This book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 LicensePreparing for licensure: facilitating students’ communication through group work
See also Chapter 7, Classroom management and the learning environment; Chapter 8, The nature of classroom
communication.Scene 1: Barbara Fuller makes plans
It is late August.
Barbara Fuller, a third grade teacher, peers about her classroom, wondering how she will organize
her program for the coming year. She wants to try some sort of collaborative group work because
she has heard good things about it—especially that it gets students talking to each other in ways
that are productive rather than mere chit-chat. Ms Fuller is thinking of trying a group project for
social studies that she is calling “How many people does it take to raise a child?” Students are
supposed to explore how people outside the family contribute to the welfare of infants and
children. If they do collaborate successfully, then students can pool their research, share ideas and
interpretations, and present their results to class more effectively.
Ms Fuller has read some very specific literature about how to get started with collaborative group
work. One book recommends, for example, that she assign the members of each group rather than
letting students select their own groups; this procedure is supposed to avoid cliques and ensure
that everyone is included. But it also means that some group mates may not be each other’s first
choice. Ms Fuller considers this trade-off carefully, and finally decides to go ahead and assign the
group members herself. To minimize possible complaints, she also decides to give each group an
immediate task: choose a leader as well as a name for the group.
Scene 2: Collaborate groups that don’t collaborate
Two weeks into the term, Ms Fuller begins the collaborative project about community helpers. She
describes the purposes and advantages of group work: students can help each other, cover more
reading material, and enjoy each other’s company. They will also be challenged to explain what
they learn to each other and to justify to each other their ideas for the final report and presentation.
Once the work begins, she begins noticing a variety of reactions from groups and the individuals
within them. In one group (Ms Fuller dubs it “Group 1”), for example, Tom complains to her that
he is the only boy in the group. “You’ll be fine,” she says to Tom. “If you look around, you’ll see that
most people are with other people they don’t know terribly well.” Tom looks uncomfortable with
her response, but continues working.
In Group 2, Jasmine takes over almost immediately; everyone seems to agree that she should have
this job. Unfortunately Jasmine is not pleased to be in charge: she issues orders reluctantly (“Kyla,
you look up about nurses”), to which her group happily agree.Educational Psychology 314 A Global Text