I might be in the minority here, but if I’m in a classroom, I love to hear the noise and chatter of students. GASP! Yes, for real! Am I the only one who cringes when it’s crickets in the classroom? Let’s clarify a few things: No, I don’t mean the noise of rowdy, off-task students or the noise of a teacher finally reaching his or her breaking point. I mean the noise of students talking, collaborating, and creating things in order to develop a more meaningful learning experience. In other words, I love the noise of successful small group work.
Small group work is one of my favorite strategies for teaching. I don’t think that’s a phrase a lot of teachers utter. Small group work has gotten a bad reputation over the years. It causes behavior problems. Students just copy each other. They never get the actual work done. All of that can absolutely be true. I’ve seen it. I’ve experienced it. But, if it’s done right, it can be beautiful.
Not only does successful small group work put ownership on the students for their learning, but it also teaches them soft skills like problem-solving, communication, conflict resolution, listening, and so on. Doesn’t it just breathe life into the classroom to see and hear students working together successfully?
The keywords there are — together and successfully. This is so much easier said than done. Picture this. When I did small group work in my first couple years of teaching it sounded something like this: Okay. Pick a partner, no more than three in a group, and read this short article. Then, answer the questions and we’ll talk about it tomorrow.
As you can imagine, it was not a successful venture. Students grouped themselves based on friendships rather than who they might be the most successful with (shocking, right?). There were a lot of side conversations and comments like It’s not due until tomorrow? Cool. I’ll do it later, or Oh, we have five minutes left! Hurry! You do these questions. I’ll answer these questions. Then, we can copy each other’s answers. I found that my classroom would slowly descend into chaos with little actual work being done.
It’s a little embarrassing to admit this was my classroom in the early years. However, I think we’ve all been there at some point in our teaching careers. I learned from it and have tested and implemented some great strategies along the way. Now, group work is one of my favorite ways to have students learn—but only if it’s done right. That being said, here are five of my top tips for successful peer collaboration and group work. Pay close attention to the one resource that changed the game for me (and snag your free, editable copy of it!).
Successful Small Group Strategy #1:
Use Precorrects
Using precorrects, or front-loading expectations, means students know exactly what the expectations are before they begin collaboration. Depending on the activity, you need to set up boundaries of what needs to be done and how it needs to be done. If you don’t have clear, concise, and consistent boundaries in setting expectations, collaboration more than likely will not be successful.
There are four hard and fast expectations that I give my students every time they work together.
- Be responsible. You are to be focused on completing the task with your best effort.
- Be respectful. Respect and encourage all voices in your group.
- Be safe. Stay in your own space and keep your hands and feet to yourself.
- Work together. You are working on the same task at the same time. Take turns being the first to offer a new thought or suggestion.
If small group work includes something “out of the ordinary” such as moving around in stations, I will then expand on my expectations for that particular activity as well. It might look something like this:
- You will have two minutes at each station. I will time you.
- Do not move to the next station until you hear me say, “Rotate!”
- You will rotate clockwise around the room. Meaning station one will go to station two, station ten will go to station one, and so forth.
When you are clear with expectations, students have no excuse for poor behavior. Productivity increases because they know you have standards and questions about what to do decrease significantly.
Successful Small Group Strategy #2:
Proximity
How tempting is it to go sit at your desk and grade papers? Or, maybe you just need to quickly respond to that parent email? I get it. All teachers need more time. I’ve been there and done that. That being said, you can have all the expectations set up that you want, but it won’t mean anything if you are not there to enforce them.
I’m not saying you need to be a tyrant walking around the classroom searching for the smallest thing to attack. I’m saying, you have to be present to reinforce good behavior and redirect poor behavior. Your presence and real-time feedback are vital to small group success. You need to be constantly moving around the classroom to review their work, guide them in the right direction, and answer questions for anything they are struggling with.
Successful Small Group Strategy #3:
Have a plan ready for students who don’t meet expectations.
You must have a plan ready to go for students who are unwilling to meet the expectations you have set. Yes, we know there will always be a student who will test the boundaries no matter what you have put in place for them to be successful. If you don’t have a predetermined plan for what to do in that situation, small groups will flounder because students will realize that you don’t know how to enforce the boundaries you have set.
Examples of consequences I have used before vary. I have listed some examples below:
- Sitting at a chosen desk (usually in the front) and completing the activity by themselves
- Being asked to wait in the hallway and calling a parent/guardian together
- Coming in during lunch time to complete the activity with me
Whatever you decide on, you need to tell them what the consequence will be beforehand. And, yes, you have to enforce it if needed. So, don’t include a consequence you have no intention of keeping. That’s when they start to walk all over you.
Successful Small Group Strategy #4:
Checklists and Timers (GAME-CHANGER)
Confession time: I love checklists. The feeling of crossing something off the list when I get it done gives me such a sense of accomplishment. In fact, sometimes, if I get something done that wasn’t on my list, I’ll add it, just to cross it off! Tell me I’m not the only one.
So, I had an epiphany when I was trying to figure out how to improve my small group productivity. A checklist! Not just any checklist, but one that kept them accountable for quality work and kept them on a strict timeline. I couldn’t find one I liked, so, I created one!
The checklist I created is broken down into small, manageable tasks. Each task has details of what they’re supposed to do, and about how long that task should take to complete. Now, here are the parts of the checklist that really changed the game for me:
STOP SIGNS
If students see a stop sign after a set of tasks, they know they have to get my signature before they’re able to move on to the next task. This is beneficial for MANY reasons. Here are a few:
- Students know they have to have quality work, or I won’t sign off.
- Seeing their work while they’re in the middle of the process allows me to see what I need to clarify or reteach.
- It easily shows me which groups I need to check in with for extra help.
RUNNING TIMERS
On my front board, I keep a running timer of how much time they have left to work. This helps students stay on task during small group work. When they see on their checklist that a task shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes, they can look at the timer and gauge their progress from there.
Does this take a little more prep on my part ahead of time? Yes. But, it’s so worth it. Plus, once a checklist is made, I can reuse it each year! Click here to grab a free, editable copy of this resource for you to use for YOUR classroom!
Successful Small Group Strategy #5:
Assign Groups (at first…)
If students can handle it, I’m a teacher who really likes to allow students to be able to choose who they work with for small group work. That being said, I think it’s really important to assign small groups when you’re just starting to venture out in this area. There are a couple of reasons for this.
First, our classroom needs to be a safe place for students—physically, mentally, and emotionally. Imagine the panic if you’re an introverted student who is told to find a small group to work with. You don’t want students embarrassed because the teacher has to find a group for them to join. Assigning groups eliminates this feeling for those students who don’t yet feel like they fit in with someone in the room.
Second, students are generally going to flock to people who are their friends or people they know will do most of the work. This is a recipe for classroom chaos to descend. When you assign groups, you have the power. Don’t just assign groups at random, but really put some time into it. Who works best together? Who needs a little more structure? Who is a natural leader?
If after a class proves to you that they can be productive and mature in a small group that you assign, you could start venturing towards letting them pick their groups. However, frame it as a privilege that has to continually be earned and, therefore, can be revoked at any time.
There you have it! That’s my top five ways to get groups to be productive and efficient while turning in quality work. Do you have any suggestions for successful small group work? If so, comment below!
Before you go, remember to grab your editable copy of the checklist TODAY!