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Wide-angle photo of a large, modern lecture hall with tiered seating where students are seated with laptops while an instructor teaches at the front beneath multiple projected slides. A translucent banner across the center reads “Classroom Strategies.”

Group Work

Group work is an effective approach to enhancing students’ learning, implemented in various forms, including instructor-assigned, student-selected, and randomly assigned groups. Students who participate in group work during class have been shown to develop a deeper understanding of the subject matter and enhanced problem-solving skills (Cooper, 1990, cited in Davis, 1993). The benefits of group work include engagement and the development of team skills.

Five pillars of effective cooperative and collaborative learning (Jones & Jones, 2008):

  • Positive interdependence: We need contributions from each team member to succeed.
  • Promotive face-to-face interaction: How I think, talk, and act towards my other team members will influence how well we perform.
  • Individual accountability: Although my team members can help me with the task, my own performance/contribution will shape my grade.
  • Social skills: Working together effectively as a team requires me to develop and utilize my interpersonal skills.
  • Processing, group & individual reflection: We need to reflect on our performance, both individually and as a team, about what we have accomplished and learned, and how we might improve.

Uses of Group Work

Michaelsen, Knight, and Fink (2002) describe three uses of small groups: 

  1. Casual use of groups refers to the quick creation in class of student pairs or small collaborative groups (3 is recommended) to discuss a learning project.
  2. Cooperative group involves using groups to engage in more structured activities. These activities also give students time for active engagement, often providing opportunities for problem-solving and application of content.
  3. Team-based learning involves a further level of structure and intentionality. It can be helpful to think of group work on a continuum, with peer discussion as the least structured activity and complex teams as the most structured.

A spectrum showing types of group work from simple to complex. The top arrow moves from ‘Peer discussion’ to ‘Cooperative learning’ to ‘Complex project teams.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Cooper, J. (1990). Cooperative learning and college teaching: tips from the trenches. Teaching Professor, 4(5), 1-2.

Davis, B. G. (1993). Tools for Teaching. Jossey-Bass Inc., San Francisco: California.

Jones, K. A., & Jones, J. L. (2008). Making cooperative learning work in the college classroom: An application of the” Five Pillars” of cooperative learning to post-secondary instruction. Journal of effective teaching, 8(2), 61-76.

Michaelsen, L. K., Knight, A. B., and Fink, L. D. Team-Based Learning: A Transformative Use   of Small Groups in College Teaching. Sterling, Va.: Stylus, 2004.

 

 

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