Teaching Repertoire

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Teaching Repertoire

• 10b Group Work

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Group membership

• 1 Lucinda Wilson - Maths
• 2 Janis Lawrence P.E.
• 3 Chris Caple - Music
• 4 Mike Lewis - Biology
• 5 Kathryn de Ferrer - Drama

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Principles and objectives outlined in unit guide

• What constitutes good group work?
• What skills can we expect of our pupils?
• Organising group work
• Extending Strategies for structuring group work
• Troubleshooting during group work developing
  social skills

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Effective Group Work

• In successful group work pupils can
• fully develop their understanding of an idea
  because they have tried to explain it to others
  or argue a point of view
• are more likely to develop social and
  team-working skills
• practise and learn from each other
• develop a sense of empathy and understand other
  views
• develop problem solving skills

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Objectives agreed by group

• Task 1. Carry out classroom research into some
  practical strategies that teachers use to engage
  pupils through group work.
• Task 2. Carry out further research arising from
  the evaluation of the findings from Task 1

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Actions undertaken

• Task 1 research into
• LW setting ground rules
• JLL experimenting with different group
  structures
• CC introducing a task in different ways
• MJL finding situations in which the snowball
  approach for group work could be used.
• KGF using planned interventions and
  intervention techniques
• Task 2 research into
• LW working without ground rules. Identify
  opportunities to use group work in maths.
• JLL running parallel groups with different
  groupings and sizes of group and compare results.
• CC investigating the relationship between the
  amount of prompts and guidance given to the
  quality of the response
• MJL investigating ways to make the snowball
  approach work efficiently. To find ways of
  customising the snowball to make it work with
  different classes for different purposes.
• KGF using a peer intervention checklist could
  this work????

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LW Tasks

• Task 1 Two year 9 groups to set their own rules
  for group work prior to the activity. Both groups
  (set 3 and set 5) to do the same task.
• Task 2 Year 7 students to work on a group
  activity without any rule setting in advance.
  Discussion and evaluation of task to include
  discussion of what made a group effective at the
  task.

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LW Task 1 Setting group Rules

• A group project on quadrilaterals carried out
  with two year 9 groups (set 3 and set 5).
  Duration one lesson.
• Pupils encouraged to set their own group rules
  through discussion.
• Students started work in friendship pairs then
  teacher put pairs together.
• Final outcome judged on quality of a group
  produced poster and presentation

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PUPIL GROUP RULES

• Listen to each other
• Be inclusive
• Choose a chairperson (only set 5)
• Share tasks fairly

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LW Task 2 Working without group rules

• Working with year 7 set 1
• Students selected their own groups of three for a
  competition
• No prior discussion of group rules
• Students given a selection of problems to solve
  on statistical averages
• All three had to agree on one correct answer and
  log it on their group answer sheet.
• Feedback given to each group on their score and
  on how they had worked as a team.

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LW GROUP RULES FindingsTask 1 and 2

• Nearly all groups worked well in their friendship
  based teams.
• Class realised that the most effective teams were
  the ones where students listened and helped each
  other.
• Both groups in year 9 seemed quite cynical about
  rules
• Lower set (year 9) felt having a
  leader/chairperson was important whilst set 3 did
  not mention this.
• Although rules were discussed there was very
  little evidence of them adhering to them in each
  year 9 class.

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JLL Tasks

• Task 1 experiment with different group
  structures
• Task 2 run parallel groups with different
  groupings and sizes of group and compare results.

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JLLTask 1 - Experimenting with different group
size and structures.

• 5 Different ways in PE lessons.
• Ranging from years 7 to 10.
• KS3 and 4.

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JLL

• 5 Ways of Selection
• Random
• Friends
• Team Captain
• Teacher
• Clusters e.g. blue eyes, tallest etc

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JLL Findings

• Clusters most fun and could be used for a starter
  activity also seen to be fair.
• Is this appropriate for a classroom lesson ?
• Best performance came from teacher selection.
• Worst and best performances came from friendship
  groups i.e. all the better performers in same
  group or friends who were mis-matched.

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JLL Recommendations

• Because the older students are less receptive to
  working with students out of their friendship
  groups selection of groups by the teacher should
  be established from an early age and or the
  beginning of the year.
• Having the choice of one friend can be a positive
  at times.

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JLLTask 2 - Does Size matter ?

• 2 Parallel groups were run alongside one another
  and set the same task but in a different size.
• Group size varied from 2,3,4,5,6,and 8.

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JLL Group Size Findings

• Most work was accomplished by the smaller groups.
• However there was less creativity and discussion.
• Least work was accomplished by the largest group
  taking a long time to agree on any action.
• Groups of 4-6 worked the best with most ideas and
  lots of cooperation.
• However the size of the group had less impact on
  learning than the composition of the characters
  within the group.
• The older the student the less willing they are
  to work with peers who are not their friends.

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CC Tasks

• Task 1 introduce the task in different ways
• Task 2 investigate the relationship between the
  amount of prompts and guidance given to the
  quality of the response

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CC Task 1 Seven different approaches to
starting the group work

• lecturette followed by whole group discussion
• briefly set aims, wrote stimulus questions on
  board, pupils made individual notes then got
  together in groups to discuss and report back
• minimal teacher discussion - groups brainstorm
  from a key word or phrase (written on the board
  or given verbally)
• objectives set by teacher - different prompt
  cards for different groups
• use of exemplar material (students work) as
  stimulus to group activity
• assigned specific tasks to groups which then fed
  back to give the whole picture of the activity
• carried out a related quick start activity to
  warm up before doing the group activity.

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CC Findings Task 1

• The introduction of the task is crucial to its
  success. The students need to know the objective
  of the activity, what will count as a good
  outcome, the roles they need to play within the
  group, how long they have to achieve it and about
  any planned interventions
• Different styles of starts suited different
  topics and classes
• Different levels of input are required in a mixed
  ability group
• The more able pupils are freer to find different
  outcomes if they are not given too many examples,
  particularly past work.
• The less able need more examples to understand
  the task
• Verbal instructions alone are not as successful
  as having prompt cards or key words on the board
• A variety of sources verbal, written, visual get
  the task going
• Breaking down the task using prompt cards or key
  words really helps different amounts of support
  can be given to different groups
• Almost immediate support given to selected groups

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CC Task 2 relationship between the amount of
prompts/guidance to the quality of the response

• Looked at giving prompts and guidance in a
  variety of ways
• verbal or written (on the board or on paper), at
  the beginning of the activity and/or as planned
  interventions during the course of the activity
• to the whole class
• to individual groups.
• Give additional information to one of the members
  of each group that they have to give out
• Use a question prompt sheet to get the students
  to check that they are on track

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CC Findings Task 2

• Guidance given at the beginning could make or
  break the activity
• Clear objectives and demonstrations (in music)
  with careful choice of language set up the
  activity
• Some could cope with only verbal guidance but
  even minimal written information was more of a
  support/focus that could be referred to during
  the course of the activity
• Planned interventions helped to get groups
  working as any group could be selected to
  demonstrate what they had achieved so far. This
  also enabled positive reinforcement of what was
  actually expected either when the students
  demonstration was on track or when they needed
  more help to understand what they had to do
• The interventions were better when they happened
  earlier in the activity
• Prompts to individual groups could be used to
  clarify areas where they were not sure, get them
  to be more adventurous with their ideas or to
  reflect more on what they were achieving. Giving
  question prompt sheets helped most groups to keep
  focussed.

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MJL Tasks

• Task 1 To find situations in which the snowball
  approach for group work could be used.
• Task 2 To investigate ways to make the snowball
  approach work efficiently. To find ways of
  customising the snowball to make it work with
  different classes for different purposes.

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MJL Task 1

• To find situations in which the snowball approach
  for group work could be used.
• The snowball Students complete a task in small
  groups. Then 2 (or more) small groups get
  together to make larger groups to share their
  ideas. These larger groups get together and the
  snowball continues to grow..

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MJL Findings Task 1

• Can be used as a short starter activity, or as
  the main activity in a lesson.
• Can be used effectively with a range of
  abilities.
• Can be used effectively with a range of ages.
• Can be used effectively in a number of different
  situations (discussion, factual revision,
  brainstorming, competition).
• BUT some initial attempts to use it did not
  produce the desired outcome - or even led to a
  fairly chaotic activity with little educational
  gain. It needs to be thought through and well
  organised.

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MJL Task 2

• To investigate ways to make the snowball approach
  work efficiently. To find ways of customising the
  snowball to make it work with different classes
  for different purposes.

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MJL Findings Task 2

• Too many steps make the process too repetitive
  leads to off task behaviour. Two steps sometimes
  followed by a class summary worked in most
  situations.
• Later in a snowball the groups become large -
  this inevitably led to some students being left
  out.
• Assigning roles (e.g. scribe, chair,
  spokesperson) within groups helped involve more
  students
• Which pupils are in a group will alter how well
  they work BUT consider time taken to organise
  groupings
• The instructions necessary for a snowball
  activity are not as simple as they may initially
  seem! One step at a time helps.
• Snowballs involve pupil movement some direction
  by teacher helps this run smoothly.
• Set time limit for each step.
• An element of competition helps motivate some
  classes. Eg Final groups write findings on board
  or read out to class followed by vote / teacher
  takes in to judge.

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MJL - Recommendations for snowballs

• Snowball of two steps only - with possible class
  summary.
• Give time limits for each step. Give instructions
  for one step at a time.
• Have roles within groups (scribe etc). Let pupils
  decide.
• Minimise pupil movement but direct necessary
  movement
• When snowballing involves larger groups reduce
  the time given for these steps.
• If using for a main activity it is probably worth
  assigning particular students to particular
  groups.
• An element of competition helps to motivate some
  classes!
• Try using in different situations (factual /
  discussion / definitions etc)
• Modify snowball to take age and ability into
  account.

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KGF Tasks

• Task 2 use planned interventions and
  intervention techniques
• Task 2 peer intervention checklist could this
  work???? Give a list of key questions that the
  group must ask itself to make sure that the task
  is on track.

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KGF Task 1 - Planned Interventions and
intervention techniques

• Experimented with 2 classes of mixed ability Year
  9 Drama students
• 4 Intervention techniques were trialled
• All techniques were tried with a different range
  of groupings (random, ability, friendship)

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KGF

• Intervention Techniques
• All methods started with instructions at the
  beginning of the activity, but then 4 different
  approached were tried
• No further guidance until asked to perform
• Instructions repeated back by a student
• Class stopped after 5 minutes re-directed (same
  instructions, but additional details and further
  clarification)
• Individual/group targets and instructions given
  once activity is underway

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KGF Findings

• No Further Guidance all groups worked with some
  success, although a low ability group struggled
  and required further assistance. Work produced
  was adequate
• Instructions Repeated by Student similar outcome
  to the first, low ability group suffered, work
  was adequate
• Redirection after 5 minutes work produced was
  stronger, as the follow-up instructions could
  incorporate any problems the teacher noticed
• Individual or group targets Although more time
  consuming and more appropriate for longer
  activities, the work was strong - particularly
  from high ability groups. It was possible to give
  more demanding and challenging targets to these
  children, without alienating less able pupils

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KGF Recommendations

• To produce the best work in a drama class from a
  range of groupings, a composite approach is best
• Initial instructions should be clear and kept
  relatively short there should be sufficient
  information to allow the groups to begin their
  activity but not so much that some students are
  unable to process what they are being told.
• After 5 10 minutes (depending on the activity
  and time available) the teacher should stop the
  class, reiterate or clarify the instructions
  given at the start of the activity, then add some
  further instructions or guidance.
• If apt for the class and the activity, the
  teacher should follow this intervention with
  specific guidance and advice for each group and
  individual students. In drama, this final stage
  works best once the teacher has built a
  relationship and sense of trust with the students.

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KGFTask 2 Peer intervention

• Self/Peer Intervention
• Following from teacher and planned intervention,
  we experimented with self and peer intervention
• Key aims and objectives for a specific activity
  were written in the board. At an appropriate
  moment in the activity, groups were asked to
  ensure they had met all the aims and objectives
• This proved effective in ensuring aims were met
  or at least acknowledged. However it can be a bit
  of a blunt instrument, as it may not allow for
  the degree of differentiation required.
• For shorter activities with mixed ability groups
  it is a useful technique

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Recommendations for best practice

• Effective group work needs careful planning and
  preparation
• start group work early so that students get
  accustomed to it
• medium sized groups are most effective with some
  teacher selection
• assign clear roles (chair, scribe etc.) this
  helps to involve more pupils and provide a clear
  structure in which groups can operate
• introduce the task carefully. What you say at the
  start has a big impact on how the pupils will
  respond
• set clear objectives
• break down the task and use prompts
  (written/verbal) to support and/or challenge
  pupils
• plan an early intervention to check understanding
  and add any further instructions/information

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Further reading on group work

• Bennett, N. Teaching Styles and pupil progress.
  Open Books ISBN 067 487 0956
• Johnson and Johnson. Joining Together group
  theory and group skills. Prentice Hall ISBN
  0205158463
• Kagan. Cooperative Learning. Kagan Co-operative
  ISBN 1879097109
• Slavin. Student team learning a practical guide
  to cooperative learning. National Education
  Association ISBN 0810618451