Group work provides an effective strategy to expand the instructional repetoire of teachers who rely too heavily on the use of a lecture format. This is important because a frontal teaching style has several serious limitations. A lecture format will often limit direct contact between the teacher and her students. Standing next to a child can be a quick and easy way to get that youngster back on task and limit distracting behavior. Lectures often engage only the auditory learners in the class, failing to provide meaningful input to visual and kinesthetic/tactile learners. Unless a lecture is truly motivating and inspiring it is unlikely to hold the attention of active learners. Small group instruction can overcome these obstacles.

The use of group work also creates an environment in which a variety of cooperative learning strategies can be implemented. Cooperative learning has been shown to improve student achievement, increase the participation of reluctant learners, and promote positive social relationships among students. There are a dozen or so well regarded instructional strategies under the cooperative learning umbrella. The work of Johnson and Johnson, Robert Slavin, Reuven Feuerstein and others should be considered.

Dividing a class into groups allows the teacher to rotate through the clusters of students to observe them as they work, provide additional instruction, offer immediate feedback regarding the students' efforts, and informally assess the quality of the work being done. If the teacher observes a general lack of understanding on the part of a number of students, reteaching can be planned. In other cases, the need for enrichment may be indicated. This type of small group work is a critical part of learning style-based instruction (see, for example, the work of Ken and Rita Dunn, or Bernice McCarthy) and differentiated instruction, most notably promoted by Charlotte Danielson.

Following some skill training and practice, group work enables students to share their thinking, brainstorm ideas, learn to consolidate, evaluate and edit the contributions of group members, and take pride in their work as individuals and as members of a team. This type of group work can be important when organizing a classroom for balanced literacy instruction.

The negative aspects of group work tend to emerge when there has been a lack of prior preparation. Before beginning, the teacher needs to determine how students will be grouped, what outcomes are sought, how youngsters will be evaluated, etc. and then teach the students how to work effectively in a group. Given these prerequisites, group work can be a valuable addition to most classroom programs.

Learn more about this author, Dr. Mark Rosenbaum.
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