Reading Reflection: Designing Groupwork

The first chapter of Designing Groupwork is about how properly designed, well-inplemented groupwork is an incredibly good practice to bring into the classroom. Groupwork requires face-to-face interaction, it teaches communication skills, and it requires students to thin classroom k aloud and work through problems together. The chapter acknowledges that groupwork certainly comes with it's own challenges, but that a thorough and well-thought out plan can really help students grasp concepts and improve critical thinking skills. Last semester while teaching 7th grade, I found one of my most successful assignments to be a group poster project in which students worked very well together and seemed to walk away with a great understanding of the lesson.

Chapter two discusses why groupwork should be implemented. The chapter notes how beneficial groupwork is for english language learners, and also that it is an excellent technique for conceptual learning, problem solving, and communication. In a typical classroom lesson, students will write a response to the teacher at some point, such as an essay or quiz, turn the assessment in, and then wait several weeks before getting a response or grade. That means it could be weeks before a students knows if they understand a lesson or not. When groupwork is implemented, students are much more likely to discuss concepts with each other and quickly realize if they have a clear understanding of the lesson. Based on my observation of students involved in groups, as long as students are vocal, they seem to self-correct one another.

Chapter three discusses possible problems with groupwork, mainly that classrooms consist of a student-hierarchy that can greatly effect a groups interaction. The most vocal member of a group is usually seen as the strongest member, while the quietest student is viewed as the weakest link. Heterogeneous groupings can help mediate groups creating these high and low ranking status members. I have certainly been a member of many groups where the loudest member becomes the leader, even though other members may have better ideas. Also, in middle and high school it often appears that the group member perceived to be the most popular becomes the leader.

One aspect of groupwork that I am most curious about is how to set up and present groupwork to the class. Based on experience, it seems that a lot of preparation goes into creating these group assignments, and I would like to know what I should consider when planning for groupwork.