An Article to prompt discussion and debate around if and how pupils should work in groups.
In her book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Susan Cain champions introverts and describes how their contributions are often overlooked in a world that over-values an 'extrovert ideal'. She recommends changes at work and in schools to allow introverts to thrive.
But there is a me, so the old quip goes. Despite an introvert or extrovert personality type, the vast majority of people will be able to function on their own and within a group. So what should schools do? Should all pupils be taught to work in groups but also to work completely alone? Should individual personality types be taken into account or must pupils adapt to the learning tasks on offer? And what does educational research tell us?
Group work can be defined as two or more people contributing to the same task. Cooperation is a group of people getting along well and working towards the same goal. Collaboration implies that each person in the group is bringing unique, complementary experiences and skills to bear on the a shared challenge and team work adds competition to the mix. All four are different perspectives on the same thing.
Hattie's work finds that cooperative and competitive learning strategies have effect sizes just over 0.5 and Marzano and the EEF both include cooperative learning in their top interventions. So there are very strong foundations for pupils working together. However it's not just a matter of 'doing group work' or 'working in teams'. Classrooms need to be set up first and pupils must be trained and supported in quality group work. And it must all be balanced with continued opportunities for individual quiet work.
Additional resources to help structure quality group work can be found on this month's magazine page and throughout the site.
A Thinking Skills Tool to help embed group roles and group working into lessons. Includes role cards and a technique to build groups with the right skills mix.
A Thinking Tool Template in Powerpoint, giving customisable slides and teaching advice for implementing Group Mix Thinking.
A Think Sheet encouraging creative thinking about skills and group work.
A Thinking Skills Tool offering a simple paper-based process for groups to combine their thinking and learning. A structured introduction to small group collaboration.
A collaborative Thinking Skills Tool helping pupils to make and extend connections between ideas and objects.
How to establish collaborative, problem-based learning with our youngest learners; teaching them essential group work skills.
TED Talk from Susan Cain about the hidden power of introverts in an extrovert world.
Here are a selection of transition-related resources to help out as you prepare a quality send off or quality reception for your (new) pupils.