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Powerful Group Activities that Work!

Christine Harrington Ph.D.Middlesex County Collegecharrington@middlesexcc.edu

University of Wisconsin- Eau ClaireJanuary 8, 2015

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AgendaResearch on Active Learning and Group WorkDiscuss and Engage in a Variety of Group ActivitiesMaking Research Based Changes in your Classroom

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Turn and Talk:Why is Group Work Important?

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Employers want….

Teamwork skills

Communication skills

Koc (2011); Costigan & Donahue (2009)

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Group Work Works!Springer, Stanne & Donovan (1999)

Increases in…

Achievement

Persistence

Attitudes

Meta-analysis of 37 studies!

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Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

Cognitive

Language

Social

www.eca.usp.br

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Not all group work is equal…

Unstructured Group Work

Cooperative Group Work

Talk to others about a topic May get off topic Monopolizers/Social

loafers Minimal investment

Structured Clear purpose Everyone is involved

and accountable

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Brainstorming- The Power of Groups?

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Brainstorming- The Power of Groups?

Brainstorm

Work together to create a list

Nominal

Work independently until I tell you,

then share answers to create a list

Better Quality and Quantity

(Mullen, Johnson, & Salas, 1991)

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Problems with Brainstorming

Production Blocking My idea is not “good

enough” Forget idea by time other

member is finished

Group Think- support others and avoid conflict

Social Loafing- view contribution as not important or needed

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Brainwriting (Paulus & Yang, 2000; Heslin, 2009)

12Clark, Kirschner & Sweller (2012)

Direct Instruction

is BEST for Novice Learners

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Brief Opportunities for Active Learning: How Often?

Prince (2004)

Jigsaw Classroom (Aronson et al., 1978)

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HOME BASE GROUP: 3-5 students

EXPERT GROUP: Work together to learn the topic and be ready to teach your home base group members

HOME BASE GROUP: Teach each other

Your Task:

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Decide on “experts”:

1. Self-selection vs. assigned groups

2. Strategies to equalize workload

3. Grading group work

In “expert” groups: Discuss the topic Determine 2-3 most

important points Be prepared to

“teach” your home base group members- they are depending on you!

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In Expert Groups, Answer:SELF-SELECTION vs. ASSIGNED GROUPSShould you allow students to choose groups or should you assign students to groups? Why?

EQUALIZING WORKLOADHow can you reduce social loafing and increase the likelihood that all students are contributing?

GRADINGShould you give individual, group, or combination grades? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?

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Jigsaw Classroom (Walker & Crogan, 1998)

Improved academic performance

Better attitude toward peers

Reduced prejudice

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Self-Selection Vs. Assigned Groups

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Assign Groups

Assign Groups to avoid homogeneous groups and to increase individual and group outcomes(Hinds, Carley, Krackhardt, & Wholey, 2000; McClelland, 2012)

Self-selection has NEGATIVE impact on minority and low ability students (Shimazoe & Aldrich, 2010)

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Optimizing Creativity (Paulus, 2000)

Cognitive diversity leads to more ideas

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Change Groups After a Few Sessions

Changing groups led to better results than groups who stayed together for more than half a semester (Tomcho & Foels, 2012)

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Strategies to Equalize Workload

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Group Training, Rules and Roles

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The 5R Approach to Group Work (Harrington,

2016)

Establish Rapport

Develop Rules

Determine Roles

Get Ready to Work and Support One Another

Remember to Evaluate

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Group Roles Group Leader

Note-Taker

Visual Aid Leader

Finishing Touch Specialist

Questioner

Rehearsal DirectorHarrington (2016)

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Training students on group process works!

Peterson (2012)

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Team Skills Training- Prichard, Stratford, & Bizo (2006)

Groups in

Experiment

Trained Together

Trained Re-

assigned

Untrained

IndividualAnd

Group Learning Outcomes

n=108Two 45 minute training sessions

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Results…

Trai

ned

Toge

ther

Trai

ned

Reass

igne

d

Untra

ined

010203040506070

Group Score

Group Score

Trai

ned

Toge

ther

Untra

ined

05

10152025303540

Individual Score

Individual Score

Not significantly different *Significantly different p <.05

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Group Work – Research Based Tips

(Sarfo and Ellen, 2011)

Working individually on entire project BEFORE working together resulted in better academic performance

Knowing full CONTENT first (vs. part of the content) led to better performance

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Inter-teaching Boyce & Hineline (2002)

Prep Reading Guide to be completed before class• 10-12 questions • 10-15 pages

Clarifying Lecture• Based on prior record sheets

Pair with another student to review Reading Guide• Professor answers questions• Record sheet on discussion, identifying difficult

concepts

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Inter-teaching

Class Time

Clarifying LectureWork in Pairs on Guided Reading Sheet

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Save the Last Word for MeInter-teaching1. Skim Saville, Lambert & Robertson (2011)

article2. Identify one quote or statement that you find

interesting- write this on your index card.3. On the back: Why did you choose this

quote?4. Group Share

1. Share Quote only2. Other members react to the quote3. Initial member shares thoughts and reflects on

group contributions4. Repeat until everyone has shared their quote(Vaughan & Estes,1986; Short, Harste, & Burke,1996)

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Structured Problem Solving Approach

Group members are informed that someone will be randomly chosen to report out on their work

No one knows who is presenting what until the day of the presentation

(Millis 2002)

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Individual Accountability to Group

Performance8.5

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9.5

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10.5

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11.5

ToldNot Told

(Sarfo and Ellen, 2011)

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Grading Issues

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Grading Issues

High achieving students often receive lower grades

Low achieving students often receive higher grades on group work

(Almond, 2009)

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Grading Group Work: The Student Perspective

Barfield (2003)

Inexperienced group members more likely to believe everyone should get the same grade

Part time workers more likely to believe grading is fair as compared to full time workers

Older students were most dissatisfied with group grades

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What about Introverts?

Although extraverts like

group work more than introverts, they performed equally well on assessments

Group

Wor

k

Inde

pend

ent W

ork

Exam

52

54

56

58

60

62

64

Extroverts

Introverts

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Grading Self and Others

Students tend to give high grades to self and peers

(Breneiser, Monetti, & Adams, (2012)

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Group Accountability Log

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Individual vs. Group Grade

http://decker.com/blog/tag/pros-and-cons/

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Grading Considerations (King & Behnke 2005)

Not everything needs to be graded

Avoid “Firing” members

Group grades can have negative interpersonal impact

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Applying What You’ve Learned

What “take-away” did you get from this workshop?

What might you do differently as a result of

participating today?

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Brainwriting1. Write down one “take-away” from this

workshop on the index card.2. Pass the card to your right.3. Read the card. Add another “take-away”. It

can’t be an idea written on the card or one you have already written on a card.

4. Continue passing the card to your right and writing additional “take-aways” until we tell you to stop.

5. Discuss the “take-aways” with your group.

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Thank You and Best Wishes with Group Work in your Classroom!

Questions? Contact me at charrington@middlesexcc.edu

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References Almond, R. J. (2009). Group assessment: Comparing group and individual undergraduate module marks. Assessment & Evaluation In

Higher Education, 34(2), 141-148. doi:10.1080/02602930801956083

Aronson, E., Blaney, N., Stephan, C., Sikes, J. and Snapp, M. (1978) The Jigsaw Classroom, Sage, Beverley Hills, CA.

Barfield, R. L. (2003). Students' perceptions of and satisfaction with group grades and the group experience in the college classroom. Assessment & Evaluation In Higher Education, 28(4), 355-369. doi:10.1080/0260293032000066191

Boyce, T. E., & Hineline, P. N. (2002). Interteaching: A strategy for enhancing the user-friendliness of behavioral arrangements in the college classroom. The Behavior Analyst, 25(2), 215-225.

Breneiser, J. E., Monetti, D. M., & Adams, K. S. (2012). The Nexus between the Above-Average Effect and Cooperative Learning in the Classroom. Educational Research Quarterly, 36(2), 42-61.

Clark, R. E., Kircshner, P. A., & Sweller, J. (2012). Putting students on the path to learning: The case for fully guided instruction. American Educator. 6-11.

Costigan, R. D., & Donahue, L. (2009). Developing the Great Eight Competencies with Leaderless Group Discussion. Journal Of Management Education, 33(5), 596-616.

Heslin, P. A. (2009). Better than brainstorming? Potential contextual boundary conditions to brainwriting for idea generation in organizations. Journal Of Occupational And Organizational Psychology, 82(1), 129-145. doi:10.1348/096317908X285642

Hinds, P. J., Carley, K. M., Krackhardt, D., & Wholey, D. (2000). Choosing work group members: Balancing similarity, competence, and familiarity. Organizational Behavior And Human Decision Processes, 81(2), 226-251. doi:10.1006/obhd.1999.2875

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References Hoffman, J. R., & Rogelberg, S. G. (2001). All together now? College students' preferred project group grading procedures. Group Dynamics: Theory,

Research, And Practice, 5(1), 33-40. doi:10.1037/1089-2699.5.1.33

King, Paul E., and Ralph R. Behnke. (2005)). Problems associated with evaluating student performance in groups. College Teaching 53.2, 57-61. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier.

Kirschner, F.; Paas, F.; Kirschner, P. A (2009). A cognitive load approach to collaborative learning: United brains for complex tasks. Educational Psychology Review, 21, 31-42. doi:10.1007/s10648-008-9095-2

Koc, E. W. (2011). Getting Noticed, Getting Hired: Candidate Attributes That Recruiters Seek. NACE Journal, 72(2), 14-19.

McClelland, G. P. (2012): The influence of randomly allocated group membership when developing student task work and team work capabilities, Journal of Further and Higher Education, 36:3, 351-369.

Millis, B. J. (2002). Enhancing learning-and more! Through cooperative learning. IDEA Paper #38. Retrieved from: http://www.theideacenter.org/sites/default/files/IDEA_Paper_38.pdf

Mullen, B., Johnson, C., & Salas, E. (1991). Productivity loss in brainstorming groups: A meta-analytic integration. Basic And Applied Social Psychology, 12(1), 3-23. doi:10.1207/s15324834basp1201_1

Paulus, P. B. (2000). Groups, teams, and creativity: The creative potential of idea-generating groups. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 49(2), 237-262. doi:10.1111/1464-0597.00013

Paulus, P. B., & Yang, H. (2000). Idea generation in groups: A basis for creativity in organizations. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 82 (1), 76-87. doi: 10.1006/obhd.2000.2888

Peterson, C. (2012). Building the Emotional Intelligence and Effective Functioning of Student Work Groups: Evaluation of an Instructional Program. College Teaching, 60(3), 112-121. doi:10.1080/87567555.2011.645258

Prichard, J. S., Stratford, R. J., & Bizo, L. A. (2006). Team-skills training enhances collaborative learning. Learning And Instruction, 16(3), 256-265. doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2006.03.005

Sarfo, F., & Elen, J. (2011). Investigating the impact of positive resource interdependence and individual accountability on students' academic performance in cooperative learning. Electronic Journal of Research In Educational Psychology, 9(1), 73-93.

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References Saville, B. K., Lambert, T., & Robertson, S. (2011). Interteaching: Bringing Behavioral Education into the 21st Century. Psychological

Record, 61(1), 153-165.

Saville, B. E. (2011). Interteaching. New Directions For Teaching & Learning, 2011(128), 53-61.

Saville, B. K., & Zinn, T. E. (2011). Interteaching. New Directions For Teaching & Learning, 2011(128), 53-61. doi:10.1002/tl.468

Shimazoe, J., & Aldrich, H. (2010). Group Work Can Be Gratifying: Understanding & Overcoming Resistance to Cooperative Learning. College Teaching, 58(2), 52-57.

Short, K. G., Harste, J., & Burke, C. (1996). Creating classrooms for authors and inquirers (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Springer, L., Stanne, M., & Donovan, S. S. (1999). Effects of small-group learning on undergraduates in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology: A meta-analysis. Review Of Educational Research, 69(1), 21-51.

Tomcho, T. J., & Foels, R. (2012). Meta-analysis of group learning activities: Empirically based teaching recommendations. Teaching Of Psychology, 39(3), 159-169. doi:10.1177/0098628312450414

Toomela, A. (2007). Sometimes one is more than two: When collaboration inhibits knowledge construction. Integrative Physiological & Behavioral Science, 41(2), 198-207. doi:10.1007/s12124-007-9015-x

Vaughan, J., & Estes, T. (1986). Reading and reasoning beyond the primary grades. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Walker, A. (2007). Group work in higher education: Are introverted students disadvantaged?. Psychology Learning & Teaching, 6(1), 20-25. doi:10.2304/plat.2007.6.1.20

Walker, I., & Crogan, M. (1998). Academic performance, prejudice, and the jigsaw classroom: new pieces to the puzzle. Journal Of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 8(6), 381-393.