Reading Reflection 3- Groupwork Chapters 1-3

Chapter One:

Cohen provides us with a working definition of group work as "students working together in a group small enough so that everyone can participate on a task that has been clearly assigned" (P. 1). In using group work as a strategy the teacher must consider themself an educational engineer in order to design the perfect task in which authority is delegated and each member is needed in order to complete a particular task. Upon reflection of the Broken Circles activity, I can see how it is valuable for every student to feel needed in completing a task because it provides an opportunity for every student to have some sort of investment in the task while at the same time facilitating student engagement whether the students realize it or not. Given Cohen's definition of group work I also find it particularly important to be conscientious of the group size when creating particular tasks. I have worked in groups of three on assignment and I have worked in groups of six; when deciding the number of students that would be appropriate for a task that can be very important in ensuring the effectiveness of group work.

Chapter Two:

In designing group work, Cohen offers two categories of goals: intellectual and social. The intellectual goals include:

• Conceptual Learning
• Groupwork & Creative Problem Solving
• Developing Higher Order Thinking Skills
• Information, Retention, and Improvement of Basic Skills
• Group Work and Oral Language Proficiency

The social goals included:

• Positive Intergroup Relations
• Socializing students for adult roles

I can't help but think back to the times I alloted for group work in Clinical Practice I. I observed many of the goals being met as I monitored student progress. In fact, the days I had the students engaged in group work were my favorite days because of the types of mathematical conversations taking placeand the light bulbs I saw going off. The students really seemed to develop a certain level of accountability for each other's learning because they never knew which group member was going to be called on to share. I also noticed a great deal of creativity in the explanations of mathematical concepts by students. I heard my students accurately explaining concepts to their peers I hadn't thought of myself and often stole to use later. In delegating the responsibility of the teacher to group work I believe we are allowing students to really develop that higher order thinking and even practice social roles they'd have to carry out in adulthood.

Chapter Three:

Ms. Todd's classroom represents one I have been in plenty of times as a student and as a substitute teacher. Normally when students are given a task and asked to find the answers to a series of questions it is easy for one or two individuals to complete the task and write everyone else's name on it as if they contributed. These types of settings provide no opportunity for the intellectual goals mentioned above nor the societal goals given the students were allowed to choose their groups. Status ordering ("an agreed-upon social ranking where everyone feels it is better to have a high rank within the status order than a low rank") is a term I was not familiar with before reading this chapter, but has also been something I have seen throughout my schooling experience. The issue of status is posed as the most poignant dilemma of group work, but it would seem almost impossbile to create an environment in which this would not arise. One way to lessen the occurrence, for the lack of a better phrase, is to build community within one's classroom. This is definitely something that takes work on the part of the educator but I believe any powerful teaching must be able to incorporate such.

Closing:

This past week provided me with the opportunity to observe my Cooperating Teacher facilitate a quiz. For his class he allows the students to work in partnerships. I thought maybe this was the case only this particular instance, but this is something the students get to do every time they have a quiz. As I observed the interactions among the students I really paid attention to how much each group was contributing to the completion of the quiz. Students really did seem to contribute at an equal amount. For the most part, I noticed students either really felt comfortable with a concept and wanted to complete that portion of the quiz or they weren't. Many times I overheard students asking questions of their partners and maybe even arguing over a certain way to do a particular problem, both students having the goal of doing well on their minds. It was a very interesting thing to see. As we continue to discuss group work, though, I wonder would working with a partner be classified as group work?