Justification

There are a number of advantages to student-centered learning activities. Group tasks provide opportunities for students to be active learners, develop oral communication skills and improve problem-solving skills (Killen, 2009). However students do need to be taught how to learn in this environment, as it may be unfamiliar to them.

This handout: Provides research-based tips and strategies for implementing group-based learning in the classroom. ELEMENT 4 4.1.4 Student grouping
Use student group structures as appropriate to address teaching and learning goals.

Page | 1

1. Setting up group work

Introduce gradually - progress from pair work to larger groups; short periods of time to longer periods of time; teacher formulated groups to student formulated groups. This allows the students to gradually assume greater responsibility, as they learn how to work effectively in groups (Killen, 2009). Type of grouping the purpose of the task will influence the type of grouping strategy that you implement. For instance, literacy groups may warrant ability groups, whereas a problem-solving task may be based on student interests (Marsh, 2004). Provide explicit guidelines make explicit the purpose of the task, steps needed to complete the task, amount of time provided to complete the task, the end product and how it will be assessed (Killen, 2009). Consider task purpose - group work will not be appropriate for every task, so it is important to consider for which tasks it will be most effective. For instance, a richlearning task that is time intensive and has more than one solution may benefit from group work (Killen, 2009).

2. Role of the teacher ______________________________________________________________

Facilitate - this role involves overseeing and monitoring the groups, to ensure that they are on-task and working productively as a team. Try to unobtrusively monitor the groups, providing input where needed (Killen, 2009).

Page | 2

 Observe - collect evaluative data on the factors that are assisting and hindering group learning, in order to modify future tasks (Killen, 2009). Encourage participation develop tasks that require all members to contribute to the task. For instance: Allow students to individually write down their ideas and then share the ideas with the group. Use a conch, such as a shell or a ball that is passed around from person to person. Only the person holding the conch can speak. Use participation tokens, such as coloured counters, money from a board game or Lego bricks. Each student receives the same number of tokens and places them in the centre after speaking. Group members cannot speak again until everyone has used up all their tokens (Scrivener, 2012). Foster group cohesion provide an incentive for students to work as a team, such as a competition between groups (Scrivener, 2012).

3. Assign specific roles ______________________________________________________________

De-Bonos six thinking hats (De Bono, 1992) - can be used to assign specific roles to students in group work tasks. It can lead to more focused, productive and meaningful engagement in group work. The six thinking hats are as follows: white (facts and information), blue (meta-cognitive, thinking about thinking), black (critical, judgement), red (feelings), green (creative) and yellow (positive, benefits). Each child can be assigned a different coloured hat, which defines their role in the group.

Page | 3

 Assign real-world roles to the students Create roles that relate to the specific task. For instance, if students are creating an advertisement, you could assign roles such as a marketer, designer, writer, reporter, journalist and promoter. Try using students strengths! If a student is a talented artist, you could give her/him the role of designer (Trebell, 2008). See page 5 of this document for ready-made role cards.

Page | 4

Journalist
Clarify and question the thoughts of the other group members. Make sure that all of the group members are on track. Why do you think that?

Designer
Describe the layout, images and colours used. What can be seen?

Marketer
Consider the target audience and purpose of the advertisement. How does the colours, words and layout appeal to the audience?

Reporter
Assess the effectiveness of the advertisement in achieving its purpose. Is the advertisement successful?

Writer
Consider the impact of the layout, images, colours and words used. How does it make you feel?

Promoter
Consider how the advertisement could be improved. What would you change?

Page | 5

References
De Bono, E. (1992). Six thinking hats for schools book 2.Victoria, Australia: Hawker Brownlow Education. Killen, R. (2009). Effective Teaching Strategies: Lessons from research and practice (Ed.). Victoria, Australia: Cengage Learning Australia. Marsh, C. (2004). Becoming a Teacher: Knowledge, skills and issues (3rd Edition). NSW, Australia: Pearson Education Australia. Scrivener, J. (2012). Classroom Management Techniques. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Trebell, D. (2008). Thinking hats on, The Times Educational Supplement. 11(4815), 26.

Page | 6