Week Four Reading Reflection - Designing Groupwork

Chapter 1
     When working in groups, students should have clearly assigned individual tasks in order to complete the group task.  Teachers need to be sure they are in charge of the class, but not necessarily each group.  If a group feels the teacher is incharge of their group they may ask questions or expect explanations from the teacher.
     When I first used groupwork, I got a lot of questions.  I realized there was little to no group discussion.  I had to teach the students to ask these questions to each other before asking me.

Chapter 2
     For students, groupwork helps them achieve not only content goals, but intellectual and social goals as well.  When all students are working together the group can arrive at standings that no one individual could have ever achieved.  Groupwork causes students to think critically, creatively, and also analytically.  Groupwork situations should be things such as simulations, demonstrations, and debates, where it is required for students to work together.
     I see too many situations where groupwork is not being used properly.  I see students dividing up the work and working individually to complete the task at hand. 

Chapter 3
     There can be many problems when trying to implement groupwork in the classroom.  When working in groups, there is usually one student who dominates the groupwork.  things such as academic or social status help determine which students will talk in the group.  Teachers need to make sure all students are participating.
     Last semester, I had assigned a group project and I had one group of students where one person did almost all of the work and the other two students did not participate much at all.  When I confronted the group, the two students not working on the task said they were happy with what the other group member was doing.  The group member that was doing all of the work was frustrated he was not getting any help even if he asked.