Group process in the classroom

1. GROUP PROCESS IN THE
CLASSROOM
BY RICHARD AND PATRICIA SCHMUCK (2000)
Aprenentatge i ensenyament de les llengües estrangeres
Thais Mena, Laura Palau and Alexandra Vilagrasa

2. 1. Introduction
2. Group processes
3. Effects of groups on their members
4. Stages for group formation
5. Fundamental elements for success
6. Summary
7. Reflection
2

3. 3

4.  Towards successful group development
 From gatherings of people COHESIVE GROUPS
 Relationships
 Common goals
 A social structure
4

5. 5
Relationships
Common
Goals
Social
Structure

6. EFFECTS OF GROUPS ON THEIR MEMBERS
6

7. Faster learning with greater retention
Higher levels of academic achievement
Explaining complex concepts to others
EFFECTS OF GROUPS ON THEIR MEMBERS
7
LEARNER ACHIEVEMENT

8. Faster learning with greater retention
Higher levels of academic achievement
Explaining complex concepts to others
Social needs:
Affiliation, power and achievement
EFFECTS OF GROUPS ON THEIR MEMBERS
8
LEARNER ACHIEVEMENT
MOTIVATION
F
O
S
T
E
R

9. Faster learning with greater retention
Higher levels of academic achievement
Explaining complex concepts to others
Social needs:
Affiliation, power and achievement
EFFECTS OF GROUPS ON THEIR MEMBERS
One’s image constructed from others’ perceptions
based on interaction with parents, siblings,
peers and teachers
9
LEARNER ACHIEVEMENT
MOTIVATION
F
O
S
T
E
R
SELF-CONCEPT

10. Faster learning with greater retention
Higher levels of academic achievement
Explaining complex concepts to others
Social needs:
Affiliation, power and achievement
EFFECTS OF GROUPS ON THEIR MEMBERS
One’s image constructed from others’ perceptions
based on interaction with parents, siblings,
peers and teachers
Conflicts originated from patterns
of interaction learned at home 10
LEARNER ACHIEVEMENT
MOTIVATION
F
O
S
T
E
R
SELF-CONCEPT
EMOTIONS
C
R
E
A
T
E

11. STAGE 1 – FORMINGSTAGE 1 – FORMING
 Learners:
 Finding their place in the social structure of the classroom
 Finding out what they are expected to do
 Teachers:
 Foster trust and their sense of belonging to the group
 Tendency to focus on work and rules rather than social concerns
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Foster learners’appreciation for eachothers’ abilities
Inform learners aboutwhat life in theclassroom will be like
Give learners a voice inthe classroom

12. STAGE 2 - STORMINGSTAGE 2 - STORMING
 Learners:
 Test the limits established in the classroom
 Distancing behavior: challenging the teacher authority and leadership
 Centering behavior: questioning how they will personally benefit from their place in the
group
 Teachers:
 Need to adapt the rules taking into account the students’ responses
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Don’t feel threatened oroverreact
Be willing to reconsiderrules
Avoid showingfavoritism

13. STAGE 3 – NORMINGSTAGE 3 – NORMING
 Acceptance of:
 Academic expectations, procedures and rules
 Roles and functions of the various members of the group
 Students are concerned with their own learning and that of the group
13
Reinforce established
classroom routinespositively
Once they have reached
this stage, teachers can
devote more time toinstruction

14. STAGE 4 – PERFORMINGSTAGE 4 – PERFORMING
 Students’ desire to show that they can perform independently
 Teachers encourage them by showing them how to:
 Set priorities
 Budget time
 Self-evaluate
 Self-regulate
 Self-discipline
14
Model the students’
ability to reflect on theirperformance
Prepare learners for the
transition to the nextschool year

15. 15

16. 16

17.  Correlation between:
 High teacher expectations – High learner achievement (POSITIVE)
 Low teacher expectations – Low learner achievement (NEGATIVE)
Biased assumptions with a possible
significant impact on students
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The Pygmalion
Effect
Try to avoid their
effects on learners

18. 18
Promote group
identification and group
cohesiveness
Promote academic
achievement and positive
social interaction
Be coherent about what
you do and how you
expect students to
behave
“My teacher tells me to
listen but never listens to
me”
“My teacher tells me my
work is poor but doesn’t
show me how to improve”
“My teacher interrupts me
but if I interrupt him, he
says I’m rude”

19.  The way students see themselves as an important part of the group has a
significant impact on their willingness to learn
 Try to promote diversity in group creation in order to avoid small independents
subgroups
 Activities:
1. Construct a bulletin board around the theme of friendship by having students bring
pictures of friends. Have them take turns telling how they met friends.
2. Have your students write brief biographies. Gather all the autobiographies into a book
entitled “Our lives” and give each student a copy to read and discuss.
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20.  GOAL CONFLICTS: disagreement about what teachers and learners hope to
accomplish in the classroom
 INTERPERSONAL CONFLICTS: diversion of opinions and ideas can become
emotionally charged
 PROCEDURAL CONFLICTS: problems arising from the rules and routines
established in the classroom
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21. 21
 Cohesive group properties: relationships, common goals and social structure
 Effects that groups have on their members
 Stages for group development: forming, storming, norming and performing
 Characteristics for a healthy group classroom:
 Effective leadership
 High expectations
 Positive norms
 Group cohesiveness
 Problem-solving

22. 22
• Promoting group cohesiveness
• Bearing in mind the effects on the members, the
stages undergone by the group and the fundamental
elements for success
• Complex implementation:
• Timetable – challenging
• Teachers working hand-in-hand

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