Slides from INSET on how to run effective group work

1. The good, the bad and the *shudder*:
How to plan for effective group work
James Mannion
PhD student, University of Cambridge
Lead Professional for Science, Varndean School, Brighton
pedagoginthemachine.wordpress.com
@pedagog_machine

2. Statement 1
“I have used group work previously”
Yes / No

3. Statement 2
“In my experience, group work is an
effective tool in the classroom”
Yes / No

4. Statement 3
“I have encountered behavioural
problems when using group work”
Yes / No

5. The good

6. The good

7. The bad

8. The bad

9. The *shudder*
“We subject learners to group work because it ‘develops the skills
needed later in life’, except it really doesn’t”.
– Ros McMullen (https://principalprivate.wordpress.com)
“Group work: I hate the concept, as I hate hell, all Montagues and
thee. I bite my thumb at it… An efficient way to learn? Not so much”
– Tom Bennett (Consider this a divorce, The TES, 5/9/2014).
“Whenever I am asked where the group work is in my
lessons, I respond with the same answer. The class have
been put into a group of 30, and their group task is to listen
to the teacher and to work in silence”.
– Robert Peal (https://goodbyemisterhunter.wordpress.com/)

10. 1. Why should we use GW?
• Naturally lends itself to some tasks
(e.g. Science, PE, Music)
• Develop interpersonal skills
– Speaking and listening
– Emotional ‘literacy’
– Conflict resolution
– Humour (v important!)
– Learning to like and be liked
• Effective at developing knowledge (when
done well – e.g. QOTD lesson  panel)
• Allows the teacher to observe, engage 1
to 1
• Students enjoy listening to one another
(shock horror!)
• Good preparation for life beyond the
school gates
2. Why/when shouldn’t we use GW?
3. So – how can we make GW effective?
• Some tasks don’t lend themselves to it
• It can be difficult to manage the power dynamic
– Gives students an opportunity to engage in off-task behaviour
– Hard to “get them back” once they’ve started talking about more interesting things!
• Some people associate GW with ‘discovery learning’, which v. inefficient when
covering curriculum content, (cognitive load theory – if you aren’t familiar, look it up!)

11. First we need to understand: What does the
research literature say about group work?
• Many wide-ranging reviews (e.g. Slavin, 1983, 2010; Howe,
2010) paint a mixed picture of group work:
“When it is good,
it is very, very good.
And when it is bad,
It is horrid”

12. Why the mixed
picture?

13. So – how can we make group work effective?
• Slavin identified two “essential conditions’ for effective GW:
1. Group goal / group rewards
2. Individual accountability
• Q: If ‘how to do effective GW’ was discovered in the 1980s, why does
group work have such a bad rep?
– Ans 1: The research hasn’t “filtered through” to teachers.
– Ans 2: It may not be immediately obvious what these “core conditions”
actually look like in the classroom.
– Ans 3: some bad ideas – eg dubious group roles (encourager anyone?!!)
• Q: So – what do teachers actually have to do in order to make GW
effective?
– Ans: First we need to understand that children (like all people) talk to
each other in different ways…

14. How do children talk together?
• Mercer et al (e.g. 1987, 2010, 2013)
• 3 categories of classroom talk:
– Disputational
– Cumulative
– Exploratory

15. Disputational talk
• Lot of disagreement – pupils just make their own
decisions.
• Few attempts to pool resources, or offer constructive
criticism.
• Lot of interactions of the 'Yes it is! – No it's not!' kind.
• Atmosphere is competitive rather than co-operative.

16. Cumulative talk
• Everyone simply accepts and agree with what other
people say.
• The talk ‘stacks up’ – pupils do use talk to share
knowledge, but they do so in an uncritical way
• Pupils repeat and may elaborate each other's ideas,
but don't evaluate them carefully

17. Exploratory talk
• Everyone listens actively
• Pupils ask questions of one other
• Pupils share all relevant information
• Ideas may be challenged – but pupils address the point, not
the person
• Reasons are given for challenges
• Contributions build on what has gone before
• Everyone is encouraged to contribute
• Ideas and opinions treated with respect
• Atmosphere of trust
• Sense of shared purpose
• The group seeks agreement for joint decisions
• Reasoning is ‘visible’ in the talk

18. Three categories of classroom talk
• Disputational
• Cumulative
• Exploratory
• Categories not neat – but it is a useful model
– NB –cumulative talk can be useful, e.g. sharing ideas, building consensus etc
– However, it is hard to see a useful educational role for disputational talk
Q  So: how can we make it so there’s more
‘exploratory talk’?
A  Ground rules for group talk!

19. What are ground rules?

20. What are ground rules for group talk?
EMBED - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC3AfFkLyi4

21. https://pedagoginthemachine.wordpress.com/
2015/02/10/tes-article-in-defence-of-group-work/
What are ground rules for group talk?

22. What are ground rules for group talk?
• Ground rules are often already in place – they’re just usually
implicit, and often not very helpful. For example, left to their
own devices, children often follow rules such as:
– If you have a good idea, keep it to yourself
– Don’t ever disagree with your friend(s)
– Don’t challenge the most popular or confident group member
– Let the most confident people dominate the discussion
– Don’t speak if you aren’t 100% sure of what you want to say
• What we need to do is make these ground rules explicit, and
then replace them with better rules.

23. How can I establish ground rules?
• Some excellent resources on the ‘Thinking Together’ website
(https://thinkingtogether.educ.cam.ac.uk/resources/)
• Also a newly developed ‘Oracy Assessment Toolkit’
(http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/oracytoolkit/)
Paired talk activity
• Pick a ‘talking point’ and discuss in pairs.
• Try to apply it to teacher training – CPD / INSET sessions

24. Pick a ‘talking point’ and discuss in pairs.
Try to apply it to teacher training – CPD / INSET sessions

25. Snowball method

26. Examples of ground rules for group talk
Ground rules often look something like this:
– Everyone should contribute and take turns to speak.
– All useful ideas should be shared and considered.
– Give reasons for your thinking
– Challenges are encouraged but disagree with the point, not the person.
– Try to reach agreement; don’t just agree to differ.
• However – it is important to co-construct the ground rules with
students – make sure they have a sense of have ownership over the
rules that govern their behaviour
• Review and amend the ground rules periodically. In plenaries, as well
as reviewing ‘what’ has been learned, review the ‘how’ – e.g.:
– How good are we at working toward agreement?
– Did everybody contribute equally today? Why / why not?
– What strategies might help us do this better next time?

27. 1. Try it first with a class you know well, and with whom you have
good relations.
2. Start by asking students what they think makes a discussion go
well or badly. It can also help to show students some video clips
of good & bad group talk. Discuss what “invisible” ground rules
are at play in each.
3. Discuss what “invisible ground rules” exist in classroom
discussions (e.g. only speak if you know you have the right
answer)
4. TPS a set of generic examples for what good and bad groupwork /
group talk looks like in classrooms.
5. Agree a list of “visible” ground rules to make sure that group
tasks go swimmingly. Collate suggestions into a long list and then
whittle it down to around 5-7 items. Encourage students to word
things positively (e.g. do, rather than “do not”). Negotiate!
Top ten tips for using group work in schools

28. 6. Print it out & get the students to sign it. Display it where everyone can see it.
7. Start small – paired talk. Give the students something worthwhile to discuss.
A controversial issue that relates to their own lives is often a good idea.
Circulate and listen. Ask students you have listened to, to repeat to the class
things you have just heard them saying. Celebrate, share, model, reward good
practice.
8. At the start of a subsequent session, remind the students of the ground rules.
Get them to read each one out, and relate it to a previous group talk, Get
students to set themselves a target for that day – eg “I am going to try not to
talk for too long”, or “I am going to make sure everyone takes turns to speak”.
9. When the need arises, review the ground rules. Do any need adding,
amending or removing?
10. Repeat steps 1 to 9. Practice, reflect, seek feedback, tweak, improve, share
best practice and support others, e.g. through T&L communities.
Top ten tips for using group work in schools

29. Statement 4
“I intend to use ground rules for
group talk in the future”
Yes / No / Not sure

30. The good, the bad and the *shudder*:
How to plan for effective group work
James Mannion
PhD student, University of Cambridge
Lead Professional for Science, Varndean School, Brighton
pedagoginthemachine.wordpress.com
@pedagog_machine