group work

<b> Forum for discussing activities and games that work well in the classroom </b>

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Bethany.Blaine
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group work

Post by Bethany.Blaine » Sat Jun 09, 2012 11:09 pm

I feel that group work is an excellent way to get students motivated and involved in everyday lessons. It is a great tool to ensure students' comprehension because it enables them to communicate with other students and the teacher so much more. In order for ELL's spoken English to improve, I believe they should be communicating in their L2 in all group activities. Speaking in their L2 with their fellow classmates can allow for errors without judgement. Fun group activities can help students remember when and what they did to learn a particular lesson. Group work also gives students who are less-inclined to participate in class a chance to become engaged. I don't remember doing a lot of group work when I was in elementary school and I feel that it is something that I personally could have benefited from!

Sally Olsen
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Post by Sally Olsen » Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:03 am

Interesting though that the more group work that is done in schools, the more boys drop out. Do they enjoy the competitive ways of old? We always seem to make it do or die. Just because you can use group work and it benefits many of the students, we give up individual work which does motivate some students. I would think a balance works best or teaching to the individual child. You have to teach how to work in a group. It is not natural to some students.

AnnJ.Ring
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Post by AnnJ.Ring » Sat Jun 16, 2012 12:10 pm

That's is interesting to know, Sally! Also, I agree, a good balance of individual and group activities is essential for ELLs. I feel that, as a student pursing an ESL teaching degree, much emphasis is placed on having future students work in groups to develop speaking and listening skills; however, it's not always the answer to every ELL student. Relating to my personal learning experiences, I was always the quiet one, both in English and foreign languages because I preferred one-on-one settings to practice my speaking and listening because I could get immediate feedback. It wasn't until later when I finally accepted being part of a group or "breaking out of my shell." I can imagine that there are others, in all cultures, like this and we need to keep them in mind by having speaking and listening exercises where students can work individually. Also, when students have independent assignments, they can self assess and self correct instead of relying on others to explain their mistakes. This builds confidence and makes students aware of where they need to improve. Don't get me wrong, group work has its benefits, as well; however, individual assignments need to be thrown into the lesson plans just for good measure.

bozzy
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Location: NJ

Post by bozzy » Tue Jun 26, 2012 6:25 pm

I feel group work is a great exercise if the teacher puts the groups together when some of the students are less motivated or lets them choose if they are motivated. In my personal experience with group work in high school and college, I took the brunt of the workload in many instances when the teacher/professor randomly assigned us to groups. I generally had poor luck and got stuck with group mates who didn't want to work.

More recently, in my master's courses, I've been able to choose my group mates and it has worked out fantastically.

beckibenedict
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Post by beckibenedict » Mon Nov 05, 2012 9:02 am

I also like to use group work. In Asia, class sizes are often large, so using groups is essential. To prevent one student from doing all the work, I assign each student a role in his or her group.

Using group roles increases the effectiveness of group work, keeps students on task, and encourages each student in the group to participate.

The following is an example of roles I might assign:
Facilitator: leads the group discussion
Note taker: writes things down as needed
Reporter: presents information to the class
English monitor: makes sure everyone is speaking English
Time keeper: keeps track of how much time is remaining for an activity

For more information, see http://www.eflsensei.com/How-to-Assign- ... &tipNum=13.

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