Group Work
This page contains some tips for assigning group work to your class as well as types and samples of group work activities.
Students work best in groups when given clearly articulated tasks. The best tasks:
- promote controversy,
- have a product (to be written and handed in and/or presented orally),
- can be accomplished in the specified time limit, and
- are directed toward broader learning goals for the course.
When possible, tasks should be written and distributed as handouts or posted on the board so that students may refer back to them. The best assignments specify:
- the question or problem to be addressed,
- the time frame for completing the project (this may be 30 minutes of a class period or several weeks of both in-class and out-of-class work for more involved projects),
- the form that the final product will take, and
- the kind of feedback they can expect to receive.
Group assignments should always include an element of reporting or critiquing.
- Presentations — whether impromptu or planned for longer-term projects — help groups stay on task and provide stakes for the work they do together. They also help students to develop speaking skills.
- Following group work, it is helpful to plan debates, class-wide conversations or additional assignments. These can make the class as a whole invested in the work other groups are doing, help students work through ideas prior to more formal assignments, and relate the group activity to broader learning goals.
Group Activities
There are numerous group activities you can try with your class.
