The Exploration Of Group Work

Whether groups are formed for social or task oriented purposes, the ability to produce and maintain a sense of affiliation, peer support and collaboration is important for overall group functioning. The cohesion of a social group is produced through the establishment of a set of group norms, which are later defined as a guide for conduct accepted within a group of individuals. However, in order for a group to perform and produce results, the team leader should guide his/her team through the proper stages of group development, which includes the following steps: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. Although teams should follow all these stages of group development, the forming and the norming stages are the most important,

Learning how to work effectively in a group situation is key to success in many professions as well as in social situations. Groups vary from each other based on the individuals that make up each group, all of us belong to various groups at one time or another. The roles that we fulfill vary from group to

of the members were given and we were asked to finish a project on a

Groups may be defined in many ways, indeed providing an absolute definition of a group, as with much of the theory around group work, is highly problematic and contestable. However for the purposes of discussing groupwork within a context of working with young people we may define a group as a small gathering of young people. Group work may simplistically be described as the study and application of the processes and outcomes experienced when a small group comes together.

Group work has been a cornerstone of the social work profession and requires a variety of facilitator skills and awareness of group processes. The SSLDTM Group Program for People with Difficulties in Social Situations (Socialwork1914, 2017) provides an excellent example of a psycho-educational group co-facilitated by two female social workers, Jane and Karen. After viewing the 6th session of this 8-week program, I began to understand how the concepts of group formation/development, interpersonal dynamics, and leadership styles contribute to successful group work outcomes.

Working in a group can be beneficial but it can also come with hardship that is if others lack the drive and ability to work together. Working in a group takes effort; it takes psychological support, and cooperation. The foundation of group behaviors is something that can come and go but it takes a lot of effort to keep it going after so long. Although these efforts may come and go it is important to consider what it takes to work within a group, successfully. The article I chose to report on deals with the consequences that can come from those who are working in-group settings. It is important to understand what it takes to be productive and this research does the best it can to tackle those issues. It gives us the information we need to succeed and avoid anything that would go against those successes. One of the biggest concerns within group settings is the

the complexity of the group dynamics in the current era which makes these groups difficult to represent in a simple model. Furthermore, it fails to recognize that tasks benefiting the group and contributing to the group’s goal can and do happen at other stages than performing (Hall, 2010). Nonetheless, the model offers a useful framework for the group development through its applied perspective and common sense approach (Bonebright, 2010). The forming stage consists of orientation to the task at hand, gathering information on differences and similarities with other members of the group, desire for the acceptance, establishing communication methods and looking for guidance from the group leader (Tuckman & Jensen, 1977).

Stages of group development have been defined as forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (Tuckman, 1965, 1977). This widely accepted model serves as the basis for my exploration into the dynamics of group development. This paper will also look at the potential conflicts that groups may encounter for the first three stages as well as the possible actions and approaches to resolve the conflict.

The eyes being the windows to the soul, the Lord must have felt pity for me and gave me the blessing of glasses. The best vantage point in a class room is the back right corner, giving view of everyone in the room. Evaluating everyone to see what information they give away about themselves, so as to better align myself if group work does come into play. Within the first couple of minutes it easy to tell that this group ranges in a lot of type A and B personas, all more or less good assets to be used to get an A. I hear her before I see her, already that laugh has my heartrate at a dangerous high level, has it really been three years already!! With my persona, it’s only natural I gravitate to the Romantic Era. Whether it’s the ever-lasting struggle I face with passion over reason, the romantic era imagination and supernatural, which are either my favorite show or novels to entertain myself with, to the Eras

This chapter reviewed many different aspects of group work such as different processes and skills required to run several different groups. The groups discussed were open-ended group, groups hosted in residential settings, single-session groups, and large activity groups.

Teamwork can be complex and challenging given task and interpersonal issues, level of group motivation and expected performance standards. The concrete experience spoken about in this reflection piece is in reference to the effectiveness of myself as a group member and the group, working to write a report outlining the organisation and structure of Volkswagen. Dennison (2009) applies Kolb’s learning cycle (1981, 1984) which suggests that learning moves through a continuous cycle, between having an experience, and then reflecting on that action. This cycle has been developed from Lewin’s (1951) model for experiential learning. Reflection termed by Boud, Keogh and Walker (1985) ‘is a forum of response to the learner to experience’(p. 18). On reflection, the early set group dynamics was a defining factor in the experience, and how the team conducted themselves throughout the task. Meyerson, Wick and Kramer (1996) note that ‘such rapidly converging groups require methods for developing “swift trust”’ (p. 8), which can explain why initial group dynamics are so important. I took on multiple team roles, including group leader, which could be translated into the team not performing collectively on a high level, however, I could view this as a personal ineffectiveness of my leadership style.

Groupwork can be defined as a method of social work that is utilised in order to help individuals to enhance their social functioning through purposeful group experiences and to help cope with their personal group or community problems (Konopka, 1972). The role of groupwork places emphasis on sharing thoughts, ideas, problems and activities, allowing social action groups for instance, to “empower members to engage in collective action and planned change efforts to modify particular aspects of their social or physical environment” (Toseland & Rivas, 2014, p. 38; Pyles, 2009; Staples, 2004). Therefore, reflecting on the processes of groupwork is an essential mechanism for all professionals in order to develop better communication skills, conflict resolution and enhance future performance. This essay will reflect upon the task group processes that were conducted this semester, while evaluating my own role within the group and what was learnt working within a small group.

“Group work is a form of voluntary association of members benefiting from cooperative learning that enhances the total output of the activity than when done individually”.

I am Zeeshan Ali; I am working as a Computer teacher for Classes VI-X-M in Canal Side Boys Campus. I have done Masters in Computer Science (MCS) from Punjab University College of Information and Technology (PUCIT) Lahore. The students are the main focus of every teacher and our entire teaching efforts circle round our students to achieve the set targets. Effective Teaching includes many useful teaching strategies that a teacher chooses according to the requirement of his/her respective subject and topic as well. In result of my years of experience and as a Computer teacher I find Group Work as the most effective and fruitful technique at every level.

This assignment will aim to define what group work is, outline the history of group work, its advantages and disadvantages and the use of group for individuals suffering from ill mental health. The second part of this assignment will be a reflection that will outline the authors personal experience of participating in a group in the university setting and the challenges and growths associated with that. Human beings naturally form groups and are shaped by them. Usually beginning in the microcosm of the family and extending to larger societal and cultural groups.