This weeks readings were very helpful. One quote that stuck out to me was in Chapter 5 Designing Groupwork: Planning Groupwork in Stages. The quote was as follows:
“Groups larger than five present problems for participation in interaction. For group discussion, I have always found that four or five is an optimal size. As the group gets larger there is more of a chance that one or more members will be left out of the interaction almost entirely….A group of three has a strong tendency for two persons to form a coalition leaving the third feeling isolated and left out.”
This quote stuck out to me because it was something I had not really thought about before. Of course I knew that small groups were beneficial in targeting certain students who are struggling with something, but I did not realize the ramifications of having too large or too small of a group, especially within discussions. Of course as I read it, I realized, well of course groups of three wouldn’t be ideal because two might be closer and work better together, and of course super large groups loose some of the children during discussion.
This is so beneficial for me in my classroom. It has given me ideas on how to approach discussions and groupwork. It has even helped me to think about placement of desks and tables in the classroom. If students are sitting at a pod, it should be between 4 and 5 students. More students at one table could create distractions and 3 people at a table might leave one student feeling left out. This will be beneficial when planning small groups (including a good mix of strengths, both genders) to keep it diversified.
I learned that not only is small groupwork important, but the number of students in your group is also important, it could dramatically change the dynamic of the discussion you were hoping for.
I am interested to see this played out into my classroom
Shannon-
ReplyDeleteThis section also taught my attention. I thought that three would be the best group size however, I never thought about how two could be close or cliches. I could see this being a problem, especially if there are two girls and a boy or visa versa. I am in the fifth grade and could see groups of three being problematic for this reason. Also, I can relate because when I was little I was shy and if I was placed with two boys I don't think I would have talked much.
I also started thinking, if one person is sick or absent that is a lot of work for the other people to do. This made reconsider how I will construct my group work in the future. I don't know about you but I have really enjoyed this book. It has made me think a lot of how to group students and benefits of thinking this way. I think the more open and aware of problems that can occur the better off we'll be! I now am going to try to put students in groups of 4-5 instead of three.
Thanks for the great thought,
Megan
Shannon-
ReplyDeleteThis post was really interesting. I have never actually explicitly thought about an "ideal" group size. It makes sense that a super large group isn't a good idea, because some might have a tendency to take over while others could slip through the cracks without anybody noticing. However, the idea that 5 to 6 student groups are more ideal than a three person group was really interesting to me. I would like to observe it first hand because it seems odd to me. I think that it must have to do with the task and the amount of work to do, because it seems like it would be easier to fade into the background in a 6 person group.
Thanks for the Post!