Small Group Work4

7/30/2019 Small Group Work4

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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.

Small Group Work4

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