Every effective classroom teacher uses small and cooperative student groups to enhance instruction. The natural appeal of small groups is that they are constructivist, cooperative and collaborative. Watch a cooperative group of technology savvy students, complemented with laptops and Internet access, do research for a class multimedia presentation: It is breathtaking.

Planning for Small Group Activities

There are many considerations that go into planning for effective, small group instructional activities.

• Motivation: Mature students know busy work from real projects. There will be trouble if you are putting students in small groups without any connection to lesson-based goals or poor task expectations.
• Age: The younger the group, the more accessible, clear and written down the directions should be. The directions should be step by step and in everyone’s hands.
• Ability Level: The lower the ability level of the students, the smaller the group should be. Weaker students get lost in a big group.
• Directions: The directions for expectations and methods should be written down, posted, online or easily accessible. Confusion in a small group will cause more noise, more questions and less engagement.
• Examples: A good example does not discourage creativity, as long as it is introduced as an example and not a model.
• Time: Work fills the time allotted for it. Turning whole class sessions over to group work can result in distractions and disengagement. If students are given a fixed amount of time within a session to work as a group, they tend to be more productive.

Determining the Size of the Student Group

I have always recommended that group size should vary between 3 and 5 students. Two students is a pair, not a group. Any more that 5 students makes it hard for at least one or two students to stay engaged, unless there are very specific roles for everyone that is explained in the directions.

Seating the Group

Seating students so they are facing each other is a very important. If students some students are “looking in or over” others, they will eventually not participate. If they are not comfortable, then they become quickly disengaged. Fixed seating interferes with engagement because eye contact is difficult. A four-desk arrangement with two students facing two students is a classic elementary school arrangement for collaboration and cooperation.

Establishing Assignments Within a Group

Without assigned roles, students will drift toward what they do best. This may leave tasks undone or not done. The normal roles in a cooperative group are materials manager, recorder, timekeeper and taskmaster. The materials manager makes sure that all items needed to complete the project are gathered. The recorder takes notes from conversation, makes sure everyone understands their role and reports back to the group. The timekeeper makes sure different parts of the project are completed on a schedule. The taskmaster makes sure that everyone in the group is helping with the project.

Managing Individual Groups Within Classroom Sessions

I recommend two immediate teacher rotations around the room as groups form and start their work. The first rotation is the “On-Task” visit. In this first pass by the group, the classroom teacher checks to see if everyone is “On–Task.” They check to make sure all materials are available. They ask if anyone has any questions. They remind students of expectations and clarify goals. This teacher pass by the group insures the group has started their work. The second rotation by the group is the “In-Task” visit. This second pass monitors progress. A group that is not “On-Task” never gets “In-Task.” The result is disengagement and discipline problems.

Managing Group Noise

Effective teachers are constantly mindful of the noise level produced by small group activities. Circulating around the room checking for “On-Task” and “In-Task” progress also lets the teacher monitor the noise level. It is important to quiet down the groups that are too noisy. When students are working in groups, ‘busy noise” is a wonderful sound.

Monitoring Work Completion

Continuing to circulate around small groups also lets the teacher assess the progress of the group. As they begin to move toward completion, the effective classroom manager starts to anticipate the next activity. This is called “overlapping” and is a characteristic of effective managers. Overlapping reduces transition time, noise during instruction, and increases instructional time.

Evaluation of Group Work

There are nothing like rubrics for evaluating projects and encouraging high performance. Include the rubric in the project directions. Lots of project rubrics are on the Internet. Rubistar.4teachers.org is a good place to start. I like Myread.org/organisation for a graphic display of small group options and considerations.

Dr. Douglas Brooks is a Professor in the Department of Teacher Education within the School of Education, Health and Society at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.  He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in classroom management.  His research on the first days of school is referenced in Harry Wong’s popular book “The First Days of School.”

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