively easy task early in the term to arouse students’ interest in group work and encourage their progress. In most cases collaborative exercises should be stimulating and challenging. By pooling their resources and dealing with differences of opinion that arise, groups of students can develop a more sophisticated product than they could as individuals. See our teaching tip “ Group work in the Classroom: Small-Group Tasks ” for some ideas.
How can group work be effective?
Group work can be an effective method to motivate students, encourage active learning, and develop key critical-thinking, communication, and decision-making skills. But without careful planning and facilitation, group work can frustrate students and instructors and feel like a waste of time.
How to respond to students' questions?
When responding to students’ answers, model the respect and sensitivity that you want the students to display towards their classmates. Be ready to acknowledge and value opinions different from your own. Be willing to share your own stories, critique your work, and summarize what has been said.
How to make a lecture plan flexible?
Connect the ideas raised to course content and objectives. Recognize that groups might not come up with the ideas you intended them to , so be willing to make your lecture plans flexible. Wherever possible, look for a connection between group conclusions and the course topic. However, be aware that misconceptions or inaccurate responses need to be clarified and corrected either by you or by other students.
How to avoid disagreement in a group?
If you come upon a group that is experiencing uncertainty or disagreement, avoid the natural tendency to give the answers or resolve the disagreement. If necessary, clarify your instructions, but let students struggle — within reason — to accomplish the task (Race, 2000).
Why are some students better at contributing?
Some students might be better at contributing after they have had time to digest material , while others might be better at thinking on the spot. Other students will defer to others in large groups but actively contribute in pairs. All roles should be valued and included.
How to build cohesion in a group?
Facilitate some form of group cohesion. Students work best together if they know or trust each other, at least to some extent. Even for brief group activities, have students introduce themselves to their group members before attending to their task. For longer periods of group work, consider introducing an icebreaker or an activity designed specifically to build a sense of teamwork.
Why do students work in groups?
Having students work in groups lets them practice the skills they are learning. Speaking in front of the whole class can be scary, and combined with the tension of speaking to the teacher, the situation can be downright terrifying to students. Breaking them up into groups not only develops social skills useful in the professional environment for which they are training, but gives them a chance to perform in a supportive environment before a test or even before having to do homework on the topic on their own.
How many people should be in a group?
Size: Two to six people in a group is ideal. The smaller the group, the more likely each student will be to contribute to the discussion. Groups of two or three students are sufficient for simple tasks for which consensus should be reached quickly. Groups of four to six are better for more complex tasks in which a greater number of ideas may improve the final results.
Why is discussion important in learning?
Discussion can motivate students, especially when the activity involves authentic learning—that is, real world and messy—allowing students to collaborate, reflect on, and synthesize their learning. When planning the structure for a discussion, look for one that will hold students accountable to their peers, not just the instructor, in a public way (Bass & Elmendorf, 2011).
What is Jill Robinson's role in the classroom?
Jill Robinson (Chemistry) uses small groups for problem solving and “clickers” to collect student responses to get students to think deeply about fundamental chemical principles that can influence our climate. She does so even though she is teaching a large class (140-student C118: Principles of Chemistry and Biochemistry) and often teaching in a challenging classroom space.
Why do students work on group projects in Informatics?
Having students work on team projects encourages them to help each other master the material and demonstrate the material’s relevance outside the course.
What is team based learning?
Team-Based Learning is an advanced form of group work in which content coverage is pushed outside of the class, with students using precious in-class time to take quizzes to show they have mastered the content and then practice the application of critical disciplinary skills such as problem-solving and argumentation.
How to derive the greatest benefit from the group interaction?
To derive the greatest benefit from the group interaction, you should spend a few minutes clarifying the students’ roles and the expectations for the group’s work.
Group Work
Group work online can offer a wide range of benefits to your learners. You will likely need to structure the group work a bit more, provide some additional supports and do a bit of pre-planning to help your online learners be successful in their collaborative experience of working in a group towards a common goal.
Next Steps
Review these Group Project Resources 29 to help you get started forming the group project instructions, the team charter, and peer evaluations.
Join the Conversation
Join this community of faculty, learning designers and others that are discussing the topic of online group work. 30 Pose questions, engage in dialogue, contribute resources or share your experiences with colleagues. These are our community guidelines 31 .
What is group work in the classroom?
Group work is simply defined as more than one person working together to complete a task or assignment. In the classroom, group work can take many forms; however, the goal remains the same—to get students to interact with each other and collaborate to complete a unified task.
How to group students in a classroom?
Here are a few ways you can group students in your classroom: Random pairing, where the teacher has students count off by number to randomly group together. This can give students a chance to work with others that they may never talk to on a regular basis.
What is a teacher selected group?
Teacher-selected groups, where once you know your students, you can choose which students will work in which groups, in which you can opt to have students work homogeneously or heterogeneously.
What is homogeneous grouping?
Homogeneous grouping is when you put students of similar learning level together. For example, you would put your high-level learners together.
What is group work?
Group work can be a formal task given with the objective of having students complete a major project or assignment for a test grade. For example, say you're having students work on a propaganda project in your history class, and you give the option of making a propaganda video.
How many students should be in each group?
There should be one student in each group that has learned a different topic. For example, in group A, there should be a student who researched the cell wall, one who researched the nucleus, another who researched the mitochondria, etc. Each expert will share their knowledge so that all students can learn the parts of the cell.
How to get students to become experts on one topic?
Another great strategy is jigsaw. This is where students become experts on one topic, and then they share that information with others. Say we are in biology class, and students are learning about the parts of a cell. First, split students into groups and have each group read an article or research a topic together. Topics could include the nucleus, cell wall, mitochondria, etc. Groups will become experts on their assigned topic.
Why is technology important in group work?
Technology makes it easy for each group member to have access to all work and collaborate. “I have each member share any and all work on Google drive,” advised Sonja L. This helps facilitate the notion of working together and contributing equally.
What to do if students don't have access to technology?
If your students don’t have daily access to technology, make sure they have a system to store hard copies of their group work in the classroom. “When I do group work, I have a work-in-progress folder for each class. That way, they always have the work even if someone is absent.” —Karen K.
How to make a project a success?
1. Assign roles. “Assign each student in the group a unique role so that everyone has to work together to make the project a success,” said Jaime L. Being solely responsible for a portion of the work gives students ownership over the project’s success.
Is working cooperatively with others important?
While working cooperatively with others is an important life skill, it can definitely be tricky when it involves kids whose abilities (and attitudes) vary wildly. Middle school teacher Sara recently wrote into our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE! with a group work dilemma involving one student who was bulldozing the other members of the group. Not only that, but when she was recently absent the group had no access to the project’s materials and no idea how to proceed without her. Here are some words of wisdom our teachers offered to conduct successful group work in the classroom.
How does group work help students?
By implementing the following group work strategies, you’ll build your students’ social-emotional and problem-solving skills. You’ll also see an increase in their intrinsic motivation and mastery of academic content .
How to start a group work strategy?
The first effective group work strategy is to start with a challenging problem to solve. After all, if students can do the work easily on their own, they won’t feel the need to collaborate. Asking students to solve interesting and challenging problems creates an authentic need for group work strategies.
Why did Vygotsky find that students can learn complex ideas from other students than from teachers?
Vygotsky also found that students can more easily learn complex ideas from other students than from teachers. Because there is less of a knowledge gap between peers, students benefit from explanations given by a “knowledgeable other” their own age.
What is the goal of a facilitator?
Remember that your goal as a facilitator is to teach collaboration, not content. Once they master collaborative inquiry, they can learn new content faster than you could ever teach it.
How do facilitators help students?
Instead of being the center of every learning event, we become a facilitator. Students learn to use resources and work together to solve problems. Eventually, you find your students learning things you never explained to them. You’ll even spend less time managing behavior and chasing down unfinished assignments.
What is group work?
As a result, group work is a natural form of differentiation. In heterogenous (mixed level) groups, strong students deepen their understanding by explaining their ideas, while their peers benefit from another way to learn. Students can also divide responsibilities so that each student leverages their greatest strengths.
Why do students need to divide their responsibilities?
Students can also divide responsibilities so that each student leverages their greatest strengths. In addition to the academic benefits, group work supports social-emotional learning. When students learn in groups, they are developing communication skills, self-regulation, and metacognition.
Why do students work in small groups?
Students working in small groups often learn more and demonstrate better retention than students taught in other instructional formats. When instructors incorporate group assignments and activities into their courses, they must make thoughtful decisions regarding how to organize the group, how to facilitate it, and how to evaluate the completed work.
Why do we give feedback to groups?
Give regular feedback so group members can gauge their progress both as a group and individually.
What does it mean when students know that their peers will evaluate them?
Students who know that their peers will evaluate them may contribute more to the group and have a greater stake in the project.
Why is group work important in teaching?
Group work also introduces more unpredictability in teaching , since groups may approach tasks and solve problems in novel , interesting ways. This can be refreshing for instructors.
Why are group projects important?
Group projects can help students develop a host of skills that are increasingly important in the professional world (Caruso & Woolley, 2008; Mannix & Neale, 2005). Positive group experiences, moreover, have been shown to contribute to student learning, retention and overall college success (Astin, 1997; Tinto, 1998; National Survey of Student Engagement, 2006).
Can instructors reduce final products?
And they can reduce the number of final products instructors have to grade. Whatever the benefits in terms of teaching, instructors should take care only to assign as group work tasks that truly fulfill the learning objectives of the course and lend themselves to collaboration.
Is group work good for learning?
While the potential learning benefits of group work are significant, simply assigning group work is no guarantee that these goals will be achieved. In fact, group projects can – and often do – backfire badly when they are not designed, supervised, and assessed in a way that promotes meaningful teamwork and deep collaboration.
Should instructors assign group work?
Whatever the benefits in terms of teaching, instructors should take care only to assign as group work tasks that truly fulfill the learning objectives of the course and lend themselves to collaboration. Instructors should also be aware that group projects can add workfor faculty at different points in the semester and introduce its own grading complexities.
Preparing For Group Work
Designing The Group Activity
- Identify the instructional objectives.Determine what you want to achieve through the small group activity, both academically (e.g., knowledge of a topic) and socially (e.g., listening skills). The...
- Make the task challenging. Consider giving a relatively easy task early in the term to arouse students’ interest in group work and encourage their progress. In most cases collaborative ex…
- Identify the instructional objectives.Determine what you want to achieve through the small group activity, both academically (e.g., knowledge of a topic) and socially (e.g., listening skills). The...
- Make the task challenging. Consider giving a relatively easy task early in the term to arouse students’ interest in group work and encourage their progress. In most cases collaborative exercises sh...
- Assign group tasks that encourage involvement, interdependence, and a fair division of labour. All group members should feel a sense of personal responsibility for the success of their teammates an...
- Decide on group size.The size you choose will depend on the number of students, the size of …
Introducing The Group Activity
- Share your rationale for using group work. Students must understand the benefits of collaborative learning. Don't assume that students know what the pedagogical purpose is. Explicitly connect these...
- Have students form groups before you give them instructions.If you try to give instructions first, students may be too preoccupied with deciding on group membership to listen to you.
- Share your rationale for using group work. Students must understand the benefits of collaborative learning. Don't assume that students know what the pedagogical purpose is. Explicitly connect these...
- Have students form groups before you give them instructions.If you try to give instructions first, students may be too preoccupied with deciding on group membership to listen to you.
- Facilitate some form of group cohesion. Students work best together if they know or trust each other, at least to some extent. Even for brief group activities, have students introduce themselves to...
- Explain the task clearly. This means both telling students exactly what they have to do and describing what the final product of their group work will look like. Explaining the big picture …
Monitoring The Group Task
- Monitor the groups but do not hover. As students do their work, circulate among the groups and answer any questions raised. Also listen for trends that are emerging from the discussions, so that yo...
- Expect a lot from your students.Assume that they do know, and can do, a great deal (Brookfield & Preskill, 1999). Express your confidence in them as you circulate the room.
- Monitor the groups but do not hover. As students do their work, circulate among the groups and answer any questions raised. Also listen for trends that are emerging from the discussions, so that yo...
- Expect a lot from your students.Assume that they do know, and can do, a great deal (Brookfield & Preskill, 1999). Express your confidence in them as you circulate the room.
- Be slow to share what you know.If you come upon a group that is experiencing uncertainty or disagreement, avoid the natural tendency to give the answers or resolve the disagreement. If necessary, c...
- Clarify your role as facilitator.If students criticize you for not contributing enough to their work, consider whether you have communicated clearly enough your role as facilitator.
Ending The Group Task
- Provide closure to the group activities. Students tend to want to see how their work in small groups was useful to them and/or contributed to the development of the topic. You can end with a plenar...
- Model how you want students to participate. When responding to students’ answers, model the respect and sensitivity that you want the students to display towards their classmates. Be re…
- Provide closure to the group activities. Students tend to want to see how their work in small groups was useful to them and/or contributed to the development of the topic. You can end with a plenar...
- Model how you want students to participate. When responding to students’ answers, model the respect and sensitivity that you want the students to display towards their classmates. Be ready to ackno...
- Connect the ideas raised to course content and objectives.Recognize that groups might not come up with the ideas you intended them to, so be willing to make your lecture plans flexible. Wherever po...
- Don’t provide too much closure. Although the plenary session should wrap up the group work…
References
- Brookfield, S.D., & Preskill, S. (1999). Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and Techniques for Democratic Classrooms.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
- Gross Davis, B. (1993).Tools for Teaching.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
- Jaques, D. (2000). Learning in Groups: A Handbook for Improving Group Work, 3rd ed.London: Kogan Page.
- Brookfield, S.D., & Preskill, S. (1999). Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and Techniques for Democratic Classrooms.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
- Gross Davis, B. (1993).Tools for Teaching.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
- Jaques, D. (2000). Learning in Groups: A Handbook for Improving Group Work, 3rd ed.London: Kogan Page.
- Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. A. (2014). Cooperative learning: Improving university instruction by basing practice on validated theory. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 25(3...
Resources
- CTE teaching tips
1. Group Work in the Classroom: Small-Group Tasks 2. Group Work in the Classroom: Types of Small Groups 3. Making Group Contracts 4. Methods for Assessing Group Work - Other resources
1. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching (2014). Special Focus Issue: Small-Group Learning in Higher Education — Cooperative, Collaborative, Problem-Based, and Team-Based Learning. 2. Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., and Smith, K.A. (2006). Active learning: Cooperation in the univers…
Overview
- Having students work in groups lets them practice the skills they are learning. Speaking in front of the whole class can be scary, and combined with the tension of speaking to the teacher, the situation can be downright terrifying to students. Breaking them up into groups not only develops social skills useful in the professional environment for which they are training, but gives them a …
Organizing The Groups
- Keep in mind the following elements of group work when selecting the appropriate type of group work for your class. 1. Size: Two to six people in a group is ideal. The smaller the group, the more likely each student will be to contribute to the discussion. Groups of two or three students are sufficient for simple tasks for which consensus should be...
Designating Roles in Groups
- Groups that are created for in-class discussion can be easily organized around a four-person model based on roles. Each member of the group plays a specific role that supports the team’s collaborative effort. These roles include: 1. Leader: Responsible for keeping the group on task, maintaining the schedule (meetings, deadlines), and maintaining contact information (phone nu…
Sharing Group Results
- Students should share the results of their group with the class at large. This holds them accountable to show their work. Having to show the other groups what they did can increase their motivation to produce higher level work. While in the past, instructors were used to having groups report out their work either verbally or on newsprint posted on walls along with a walk-around for…
Resources
- Designing for Difficulty: Social Pedagogies as a Framework for Course Design Discussion can motivate students, especially when the activity involves authentic learning—that is, real world and messy—allowing students to collaborate, reflect on, and synthesize their learning. When planning the structure for a discussion, look for one that will hold students accountable to their peers, no…
Who Is Doing This at IUB?
- The National Study of Student Engagement data show that 68% of IUB seniors engage in class discussion. Many IUB professors commonly use various discussion techniques. Some specific examples are listed below: Prof. Jill Robinson(Chemistry) uses small groups for problem solving and “clickers” to collect student responses to get students to think deeply about fundamental ch…