Lesson 2: Group work
Page 2
Strategies for organizing pair and group work
(i) Plan the task
- Plan the exercise carefully to make sure that all learners contribute.
- Decide what you want them to produce.
- Arrange how the groups will feedback.
(ii) Decide how many will work together
- Two = pair work
- Three or more = group work
- Only use more than 5 in a group where the task has roles for each member
(iii) Decide who will be working together
- Learners who are sitting together/near each other
- Planned by teacher
- Organize the classroom
- Move desks.
- Sit the learners in groups and ask them to face each other
(iv) Give the learners roles/jobs within the group
For example, manager/leader, resource collector, scribe, reporter, developer.
(v) Arrange a stop signal
Decide on a signal that tells the learners when you want them to stop talking and to listen to the teacher, such as Clapping rhythm/1, 2, 3 looks at me/shaker/5, 4, 3, 2, 1/hands up/mobile phone ringtone
(vi) Teach learners what noise level is appropriate
Model the volume of talking you want.
(vii) Make a “Noise Monitor” to show the children what level of noise is OK
(viii) Give a time target
- Don’t say “do quickly”! Tell them how much time they have before they begin the task.
- Remind them when they are working how much time they have left (“You have one minute left!”).
(ix) Monitor the groups
Move around the classroom monitoring the groups to check everyone is working.
(x) Assess the work done by the group
- Ask the groups to swap work and then mark each other’s work. The teacher can then collects and check if necessary.
- Divide the blackboard into columns and ask one member of each group to come up and write their answers (all at the same time), to save time
- If each group is working on a different problem ask one person from each group to present their answers or their poster. Collect the work and mark after class.