Handbook Table of Contents > Teaching Methods > Group Work
Indiana University Teaching Handbook
Group Work
Introduction
Having the students work in a group encourages discussion among the students. 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 builds develops social skills useful in the professional environment for which they are training, but according to Astin (1993), it is also is one of the three most important ways to make a positive difference in learning at the college level.
Organizing the Groups
Keep in mind the following elements of group work when selecting the appropriate type of group work for your class.
- 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 where consensus will be reached quickly. Groups of four to six are better for more complex tasks in which the greater number of ideas may improve the final results.
- Selection: You should either assign students randomly to groups (which limits cliques) or select students so that each group has an equal distribution of talents.
- Duration: Use the groups for a brief discussion in class or for all semester. Long-term groups work more substantively and less superficially.
To prevent problems with group interaction, you should spend a few minutes discussing the students’ roles and expectations for the work.
Designating Roles in Groups
Groups that are created for in-class discussion can be easily organized around the following four-person model. Each member of the group plays a specific role that supports the team’s collaborative effort. These roles include:
- Leader: Responsible keeping the group on task, maintaining the schedule (meetings, deadlines), and maintaining contact information (phone numbers, emails).
- Encourager: Encourages conversation and inclusion of all opinions, and guides the discussion towards consensus.
- Prober: Ensures that the assumptions are correct and that there is sufficient evidence for the solution.
- Recorder: Writes down the group’s solution that will be submitted for the group grade.
While some people will tend to lead and some will tend to follow, everyone should be willing to compromise and modify their ideas in the interest of group unity.
If the groups are going to be working together on a long-term project or multiple tasks, you may wish to modify these roles to emulate roles that one might encounter in your discipline. Ensure that the students rotate through these positions. Try to break a long project into at least as many tasks as there are people in each group and have the students rotate through the roles each time they start a new task.
Reporting Group Results
Students should share the results of their group with the class at large. They can do so verbally, on newsprint flipchart, blackboard or overhead, through photocopies, or web pages. Even if they are reporting in printed or electronic format, be sure to have some presentations in class. You do not have to hear from everyone; calling on a few groups at random makes everyone prepare in case they are picked to discuss their project. Use this time to give feedback and debrief the students as to the lessons they might have learned from the group work.
Links
The following links will take you to small additional readings associated with this general section.
