How to Teach Group Work

As a cooperative learning technique, group work is a great way to motivate and engage students. However, group work is a difficult technique to teach. Much of the actual teaching of group work is laying down important principles for the actual work to take place. Here are some tips and principles that help create successful group work lessons.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Discuss with the class the advantages of group work. Many students are not convinced of the benefits of cooperative learning. Brainstorm with the class some of the benefits of working as a team and in groups, especially after school. I have actually started group work in this way by asking this question. A volunteer then acted as a group secretary and shared the group's answers in class.
2. Start the lesson by teaching the whole class together. Provide enough ground material that is necessary and important for carrying out the group task. Explain to the class that their success on the task depends on how well they understood the material and helped their fellow students.
3. Go through a trial run of instructions and explanations, modeling wherever necessary. Understanding the task is critical for success. Encourage students to also ask their peers for help and clarification. Make sure students understand that you will act as a facilitator as you visit from group to group. Keep the instructions very short and simple.
4. Assign group responsibilities. Responsibilities can include a time keeper, a group secretary who takes notes, and a group helper who is in charge of making sure everybody understands.
5. Distribute a group accountability page. Group accountability is an important part of group work. On this page, students should fill out the following information:1. The names of the students in the group and those who were present2. The group name (if applicable)3. The date4. The group task5. What each member of the group did6. What each member of the group will do for homework.Make sure that each member records his/her homework assignment. Collect these pages at the end of the lesson. I usually sign my name verifying that they truly worked in class. These accountability forms represent 10 percent of their final group contribution grade.
6. Give a time limit for group work. If you are working on a long-term in-class assignment like research projects, make sure students know how long you plan on using group work. Make sure students know exactly how much time will be devoted to group work. I also tell my students 5 minutes before the end of the group work activity that they need to start finishing up.
7. Give students time to finish the necessary activity.
8. Always leave 5 to 7 minutes before the end of the group work activity for summing up the group work activity and/or allowing students to reflect on what they had learned.

Tips & Warnings

• Emphasize that effort is much more important than product.
• Keep track of group names by establishing a seating chart.
• Don't prolong the group activity if you start to see students becoming distracted and loosing focus.
• Consider ways of grouping. Pay attention to ability in skills. Put lower-performing students with more able students. Consider also areas of interest in topic and motivation.
• Make sure you allot enough time to implement the group work activity. Avoid cutting group work sharply.
• Keep the group work task relevant to the skills and information you have taught.
• If you feel intimidated with group work, you can always start with pair work and then take it from there.
• Make sure students know if you plan on grading them for that lesson's work.

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