The key word in effective group work is “effective.” Just because you work in a group of people doesn’t mean it’s working like a well-oiled machine. For example, group members may portion out the responsibility unfairly, creating a lack of balance within the group. An effective group should distribute the duties evenly through its ranks, provide creative support, meet deadlines and produce solid results. This doesn’t mean that your work is all business, but your group should have a healthy balance of recreational discussion as well as discussion of business.
Working with a group can make a task much simpler as well as enjoyable. Working in a group can help introvert children become extroverts through familiarity with other classmates. It also gives you a chance to form teamwork skills in the classroom that will help you as you enter the business world. For example, you may find yourself taking a leadership role or a support role when you form a group within the classroom. It’s good to learn the intricacies of both roles as you may experience them as you grow up. It also helps you complete a large load of work at a faster rate because you have more workers.
A healthy mix of different students in each group will keep the project balanced. It can also help ensure you have an effective group. Carefully select the members of each group so you have some of your most diligent students working with some of your less-enthused students. Assign different tasks to the group members if you fear that your students won’t spread the duties evenly through the group members. Place introverted students in groups with your most friendly and outgoing students to help bring them out of their shells as well.
It is partially the responsibility of the teacher to keep the groups on track and balanced. Set up checkpoints through the course of the project. Give clear indications of the work you want to see completed at each checkpoint so the children understand the rate at which you expect to see the project completed. Walk around the room and discuss the progress of each group. Ask about the structure of the group to determine if the duties feel balanced. Offer help if the students seem to be struggling with any task.