Kimberly Bell, Teaching Assistant Development Specialist
Ok, you are taking a stab at this whole group work thing. You planned a multi-week activity that you think your students will find relevant and (not too) challenging. Then, you took Jennifer’s awesome advice, created a group contract with roles, and planned for group reflection after the activity. Your students diligently completed their contracts, chose their roles, and agreed to work cooperatively and respectfully. The first day seemed to go well, the groups worked efficiently, members were friendly with each other, they utilized their roles. So you thought, “hey, this isn’t so bad!”. The second day…well, not so much. Don’t lose hope, your careful planning did not go to waste. Group dynamics, as we know, are complicated. Here is some advice on what you can do to help your students work more effectively together when things don’t go according to plan.
Backtrack
Group Behaviors
As part of your contract creation process, you can have your students reflect on constructive and destructive group behaviors. You can call them “not-so-constructive,” or similar, as to not demoralize your students. This short reflection can make students more self-aware of their group behaviors, accountable for them, and prevent conflict.
Facilitation: Provide groups with the following list. Give them time to read and reflect, then have them choose and write down one of each type that they can relate to and share with their group. Reassure them that people do both and ask them to reflect honestly about how they have worked in groups in the past or share a story about when you worked in a group.
Constructive Behaviors
- Cooperating – Is interested in the views and perspectives of other group members and is willing to adapt for the good of the group.
- Clarifying – Makes issues clear for the group by listening, summarizing and focusing discussions.
- Inspiring – Enlivens the group, encourages participation and progress.
- Harmonizing – Encourages group cohesion and collaboration.
- Risk taking – Is willing to risk possible personal loss or embarrassment for the group or project success.
- Process Checking – Questions the group on process issues such as agenda, time frames, discussions topics, decision methods, use of information, etc.
Not-So-Constructive Behaviors
- Dominating – Takes much of meeting time expressing self-views and opinions. Tries to take control by use of power, time, etc.
- Rushing – Encourages the group to move on before the task is complete. Gets “tired” of listening to others and working as a group.
- Withdrawing – Removes self from discussions or decision-making. Refuses to participate.
- Discounting – Disregards or minimizes group or individual ideas or suggestions. Severe discounting behavior includes insults, which are often in the form of jokes.
- Digressing – Rambles, tells stories, and takes the group away from its primary purpose.
- Blocking – Impedes group progress by obstructing all ideas and suggestions. “That will never work because…”
Adapted from Brunt (1993). Facilitation Skills for Quality Improvement. Quality Enhancement Strategies. 1008 Fish Hatchery Road. Madison WI 53715
Group Roles
You may consider switching up the group roles. Perhaps a student chose their role in an uninformed manner, and it is not aligned with their strengths. A more suitable role can help students be motivated to work with their group and feel they can contribute meaningfully. If you will utilize groups in each class for the entire semester, consider changing them completely once or twice, especially if you are receiving complaints or notice groups aren’t working well. Sometimes, you may have to switch members before you planned, in order to manage conflict.
Incorporate peer-instruction
Use the think-pair-share strategy within groups to spark cooperative learning and discussion. Groups can then be combined to expand on this and build up to a whole class discussion.
Assess & Reflect
As part of your assessment plan for the group work and student contributions, consider the following:
Is each member contributing?
Did your groups use their roles during the second class? Discord can form in groups when work is not evenly divided. Since students were motivated for the new project the first day, they may have all contributed equally. Then, on the second day their typical group behaviors were more apparent. In addition to the suggestion above about group behaviors, perhaps you can incorporate a way to make them use their roles more explicitly, and/or have them submit an individual work component. This will hold each person accountable and may alleviate some of the tension.
Will your students tell you there are problems?
It may seem a group is working well together, but that may not be the case. Students can be struggling with their group and not inform you. Students are often hesitant to provide honest feedback, even if explicitly asked for it because they think it may affect their grade, alter your perception of them, or that somehow their group members will find out what they said. If you are using a survey or another tool to collect feedback from students to their group, be sure to make it clear that you are truly asking for their honest feedback because you want them to work well together and succeed.
Provide additional resources to help your students
You students may need time management tips, more explicit instructions, follow-up information, or direct help managing group conflict, despite your best efforts. Are there other resources you can give them to help? Consider sharing the following guide with your students when starting the group work or project:
- Group Project Conflict Resolution Guide for Students compiled by Heidi Burgess, Co-Director, University of Colorado Conflict Research Consortium
- https://www.beyondintractability.org/educationtraining/group-projects
References:
Guide: Group work: Using cooperative learning groups effectively by Cynthia J. Brame and Rachel Biel https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/setting-up-and-facilitating-group-work-using-cooperative-learning-groups-effectively/
Group Projects: A Conflict Resolution Guide for Students by Heidi Burgess, Co-Director, university of Colorado Conflict Research Consortium https://www.beyondintractability.org/educationtraining/group-projects
Article: How to Survive Virtual Groupwork https://www.elearners.com/education-resources/online-learning/how-to-survive-virtual-group-work/
Essay: Facilitating Group Discussions: Understanding Group Development and Dynamics
Kathy Takayama, Brown University
https://podnetwork.org/content/uploads/V21-N1-Takayama.pdf