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Lesson 5.6: Using Group Work

  • Page ID
    11336
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    7. Using Group Work (aka Cooperative Learning)

    The benefits of group work


    Planning group work

    • the goals and expected outcomes of the group activity
    • the time allocated to the activity, including any feedback or summary task
    • how to split the groups (how many groups, how many students in each group, criteria for groups)
    • how to organize the groups (role of different group members, time required, materials, recording and reporting)
    • how any assessment will be undertaken and recorded (take care to distinguish individual assessments from group assessments)
    • how you will monitor the groups’ activities

    Groupwork tasks

    • Presentations: Students work in groups to prepare a presentation for the rest of the class. This works best if each group has a different aspect of the topic, so they are motivated to listen to each other rather than listening to the same topic several times. Be very strict about the time that each group has to present and decide on a set of criteria for a good presentation. Write these on the board before the lesson. Students can the use the criteria to plan their presentation and assess each other’s work. The criteria could include:
      • Was the presentation clear?
      • Was the presentation well-structured?
      • Did I learn something from the presentation?
      • Did the presentation make me think?
    • Problem solving: Students work in groups to solve a problem or a series of problems. This could include conducting an experiment in science, solving problems in mathematics, analyzing a story or poem in English, or analyzing evidence in history.
    • Creating an artifact or product: Students work in groups to develop a story, a piece of drama, a piece of music, a model to explain a concept, a news report on an issue or a poster to summarize information or explain a concept. Giving groups five minutes at the start of a new topic to create a brainstorm or mind map will tell you a great deal about what they already know, and will help you pitch the lesson at an appropriate level.
    • Differentiated tasks: Group work is an opportunity to allow students of different ages or attainment levels to work together on an appropriate task. Higher attainers can benefit from the opportunity to explain the work, whereas lower attainers may find it easier to ask questions in a group than in a class, and will learn from their classmates.
    • Discussion: Students consider an issue and come to a conclusion. This may require quite a bit of preparation on your part in order to make sure that the students have enough knowledge to consider different options, but organizing a discussion or debate can be very rewarding for both you and them.

    Organizing groups

    • Decide how and why you will divide students into groups; for example, you may divide groups by friendship, interest or by similar or mixed attainment. Experiment with different ways and review what works best with each class.
    • Plan any roles you will give to group members (for example, note taker, spokesperson, timekeeper or collector of equipment), and how you will make this clear.

    Managing group work

    • Direct your students to the groups they will work on according to your plan, perhaps designating areas in the classroom where they will work or giving instructions about moving any furniture or school bags
    • Be very clear about the task and write it on the board in short instructions or pictures. Allow your students to ask questions before you start.
    • Expert groups’: Give each group a different task, such as researching one way of generating electricity or developing a character for a drama. After a suitable time, re-organize the groups so that each new group is made up of one ‘expert’ from all the original groups. Then give them a task that involves collating knowledge from all the experts, such as deciding on what sort of power station to build or preparing a piece of drama.
    • Envoys’: If the task involves creating something or solving a problem, after a while, ask each group to send an envoy to another group. They could compare ideas or solutions to the problem and then report back to their own group. In this way, groups can learn from each other.
    • are resistant to active learning and do not engage
    • are dominant
    • do not participate due to poor interpersonal skills or lack of confidence

    Lesson 5.6: Using Group Work is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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