What is group work method of teaching?
You are here Show Largely grounded in Vygotsky’s sociocultural theories of learning, collaborative learning can be a powerful strategy in the classroom. Group work can help students uncover and address
gaps and misconceptions in knowledge, further developing their conceptual frameworks while improving their public reasoning and team-based skills (John-Steiner and Mahn, 1996). In this way, group work frees instructors to challenge students to higher orders of thinking, rather than remediation. More skilled or knowledgeable students can also provide scaffolding for their peers in this setting to advance
learning (Chaiklin, 2003). While the educational benefits of group work are numerous, so are the challenges. Students may feel resentment if a group member does not adequately contribute to a particular assignment, or, a student within a group may become overly dominant and prevent others from contributing to decision-making processes. Instructors should consider best practices around collaborative learning to mitigate challenges from the beginning, encouraging a smoother group process. ExamplesCollaborative learning can be implemented in the college classroom through a variety of ways:
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Additional ResourcesCohan EG and Lotan RA. (2014). Designing Groupwork: Strategies for the Heterogeneous Classroom. Third Edition. New York, New York: Teachers College, Columbia University. Collaborative Learning: Group Work - Cornell Center for Teaching Innovation Working in Groups - Harvard Bok Center for Teaching and Learning ReferencesChaiklin S. (2003) Chapter 2. The Zone of Proximal Development in Vygotsky’s Analysis of Learning and Instruction. In, Vygotsky’s Educational Theory in Cultural Context. A Kozulin, B Gindis, V Ageyev, S Miller (Eds). New York, New York: Cambridge University Press. P. 65-82. John-Steiner V and Mahn H. (1996). Sociocultural approaches to learning and development: A Vygotskyian framework. Educational Psychologist 31(3-4):191-206 What are the benefits of group work in the classroom?Group projects can also help students develop skills specific to collaborative efforts, allowing students to.... Tackle more complex problems than they could on their own.. Delegate roles and responsibilities.. Share diverse perspectives.. Pool knowledge and skills.. Hold one another (and be held) accountable.. What is group work in classroom?Group work refers to a collaborative learning environment where students work through problems and assessments together. Students are able to delegate roles and responsibilities, pool their knowledge and skills and receive support from one another.
What are the 4 types of group work?Four types of group work are best known and most researched: collaborative learning, cooperative learning, problem-based learning (often known by its acronym, PBL) and team-based learning (also known by its initials TBL).
What is the main purpose of group work?The aim of group work is to enable you to undertake more detailed and comprehensive projects leading to deeper learning. This is achieved through the combined talents of group members contributing knowledge, skills and ideas. One difficulty with group work is that you can't work as quickly as you can by yourself.
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