Collaboration & Group Work

 By Flo Rayner

“I hate group work!”

It’s possible that the above statement could be heard coming from both students and teachers alike. Group work and collaboration are often approached with caution and apprehension by both leaders and learners in the classroom. However, it is an essential element of classroom teaching, particularly when considering a student-centered approach.

Why? It seems that lots of students are averse to working in groups during lessons and this could be due to a range of concerns:

1. It is possible that students may worry that they will undertake the majority of the work required and so view it as unfair that other members of their group will benefit from this.
2. There may be a level of anxiety for a young person about who they are working with; are they friends, have they had experience (good or bad) working with this person before, will they feel their voice is being heard?
3. Many students, particularly high achieving and independent learners may simply feel that they would just do better if they worked on their own.

It’s not only students that are opposed to group work. Many teachers feel apprehensive towards group work in the classroom for a number of reasons: Relinquishing control in the classroom could present behavioural challenges, particularly with early career teachers, there is a fear that students will not cover the required material/content if they are not fully focused, as well as teachers feeling out of practice after a long period of teacher-led learning due to Covid restrictions. Why is group work important? Having considered these concerns it is important to discuss why we need to push through these barriers and continue to include collaborative learning and group work opportunities in our lessons.

• Life long learners: By working as a team, children can develop important skills such as listening and leadership whilst also developing their confidence, skills which they will use forever.
• Engagement: When taking an active role in their learning students will be more engaged, which will, in turn, lead to higher attainment.
• Ownership: With this student-centered focus, learners will be able to take more ownership over their learning and take pride in their successes, a feeling of autonomy has been proved to have strong links with increasing the motivation of learners.
• Authenticity: Collaboration will allow students to discuss new ideas in a low-stakes way with their peers, facilitating a more authentic process of production, as well as exposing students to a wider range of ideas and thought processes than just that of the teacher.

What might we consider when setting up group work in our classrooms? Grouping: When selecting groups or pairs, it is important to think carefully about these arrangements in advance of the lesson to both help a smooth setting up of the task, as well as to ensure students can work together. You could think about grouping by ability, keeping ability groups separate, or ensuring mixed ability groups to allow support and stretch for all students. It is important to consider class dynamics; are students likely to work with people they are friends with or is it more important to separate potential behaviour pitfalls? Instructions: Clarity is key. Keep the instructions short and simple. It works well to have 3 or 4 clear instructions, displayed throughout the task to help remind students of the expectations and goals. If they are unsure of what to do next they have something to refer back to. Assigning roles: It could be helpful to have set roles for each member of the group. This helps learners to feel empowered about their particular area of the task and avoids any potential ‘freeloaders’. Leonie Hall also discussed the possibility of allowing students to work independently on their own area of the task, but insisting that each separate part must fit in cohesively with the other members’ work at the end. Accountability: Several theorists argue that the most important part of successful group work is the idea of accountability. If students feel like something is at stake, this will increase their motivation to complete the task. Are they going to have to present their work to the rest of the class? Are they going to be graded on their group work? Is there a prize for the most successful group? It is important, however, to tread the fine balance between providing an element of accountability and removing some anxiety for any students who feel like their overall grade could be brought down through no fault of their own. Timings: Limiting the time of tasks and making this visible to students creates a sense of pace and urgency for the task, which in turn helps keep students engaged and should help avoid students going too far off task. How can we include collaborative opportunities?

• Think, Pair, Share (Short and snappy, students are asked a question, they have time to think, time to share with the person next to them before sharing with the teacher)

• Mini whiteboards (Similar to above, students can write their answer, then compare with the person next to them, then they can present their answer to the teacher)

• Treasure hunt (This is good for recognition or comprehension. Students can be paired or in groups, they are presented with questions or things to find. A number of texts / images are pinned around the room which contain the answers. Only one student is allowed out of their seat at a time, they find the answer around the room and bring it back to their team. Like a relay, another member of the team can then leave and find the next answer. 3 simple rules: 1 student out at a time, no shouting across the classroom, 2 yellow cards and you’re out).

• Running dictation (Similar to above, but they have to retain information from what they have read around the room and report it back word for word to their partner/team. The team which is first with the correct transcription/translation wins.)

• Teach the rest of the group (The best way to consolidate the learning of something is to teach it to someone else. Groups of students could be assigned a topic, and present this to the rest of the class. A whole host of assigned roles could be employed here. Could work as an introduction to a topic using research as well as a revision exercise).

• Why? (This is an idea used by Leyla Marasli, who has highlighted the benefit in any group work of having a ‘Why?’ person. This person’s job is to ask why at every step of the task to ensure that all students in the group can follow the thought process as well as ensuring students can explain how they reached a certain conclusion. A very low-stakes way to include all students and to ensure stretch and depth of learning.)

Further reading:

• Sharan, Y (2015) ‘Meaningful learning in the cooperative classroom’, Education 3-13, 43:1
• Lehraus, K (2015) ‘How to integrate cooperative skills training into learning tasks: an illustration with young pupils' writing’, Education 3-13, 43:1
• Isaac, M. (2012). "I Hate Group Work!" Social Loafers, Indignant Peers, and the Drama of the Classroom. English Journal, 101(4), 83-89.