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7/30/2019 Small Group Work4
1/16
SmallGroupWork
To get us started with working in small groups, I introduced William Glassers
thoughtsonhowwelearn.Ithoughtitwouldfitinnicelywithmyoverallgoalsfor
increasing communication amongst peers.Weread it togetherand Iwalkedkidsthrough the increase in how much more we learn can learn by discussing,
experiencing(doing),andmostnotablyteachingothers.
Whatdoyouthink?IfIjustgaveyouaparagraphtoreadoutofyoursciencebook
wouldyoulearnmoreorlessthanifIaskedyoutodoanexperimentandthengo
home and teach your parents? There was a universal shout, Experiment and
teachingourparents!
Iwantedkidstoapplythisconceptoflearningthroughteachingintheirgroupwork.
I beganwith something that Iwas noticing in theirwriting that seemed like an
overall difficulty,homophones,words that soundalikebut are spelled differently
and have different meanings. I thought kids could search for one example of a
correctlyusedhomophoneandoneincorrectuseofahomophonewithintheirlast
writing piece. From there they would set a goal to become an expert and teach
othersaboutacommonhomophonepairweuseinourwriting.
ItoldthemthattherewasanewappontheiriPadcalledExplainEverythingthatI
thoughtwouldbefuntotryandcouldhelpusshareourhomophones,butthatIhad
nocluehowtouseit.ThenewappallowedustotryGlasserstheoryoutbecauseit
providedanexperiencethatincorporatedseeing,hearing,doingandteaching.TherewasanexcitementandenergypresentfromthischallengethatIhadyettoseewith
theclass.Wecanhelp!DontworryMrs.Usherwecanteachyou!Imanagedto
movethepowertothehandsofthekidsandevenbetter,createanopportunitywith
anevenplayingfield.Thiswasateachingopportunitythatwasnewtoeverybody
andsomethingthatregardlessofrace,gender,oracademicabilityallkidscouldfeel
successfulandhopefullyhavefundoingit!
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I decided to put kids into heterogeneous groups and give each group a common
homophone.Theirdirectionsweretolookthewordsupinthedictionarytogetthe
definition. They would then create imagesof thewords that clearly showed the
different meanings. This information then would all need to be put into their
presentationonExplainEverything.TheExplainEverythingappwouldallowthem
towrite,drawandaddvoicesimultaneouslytoteachusabouttheirhomophoneand
play itback asamovie. Thesewere tobeuploadedinto a shared classroom site,
wherestudentshadaccesstothevideosfortheirownlearning.
Hereismyexample:
My directions stated that everyhandhad to bepart of this presentation;so one
personshouldnotjustdominatetheiPad.Atthispoint,observingthegroupswhiletheyworkedseemed like themostnatural path togetmyinitialbaselinedataon
whatconversationswerelikeinsmallgroups.Ifocusedonevidenceofdiscussion
skills: student eye contact, amount and type of questions being asked (either
clarifyingorprobingquestions),allowingthinktimebetweenremarksandseeing
ifkidssharedtheairbyeithersteppinguporsteppingback.Ialsowantedtoseeif
therewereanytrendsintheamountofparticipationbetweengenderandethnicity
of students during the speaking sequences. I decided that I wanted to keep the
excitementandenergygoing,soIchosetonothavekidsusetheaccountabletalk
chartintroducedearlier,forfearitwouldtakeawayfrommyobservations.Below
aremyfindings for a groupcomprised ofoneHispanic boy, twowhiteboys, two
Hispanic girlsandonewhitegirl.Beloware the number of times that each child
showedagivenbehavior.
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Observation#1ofGroupNorms
Hispanic
Boy
White
Boy
White
Boy#2
Hispanic
Girl
Hispanic
Girl#2
White
Girl
EyeContact
tothe
Speaker
15 11 10 23 18 21
Clarifying
Questions
3 6 3
Probing
Questions
2
Inviting
SomeoneIn
2 1 5
Again,thisdatawasadiscussionrevolvedaroundataskononeiPad.Asyoucan
clearlysee,therewerenoquestionsaskedfromtheHispanicstudents.Thisdidnt
mean they were necessarily timid though. When the white boys would ask a
question, the Hispanic boy was quick to grab the dictionary or iPad and begin
exploring with obvious confidence. (Please note that all threeboys in this group
werekidsthatneededtostepback.)
Whiteboy:Wait,Icantfindthewordonthispage
Hispanicboy:Holdup,holdup,IthinkIseeithere.TheHispanicboythengrabbed
the dictionary andbegan searching for the word (which, heobviously didnt seebecauseitwasnotonthecorrectpage.)Whenheturnedthepage,theotherwhite
boygrabbedit,ashesawthewordalmostimmediately.
Whiteboy#2:Hereitis.Writethisdown.Whohasapencil?
Whitegirl:Wait,whowouldliketowrite?
White boy#1: Illwrite. He thengrabs a pencil from one of theHispanic girls
hands.
Whitegirl:Wait,Ithinkthatweshouldallassigneachotherjobs,soitsfair.Mrs.
Usherwantseveryonetobehelping.
Hispanicboy:Grabsthedictionarybackandsearchesforthewordtobeginreading
toWhiteboy#1, butWhiteboy#2beatshim toit.Meanwhile theHispanicgirls
eyesbouncefromonespeakertothenext.Alloftheboyseyesremainfixedonthe
objectsbasedaroundthetask,occasionallylookinguptoaspeaker.
IrealizedthatIdontoftenenoughjustsitandlistentokidsspeakingtokids.Asa
teacher, I find myself constantly feeling the need to survey the entire room, but
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never really stopping to witness interactions like the one written above. I
recognized that there was a race-like feeling and competitive edge amongst the
boys.ItwasveryobvioustomethattheHispanicboyfeltmoreincontrolandmore
involvedwhenhewasholdingthephysicalobjectthatthegroupwasworkingon.He
neveraskedquestions,yet always triedtosolvethem.Thewhiteboysdominated
the conversation andall threeboysdominated the actions.Thewhitegirlwasnt
afraid to stand up to these three boys by openly asking questions, urging more
sharedcollaboration,andequalparticipation.Yet,mostofherquestionsandefforts
neverreceivedanyresponses.TheHispanicgirlsinthisgroupremainedveryquiet,
exceptforasideconversationtheywerehavingaboutanotherHispanicgirlinthe
classwritinginsideherdesk.WhenIkeptmyfocusonthemandtriedtolisteninon
whattheywerewhispering,theywerequicktotellonthegirltome.Ireminded
themthattheyneededtostepupandhelptheirgroup.Thegirlsturnedbacktotheir
group, but would only participate if one of the other kids told them something
specifictodo.
Whitegirl:ImgoingtotellMrs.Usherthatyourenotlettingushelp.
Whiteboy#2:Okay,okay.
Whiteboy#2:Illwritethewordsandyoucantalk.
Whitegirl:Whydontweallreadthedefinitiontogetherwhileyouwritetheword.
IllcounttothreeandwhenIpressrecordwellallread.
Hispanicboy:GrabstheiPad,Icanpressrecord.
Whitegirl:1,2,3
All4kidsreadthedefinitionchorally,exceptforthewhiteboythatwaswriting.
Ispokewiththekidsinthisgrouponeononefollowingthisactivityandaskedthem
how they felt the conversation went during the activity. I was shocked by the
honestywoventhroughallofourconversation.Whiteboy#2toldmethathewas
reallyexcited,sohewasntsharingandhavingotherstalkandhelpasmuchashe
shouldhave.Whiteboy#1saidthathefeltthattheotherswerenthelping.Hegot
defensive,asifhewasgoingtogetintrouble.IreassuredhimthatIjustwantedto
seehowhewasfeelingandwhathefeltwentwellandwhathefeltdidntgosowell
in the group. He said that he didnt like workingwith Hispanic girls #1 and #2
becausetheydidnthelp.Iaskedhimifhehadmadeanefforttoinvitethemintotheconversationandtohelpandherepliedno.Isuggestedthatmaybenexttimeifhe
just told them how he was feeling and invited them in by asking a question or
seekingtheirhelp,itcouldgetthemtostepup.Henoddedhisheadinagreement.
TheWhite girl listed off all the things she tried to do to get everyone to work
together.Shesaidthatshedidnt likeitwheneveryonejustignoredher.I praised
hereffortsandurgedhertoletpeopleknowhowshefeelsnexttime.Isuggested
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thatnexttimeshespecificallyaddresssomeonebynameinsteadof justtalking to
thewholegroup,becauseitwillforcethemto really listenandrespond.She liked
thisideaandperkedup.MyHispanicgirlshadsimilarresponses;bothsaidthatthey
didnt understand the task and that everyone was just going too fast, but they
wanted to help. I expressed to them the importance of not being afraid to ask
questionsandthatwelearnthatway.TheysilentlynoddedandIgavethemboth
hugs.
Whilereflectingonthisgrouptask,alotofthingscametolightforme.Irealizedthat
agroupofsixwasjusttoolarge.Thekidsinmyclasssitinfourgroupsofsix,soit
was convenientat the time toquickly create heterogeneous groups directly from
theirseatingarrangement.Itbecameobviousthatthelargertheteam,theharderit
wasforallmembersofthegrouptointeractwithoneanother. Therearealsosocialstatustrendsthatseemtobeplayingalargeroleingroupdynamics.Accordingto
Cohen:Whena teacherassignsa taskto agroupof students, some ofwhom are
higher and some lower on any of the status characteristics, these general
expectationscomeintoplay.Theycauseakindofself-fulfillingprophecyto
takeplaceinwhichthosewhoarehigherstatuscometoholdhighrankinthe
statusorder(1986,pg.28).
Iwitnessedthisintheobservation;mywhitemalesseemedtodomostofthework
becausetheybelievedtheycoulddoitquickerandbetterthantherest.Ineededto
takeafewstepsbackandcreategroundworksothattheclassroomcouldbemore
successfulandgroupworkcouldbemoreequitable.
PreparingStudentsforCooperativeGroups
"If we expect students to work together, we must teach them social skills just as
purposefullyandpreciselyasweteachthemacademicskills"(Ostlund,1992,p.32).
Throughmyinitial struggles ofcreatingequity amongst voices inboth smalland
wholegroupexperiencesIvelearnedthatyoucantjustthrowkidsinandhopefor
the best. They need structured practice and time to internalize norms revolved
aroundthetaskathand.Withingroupworktherearedifferentnormsinvolvedthatare notused inmany traditional classrooms, therefore they needed tobe taught
beforewecouldbegin.Cohenwrites:
Students are responsible not only for their own behavior but for group
behavior and for the product of group efforts. Instead of listening to the
teacher,theymustlearntolistentootherstudents.Inorderforthegroupto
work smoothly they must learn to ask for other peoples opinion, to give
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otherpeopleachancetotalk,andtomakebrief,sensiblecontributionstothe
groupeffort(1986pg.35).
Irecognizedthenormsandskillsneededformystudentstobesuccessfulinour
typical groupwork: learning tobe responsive to the needsof the group, helping
othersansweringquestionsandcarefullistening.Whenreferringtohelpingothers,I
wanted tomoveaway fromwhatwetypically see fromkids,which ishelpingby
doingthetaskfortheotherperson.Instead,Iwantedthemtotellandshowothers
howtodothingsforthemselves.Intermsofansweringquestions,insteadofhaving
kidstelltherightanswer,Iwantedmystudentstolearntogiveexplanations.The
followingexercisesandgamestoteachtheaboveskillsarealltakenfromElizabeth
Cohens,DesigningGroupworkStrategiesfortheHeterogeneousClassroom.
BrokenCircles:LearningtoBeResponsivetotheNeedsoftheGroup
Broken Circles was a puzzle game to teach students to acknowledge problemsexperiencedbypeers, andto feelresponsible forhelping themfor the sakeofthe
groupproduct.Thecirclepuzzlescannotbesolvedunlessgroupmembersbecome
aware of the problems other members in their group are experiencing and are
willingtogiveawaytheirpiecesofthepuzzleinordertoattainthegroupgoal.
Idrewpopsiclestickstocreateheterogeneousgroupsoffourstudents.Eachstudent
wasgivenanenvelopewithtwoorthreepiecesdifferentpiecestoacircle.Thegoal
wasforeachpersoninthegrouptoputtogetheracompletecircle.Inorderforthis
goaltobereached,theremustbesomeexchangeofpieces.Playersarenotallowed
totalkortotakepiecesfromsomeoneelsesenvelope.Theonlywaythatmembers
areallowedtoreceiveapiecetheyneedisifanotherplayergivesittothem.
Theruleswere:
1. No talking2. No pointing or signaling to other players with your hands in anyway.3. Each player must put together their own circle-no one else may show a
player how to do it or do it for them.
4. This is a giving game. You many not take a piece for another player, butyou may give your pieces, one at a time, to any other member of your
group. You may not place a piece in another persons puzzle, instead hand
the piece to the other player or place it beside their other pieces.
Thegamewasnotfinisheduntileachpersonatthetablehadacompletecircle.
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Becausetherewasnospeaking,therewasnodialogtotranscribe,butIcansaythat
therewereobviouschallengespresent.Studentshadadifficulttimenotpointingor
gruntingtogettheattentionfrompeopleintheirgroup.Also,thesameboysthat
tend todominatediscussionsalso tried todominate the game.Theyhad a really
hardtimenotgrabbingotherplayerspiecesandcompletingthepuzzlesofpeoplein
theirgroup.Ineededtocomebythesegroupsandremindthemoftherules.Icould
tellthatoneboygotfrustratedfrommyredirectionandhisonceeagernesstohave
hisgroupbecomethewinnersturnedintoannoyance.Hesulkedinhischairuntil
timewasup.
AccordingtoCohen(1986)thisisoneofafewcommondilemmastypicallyfoundin
groupwork.Thechildrenthatweretryingtodominatethegameswereallupper
class, white males. Perhaps the constant issues Im having with these boys
dominatingourwholegroupdiscussionsandsmallgroupwork isdue tosocietal
status.Cohenwrites,Inthesocietyatlarge therearestatusdistinctionsmadeonthe basis of social class, race, ethnic group, and sex. These are general social
rankingsonwhichmostpeopleagreethatitisbettertobeofahighersocialclass,
white,andmalethanitistobeofalowersocialclass,blackorbrown,orfemale
(1986,pg. 26). In addition to their social status of being whitemales, they have
higher academic status because they are well known in the classroom as being
strongreadersandgoodatmath,andappeartobemorepopularamongstpeers,
whichlinksthemtohigherpeerstatus.Allofthesestatusdilemmashavethepower
toaffectwhathappensandwhocontributesmorewithingroupwork.
Equally important to the actual experience was the discussion that followed. I
wanted studentstoarrive at the important insightsthat the successofthe group
depended on everyones effort and cooperation. I began the discussion with the
flowingquestion,Whatdoyouthinkthisgamewasallabout?
Puttingcirclestogether!
Math!
Fractions!
Howmanywaysyoucanputacircletogether?
HmmmI changed my approach to get more specific feedback on working as a
group, What did you do in your group that helped you to be successful in
completingallfourcircles?
Parker:Whensomeonehadamissingpiecethatweneededtheygaveittous.
Mitchell:InmygroupAngeldidntshare.
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Angel:But,Ihadafullcircle.
Maddy: That happened in our group, but if you switched pieceswith everyone,
everyonesomehowstillgotacircle.
Kate:Ithinkthisgameisaboutsharing.
Me:Whydoyouthinkthat?
Kate:Becauseif youdidnt sharewitheveryoneinyourgroup, thanyoucouldnt
win.
Me:Howdidyouknowinyourgroupwhatpiecestosharewithwhom?
Kate: Youhad topay attention towhateveryones puzzleswere andwhatpiece
theyneeded.
Me: Doyouthinkitsimportantwhenyourworkingingroups topayattentionto
whateachpersonisdoingandhelpwithsomethingtheymayneed?
Severalkids:Yeah.
Me: Giveme a thumbsup if what Kate discovered with her group seems really
important.Unanimouslyeverythumbintheclasswentup.
MasterDesigner:LearningtoExplain,askQuestionsandGiveGoodAnswers
ThefollowingdayIputkidsinnewgroups,thistimewithfivemembers.Weplayed
anewgamecalledMasterDesigner.Theobjectofthisgamewasforeachplayerto
replicateadesigncreatedwithshapesbythemasterdesigner.Whatmadethisgame
challengingwasthatspatialdividerswereupsotheycouldnotseewhattheother
membersofthegroupweredoingorthedesignofthemaster;theycouldonlyask
questions to themaster designer.This created anopportunity for two important
behaviors.First,studentsmustdothingsforthemselvesand askspecificquestionsto
lead themtotheir own solution. Second, the groupwasdependentonthemaster
designer, as theymust explain by tellinghow it should bedone. Again, themore
specificanddetailedthedesignercouldbe,thebetter.Whenamemberofthegroup
feltthattheyhadfiguredout themasterdesignandthedesignerhadcheckedthe
solution, that player could then help others in the group by explaining how
(demonstrating that everyone helps). Once everyone had completed the correct
design,anewstudentcouldtakeontheroleasthemasterdesigner.Theshapeseach
childwasgivenwere:
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Onepersoninthegroupoffivewasalwaystheobserver.Theobservercheckedoff
anytimetheysawthefollowingpositivebehaviors:
Explainbytellinghow
Everybodyhelps
Theobservershouldalsobeabletogiveafewspecific,goodexamplesofwhatwas
seenandreportouttothegroupattheendoftheround.
We played the game once without the observer, so that the kids could really
understandandexperiencethegameandgetagrasponwhatthetargetbehaviors
areforthisparticulargame.Afterhavingadiscussionfollowingtheirfirstgame,I
addedanobservertolookforthespecificbehaviorsofexplainingbytellinghowand
everybodyhelps.I gave themasterdesignertangrampicturestorecreate, sothat
they werent completely obscure designs. This seemed to eliminate the issue of
havingtoodifficultofdesignsandtokeepthefocusonmyprimarygoal,whichwas
togetthekidstalking,andaskingquestionswithgreatdetail.
The kids had such a great time with this! I loved that it was challenging, yet it
providedanopportunityforeveryonetobesuccessful,not just thekidsthatread
wellandtypicallydowellinmath.Thisgameunitedthefivekidstoacommongoal.
Ifsomeonewasntcommunicatingwell,therewasanothermemberofthegroupto
trytobecomethatmuchclearerandmoredetailedinwhattheyweredescribing.An
exampleIoverheardfromonegrouptryingtoreplicatethefollowingmasterdesignwas:
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Inthebelowdialogue,pleasenotethatKatewasthemasterdesigner.
Kate:Putthesquaredown.Putoneofthesmalltrianglessothatshortsideofthe
triangleistouchingthesquare.
Angel:Onthetop?
Kate:Oh,no,no,sorry.Putthetriangleontherightsideofthesquaresothatitmakesalongflattopandthereisapointstickingouttotheright.
Sofia:Soitlookslikethis(sheslantsherarmupimitatingthecorrectplacementof
thetriangle.
Kate:Yes,exactly!(Shelookstowardsme)Thisishard!
Angel:Ilikeit!
Jed:Itslikeifyouweregoingtoputtwotrianglestogethertomakeasquareand
youtakeawaythebottomtriangle.
Mitchell:Oh,Igetitnow!
Me:Greatjobworkingtogether!Youguysjustmodeledgreatexplanationsandthateverybodyhelps.Imgladyouguysarehavingfun!
This game took a long time to complete, but none of the students displayed
frustrationorbossiness.Therewasapresenceofplayamongsttheclass,perhaps
becauseitsimplyseemedlikeashapegame.Nobodyseemedtodominatehisorher
group, and I believe this was because this activity didnt seem to be linked to
academicability.At the same time it challenged eachperson, either in the actual
articulationofmanipulatingtheshapesortheirlisteningandspeakingskills.Asyou
can see from thedialog above, Jed andMitchell, typically boyswhoneed to step
back, built upon others in the group to find logic in the original explanation. I
wonderedwhyMitchellwasabletokeepcontrolofhimselfmoreinthisgamethan
thebrokencirclesgame.
Just as in Broken Circles, the discussion following this game was an important
opportunityfor students toreflectonnewbehaviors.Webeganourwholegroup
discussion with each child having four tickets and sitting in a circle with a
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conversation map displayed for each child to see. This had proven so successful
whenexperimentingwithShared InquiryCirclesthat ithadbecomeanorminall
classroomdiscussions.
Me:YouallseemedtohaveagreattimeplayingMasterDesigner.Whatseemedto
changefromthefirstexplanationsthattheMasterDesignergavetotheexplanations
attheendofthegame?
Kate:Itwasreallyhardtotellthemwheretoputtheirpieces!
Angel:Yeah,butattheendeverybodycouldhelpeachotheranditgoteasier.
Me:Whydoyouthinkthatitgoteasierwhenotherpeoplehelped?
Parker:Likewhensomeonedidntexplainitgood,maybesomeoneelsecould.
Me:Whatdoyoumean,good?
Parker:Likewithlotsofdetails.DoIhavetogiveyouaticketforthat?
Me:(laughing)No,youdontneedtobecauseIaskedyouexpandonwhatyousaid,
explainwithmoredetails.(smile)Parker:(laughing)Igetit.
Maddy:Itslikeweallneedtoworkontalkingwithmoredescription,sothingsare
clearerforwhoeverislistening.
Me:Exactly!Whenwouldthisbehelpfulwhenyoureworkinginasmallgroup?
Diana:Maybewhenyouhelpsomeoneyoucanexplainitbetter?
Mitchell:IdliketopiggybackonwhatDianasaid.Wehelpsomeoneinsteadofjust
givingthemananswer.
Jed:IagreewithMitchellandDiana,andalsomaybeifyoudontgetitwhenone
personhelpsyoucanasksomeoneelse.
ThefactthatMitchellwasbuildingoffofsomeoneelsesideaspokevolumestome!
Notonlydidheseemtolearnwhyweneededtoexplainourreasoning,ratherthan
just giving an answer, but more importantly he was carefully listening to his
classmatesandthinkingabouttheirideasasheformedhisown.
ReintroducingGroupWorkwithEstablishedNorms
Nowthatthestudentshadexplicitexposuretosmallgroupnormslearningtobe
responsivetotheneedsofthegroup,learningtohelpandexplain,askingquestionsandgivinggoodanswersIwasreadytoreintroducethestudentstoregulargroup
work.Theaboveactivitieswereextremelyhelpfulingettingkidstorecognizethe
powerandimportanceofworkingtogether,butIknewthatitwouldbeeasyforkids
tofallbackintotheiroldways.Iconsideredthetrainingperiodtobejustbeginning.
IntheMasterDesigneractivity,theuseofanobserverseemedparticularlyhelpfulin
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monitoring the group and more significantly, celebrating when the norms were
present.Idecidedtherewouldbeanobserverineachgroupmovingforward.
Icreateda simplecheckoffsheetfortheobserver torecordthenewbehaviors in
theirgroupwhentheysawthem(AppendixD):
GroupNames:_________________________________________________
Explainbytellinghow
Everybodyhelps
What are some specific things you saw that you want to
celebrate?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
IalsoknewthatIwantedtheobservertocheckinwiththegroupabouteveryfive
minutes, so the group could remain focused on the equal importance of
demonstratingthesebehaviorsandtheactualtaskathand.Byrotatingtheobserver
sothatallstudentsgottoplaythisrole,Ihopedthatthestudentswouldholdeach
other accountable for their behavior. I also thought this would help studentsinternalizethenorms,ratherthanthetypicalteacherreinforcementthatstudents
areusedto.
Whenchoosingataskforeffectivegroupwork,Cohen(1986)suggeststhatthetask
havethefollowingqualities:
-Hasmorethanoneanswerormorethanonewaytosolvetheproblem
-Isintrinsicallyinterestingandrewarding
-Allowsdifferentstudentstomakedifferentcontributions
-Usesmultimedia
-Involvessight,sound,andtouch
-Requiresavarietyofskillsandbehaviors
-Requiresreadingandwriting
-Ischallenging
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Our class had been studying the effects on the environment from importing and
exportinggoods,specificallyHersheyKisses.Kidsneededtotracethedifferentparts
necessary to make a Hershey Kiss (cocoa beans, sugar cane, wood pulp and
aluminum)fromtheirorigin,totheHersheyFactory,thentoourhomes.Theywere
tocreate a product chainusingconstructionpaper,markers, colored pencils and
theiriPads.Igroupedstudentsheterogeneouslyingroupsoffour,withoneperson
atall timesbeinganobserver. The groupswere spread outwithin the classroom
withampleworkspace,enoughmaterials,exemplarexamplesandthedaysgoals.
There was definitely a more serious tone at the beginning, primarily from the
persontakingontheroleoftheobserver.Inoticedthattheyallseemedtositalittle
straighterandwantedtogetstartedrightaway.Ihadtoremindstudentsthatasan
observer their jobwas to watch and listen very carefully. Othermembers of the
groupwereeasilydistractedbytheobserverandwereverycuriouswhenacheck
markorsomethingwaswritten,butthenoveltyofthisseemedtowearoffbythetimethefourthpersonbecameanobserver.AbouteveryfiveminutesIstoppedthe
classandallowedtwominutesfortheobservertoreportouttotheirgroup.After
the two minutes, the observer passed the record sheet to the person sitting
clockwisefromthem,whothentookovertherole.
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Aboveyoucanseetwodifferentexamplesfromdifferentobserversintwodifferent
groups. Iwashappythattheyfoundpositivebehaviorswiththenewsmallgroup
normsthatwedbeentryingtoestablish.Alloftheseopportunitieswerenotonly
reinforcing the norms and emphasizing their importance, but also increased
classroomcommunity.Thekidsseemedtolovethisobserverroleandtooktheirjob
veryseriously.Thishighlightedformethatkidsneededroleswithin groupwork,
clearandrealisticgoalsandspecificjobstoaccomplishwithintheallottedtime.
NextStepsforSmallGroupWork
As the students continued to internalize the behavioral norms I changed the
observerrole tosomething slightlysimilar,theEncourager.Iwas readyto assigneachchildwithinthegroupaspecificrole,withspecificjobs.IfIfeltthatbehaviors
andattitudeswereslipping,Iwouldbringbacktheobserverroletorefocusonthe
norms.Cohenwrites,
[Grouproles] isone of themostefficientmethodsofdesigning a smooth-
functioningandproductivegroup.Thesemethodsreduceproblemsofoneor
more members dominating the group. In groups where members have
different rolesand jobstodo, theyfeelverysatisfiedwiththeirpartinthe
groupprocess(1986,pg.75).
Tothisend,Iintroducedfourroles:
Encourager:Someonewhopraisespositivebehaviorsandseestoitthateveryone
getsthehelptheyneed.Alsohelpswithcleanup.
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Checker:Makessurethateveryonehascompletedtheirworkandfulfilledtheirjob
role.Alsohelpswithcleanup.
Monitor-Thispersonkeepstrackoftimeandkeepsthegroupontask.Thisperson
alsoseestoitthatthegrouphaseverythingitneeds.Alsohelpswithcleanup.
Reporter: This person should be ready to summarize the group's progress and
findings.Alsohelpswithcleanup.
These roleswherewritten onplace cards in front of eachworker, to serve as a
constantreminderofwhattheirvariouspositionswere.Afterstudentsknewtheir
roleandresponsibilitiesforthemselvesandtheothersintheirgroup,theyneeded
to work together to create a list of goals for their designated work time. The
studentswerestillcompletingtheirproductchainprojectsasexplainedabove.
Idecidedtorevisitmyinitialobservationchartanddoacomparisonofthesame
students two months after explicit work on establishing conversational norms
withinwholegroupandsmallgroupsettings.Youwillnoticethatthegroupwasno
longercomprisedofsixstudents,butreduceddowntofour.Alongwiththeirgender
andethnicitytheirgrouproleisdisplayed.Iputalotofthoughtintothedynamicsof
thegroupandchosewhatIfeltwouldbethebest-fitrolesforeachstudent.Ichose
theHispanicboytobetheencouragerbecauseofhispositiveattitude,awarenessto
detail and confidence. I chose thewhite boy to be the checker in hopes that he
wouldstaymindfuloftheneedsofotherswithinthegroup.TokeeptheHispanic
girlactivewithintheworkanddiscussionIgavehertheroleofreporter.TheWhite
girl had shown obvious strengths in creating equity between participation of
membersofthegroupandkeepingeveryoneontask,soshefitnaturallyintothe
role of monitor. I also added the small group norms of everybody helps and
explainingbytelling.
Observation#2ofGroupNorms
Encourager
HispanicBoy
Checker
White
Boy
Reporter
HispanicGirl
Monitor
WhiteGirl
EyeContactto
theSpeaker
24 22 27 29
Clarifying
Questions
4 7 3 6
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Probing
Questions
2
Inviting
SomeoneIn
5 4 8
Everybody
Helps
7 11 5 9
Explain
byTelling
6 7 5
Asyoucanseetherewasalotmoreequityamongstthegroup.Thewhitestudents
stilldominated,butasyoucanseeasquestionswereposed,threeoffourstudents
(all,exceptmyHispanicgirl)madeeffortstoexplain.Thekidsseemedtoallmake
effortstotrytoexplainthingsindifferentways,andithadbeenexcitingtosee.I
wasalsopleasedtoseethattheHispanicgirlhadhelpedwithhershareofthework
andrespondedreceptivelytotheotherstudentsinvitingherintotheconversation.
Overall I knew weweremaking positive steps to increasing participationwithin
peerdiscussions.
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