Group Discussion Strategy

Background Knowledge: what students work well together in the classroom, they will be doing group work

This is a 1st grade class made up of 12 first grade students. There are 7 Girls and 5 Boys. There is 1 male student with general academic IEP that covers all subjects as well as 1 male and 1 female student that have speech IEPs. The classroom is arranged in table seating with a large carpeted area in the front of the classroom for group learning. This lesson will be taught in a group setting at the carpet.

You are in a “classroom” observing and observe the following behaviors from students. You are to respond to each of the questions regarding each student scenario.

Transition Tell students to clean up and place items back into place, tell them it is time to move to the next activity.

The teacher prepares the students to operate in a small group together. This practice can enhance the student’s cooperative learning skills.

The group-response technique allows students to immediately respond as to whether they understand or not in a non-threatening manner. This technique instructs the students to respond to the question, “Do you understand?” or “Do you know the answer to this question?” by immediately raising their hand with one finger pointed for a positive answer and two fingers for a negative one (Verma & Martin-Hansen, 2008). By quickly scanning the room, the teacher knows whether to elaborate more on the concept or to move on to another topic (Verma & Martin-Hansen, 2008). This is beneficial because all students are required to respond, and it gives the teacher immediate feedback on the appropriate next step (Verma & Martin-Hansen, 2008). Additionally, it is a non-threatening method that eliminates student embarrassment while giving the teacher a glimpse into students’ understandings to utilize later in peer coaching (Verma & Martin-Hansen, 2008).

Each family member contributed to establishing a purpose for the group sessions to identify what why they are together and want to accomplish. Janice would like for the family to get along better while also communicating better. Leon agreed with Janice and would like for the family to get along better while also working to reduce tension in the family. Beartice expressed the purpose was to be a happier family. Kat sees the purpose of the group for the family to be nicer to one another. Kat and Guy agree that the purpose is to help the family members to accept one another. The purpose of the family coming together in group sessions is to improve communication, get along with one another better, to be happier, and reduce tension.

In Case Study 5.1, Mrs. James not only effectively started her class with sharing her own experiences and building relationship with her students but also emphasized the importance of group work, which is in helping and learning from each other. She illustrated the following strategies and routines that supported cooperative learning: room arrangement, talk and movement procedures and individual accountability by building students’ social, explanation and sharing skills.

Park’s classroom is designed to limit student distractions. The students are seated facing the board in columns and rows. This seating arrangement is used during the warm-up and instructional period. However, when the students are working independently, they have the option to work by themselves or rearrange their desks to work with their peers. The teacher’s desk is off to the side so that each student is visible while the teacher is at the desk, although Mrs. Park rarely sits at her desk during the class period. The frequently used materials such as calculators, paper, pencils, and textbooks are easily accessible but do not impair students’ ability to see the

I always thought that working in groups meant one or two people doing all the work and the rest just goofing off. But in our group each individual had a specific task that they had to perform to make sure the group assignment got done. The group consisted of 9 people who are as followed; Christian Clark, Reilyenne Nahulu, Michel Rivera, Hunter Salavea-Timoteo, Kashalynn Vergara, Paola Guadalupe Gonzalez, Kobee Ledward, Bryje Ahia, and Jeremie Saludares. The analysis covers the importance of an interesting topic, preparation needed, roles I played, things that went well in our group, could've done better, and the two important things about group communication.

Lining up and walking down the hallways is a procedure that we have also. In our classroom, we have sixteen pieces of tape lined up in front of the door, one for each student. I first started this procedure to be sure no student was left behind in the classroom. It helped with that while at the same time giving children their own space. Our line consists of a line leader, two door holders, other students, and then at the end is the caboose. Everston and Emmer (2013), talk about how line leaders are helpful and the children like the privilege of this job. They also talk about how noise can disturb other classrooms so it’s best to not allow any talking. This is very true in our school setting. There is a flex-learning area for K-6 grade that we walk through each day. The tape for the leader, door holders, and caboose are all different so the children know where to stand. Children are expected to be quiet and to keep their hands to themselves as we walk down the hallway. To help with this we say our hallway rhyme, “Peanut butter lips, marshmallow toes, hand down to our side, and follow our nose”.

During the course of the lab, my group did not face any complications. We smoothly worked together and switched jobs often to allow everyone to experience each one. The job of using the denailing gun was exhilarating for me. I wanted to be on that jobs for the entire time, yet knew I had to share the wealth. As I used the denailing gun, I kept trying to grasp an idea of how it actually worked. What are the mechanics in the inside that allows a nail to go flying out of a wooden board? How did an inventor design such a helpful device? Why did he decide it was needed? Were they a deconstructor like us?

Some group members get good grades even though they work less as compared to others.

2) Group Work: When the instructor at front finish perform a series of movement, let students form a small group (three kids

A group engages in certain processes that naturally occur when a set of individuals are working together. In the Orientation phase, the needs of group members are to be oriented to the task, that is, to define the task, specify issues, identify expectations, and explore the nature of the work. From this, members develop a common understanding of the group's purpose. In the Testing and Dependency phase, participants generally act as if they depend on the leader to provide all the structure. They look to the leader to set the ground rules, establish the agenda, to do all the "leading," while the group members acclimate themselves to the setting. Group members exhibit behavior to test what behavior is acceptable and what is not, and begin to establish boundaries, to consider themselves as individuals in relation to the group, and to define the function of the group and the leader. This phase generally concludes when there is general agreement that the goals are achievable and that change is possible--whether it be changing behavior, making a decision, or solving a problem. Organizing to get work done involves a number of group decisions. These include establishing work rules, determining limits, defining the reward system, setting the criteria for the task, dividing the work and assigning individual responsibility for particular tasks. As it relates to