Getting More Out of Group Work
We use group work for a lot of reasons in the classroom. Because we want students to work through something together. Because multiple perspectives are needed to solve a problem. Because higher kids can help lower kids. Because we don’t have enough materials for everyone to do something alone. Because we want more students to be able to share their thoughts. Because we want to have a social aspect to the lesson. Because it’s what my principal wants to see. Because group work.
Whatever our reasons are, how we structure group work can actually work against us when it comes to maximizing PARTICIPATION.
Before we know it, what we pictured to be an intellectual dialogue that helps every student process, practice, and understand the material better becomes a single student carrying the weight of the whole group, or everyone doing a fraction of the work without any student doing all of the thinking we’d like them to, or resentment building up so much that the students spend more time ignoring each other or complaining about who they have to work with that very little gets accomplished at all. Maximized PARTICIPATION? Forget about it.
Part of this is cultural, certainly, but the larger part of it is the structure of the group work itself. Our instructions for group work typically allow most students off the hook for full participation. We actively allow minimum participation by not considering how the group work is being used to maximize participation.
There are lots reasons this occurs. Maybe we don’t actually know why we’re having students work in groups at this point in the lesson. Maybe those reasons don’t relate to assisting every student’s individual learning. Maybe we assume that kids know (or should know) what we mean by group work and we don’t need to do anything other than tell them to work together.
To combat these side effects effectively we must have a couple of key mindsets:
- Group work should be used to enhance every student’s individual learning.
- Kids need to be taught how and why to work in groups.
Without holding these beliefs, our group work will continue to exist in unmaximized PARTICIPATION territory. But with them, we begin to reconsider what exactly we expect out of kids during group work and how we best set them up to meet our expectations.
Take assigning group roles, for example. Many teachers use group roles as a way to ensure that each student has some tangible contribution to the group. But consider these group roles that are commonly assigned: timekeeper, recorder, speaker, facilitator, captain. As long as the timekeeper has looked at the clock a few times, they’ve accomplished their role without contributing any thinking or learning. As long as the recorder writes down what other people have said, they’ve accomplished their role without contributing any thinking or learning. As long as the speaker reads out what the recorder has written, they’ve accomplished their role without contributing any thinking or learning. As long as the facilitator asks other people what they think, they’ve accomplished their role without contributing any thinking or learning. Perhaps the captain is the only one who is in any way responsible for producing a final product, which will involve them thinking and learning to some extent.
Yikes! A great idea literally just minimized participation by instructing kids to do next to nothing! Don’t get me wrong. Each of these functions are important for a group to run smoothly, but condensing each student’s role into such a narrow function sends them the message that it’s OK to participate at a “just enough” level.
How might narrowly defined group roles turn into broader group work principles or norms that all students must follow and be held accountable to? What if group members rated their peers on following those norms and the extent to which they actively thought and contributed to the group’s product? What if we were explicitly clear with why we were having students work in groups at this point in the lesson to give them context and rationale to build their investment in the activity?
How would that change how students participated in groups?
How would that change how we watched groups interact, the feedback we gave them about their individual participation and their collective group work?
How might that make them better group workers in the future?
The next time you put your kids in groups (or even partners!), really stop and think: How will I ensure that this is structured to help each student learn to PARTICIPATE maximally and enhance their individual learning? Even two minutes of consideration will uncover some adjustments to make that can maximize their PARTICIPATION!
What are your methods for getting more out of group work? Comment below to help your fellow teachers out!
Like what you are reading? Follow us on Twitter for more of our blogs and other publications about leadership and learning.
