Study groups are more productive when they have a finite, well-defined, and achievable goal to accomplish
Particularly when students are first starting to work together, before a group work ethic has fully developed, it is important for them to accomplish something concrete within a specified amount of time. This might be everyone solving a problem or answering a check-up question correctly, either for a grade or for feedback. It may be a product, written or drawn, that they turn in or share with other groups. It may be an interaction with other groups in a debate, or having each group teach a problem that only they worked on to the rest of the class.
When students are rewarded with immediate results, it reinforces working productively together. Success breeds more success. At first, such rewards may be grade-related, but as students become more self-directed, the reward for working well together should ultimately be internalized.
Positive incentives are better for classroom culture than punitive ones
Finding natural, non-punitive incentives can have a powerful effect on motivation and classroom ambience. One technique is to give students enough time to finish “homework” in class, but only if they work productively. The self-imposed consequence of being off-task is having to take the work home.
Finding ways to have groups celebrate and find pride in their accomplishments is another useful technique. For instance, if there is a group task with a final product that can be shared, having every group see every other group’s work can generate constructive peer pressure. Using the best work as exemplars for the rest of the class serves several positive purposes at once—it bolsters effectiveness, enhances group loyalty and pride, and serves as a role model for other, less focused groups.
Group work is more inclusive and useful when every member has something to gain from the activity
Explicit conversations early in the year can help students see the value in participating in group activities. Ultimately, as the internalized belief in sharing the wealth drives group behavior towards inclusiveness, successful students will take on the role of teacher/mentor, and struggling students will come to understand that their study group can help them be successful.
Early in the year, however, it may be necessary to offer more traditional, short-term and externalized motivation for participating. There are, of course, many ways to translate group behavior into improved grades—extra credit if every group member answers a check-up question correctly, for instance. Again, it is better to have positive rewards than punitive consequences (say, losing credit if every member doesn’t do well). Eventually, no such external motivator should be necessary. Letting students know repeatedly that you intend to wean them off their dependence on grades as motivators reinforces the importance of self-directedness and learning for its own sake.
Feedback should happen frequently, particularly at the start of the year
Students need to reflect on how well they are working in groups as often as is practicable, until they have internalized productive behavior. One technique is to take time at the end of group work to have them self-assess how well they worked together. They can estimate what percent of the time they were on-task, whether every member participated, or whether struggling students got the help they needed. Comparing your observations with theirs can also lead to a fruitful conversation.
Above all, any feedback you give them must be nonjudgmental. You may want to pretend you are an anthropologist, dispassionately observing the interesting behavior of an alien culture.
It is important to teach students to how to critique their own behavior, with the clear intent of improving every group’s productivity. Art critiques may offer an useful analogy: in an art class, a student puts his work up for all to see, explains what he is trying to accomplish, and listens to the comments given by the class. They don’t criticize him as an artist and they don’t say disrespectful things about his work. Instead, they tell him whether or not what he has done in this instance is working from their point of view and offer suggestions as to why it is or isn’t. In essence, having many eyes on the work allows everyone to see more clearly.
Self-assessing group effectiveness can also be done individually, in writing. A short essay or a survey can help students focus on the specific functions of the group and how well they are doing at each function. No feedback should ever affect grades, since that will subvert the process and dramatically reduce the honesty and usefulness of student responses. If they don’t yet trust you enough to know you won’t punish them for their honesty, let them respond anonymously, but make them aware that you are expecting them to reach a point where they can trust you more.
Allowing the appropriate amount of time for group tasks requires sensitivity
With any group activity that requires less than a whole class period, a decision must be made about when to move on to the next activity. Certain guidelines apply. Every group should have enough time to complete the activity in their own way, including a reasonable amount of off-task time. (Remember, it is not realistic to expect any group to remain on task 100% of the time.) On the other hand, when groups are engaged in what you consider to be more-than-reasonable off-task behavior, a natural and non-punitive consequence is that the work is not finished, their goal unreached. That may mean students need to finish the work at home or that they simply won’t be able to each others’ assistance in doing it. Judging the right amount of time requires observing the behavior of all groups and assessing the appropriateness of moving on.
Responses to poorly functioning study groups should be prompt
Particularly at the beginning of the year, there must be a tenacious and relentless focus on getting the groups to work productively. Being assertive about it, however, does not mean using lots of force or being punitive. Instead, there should be a nonjudgmental assessment of the problem and an insistence on working to improve it. This should, if possible, include the students as part of the process. They will buy into the philosophy much sooner if they are part of implementing it.
Study groups are best grounded in self-governance
It is important to avoid top-down impositions on study groups. Students have often had what they have perceived as inauthentic experiences in other classes. Having specific roles like group leader, reporter, or note-taker assigned to them, for instance, can undermine students’ belief in their own autonomy and can increase their skepticism. They must come to trust that their study groups will not be just another teacher-dominated structure in a student-friendly disguise. Similarly, maintaining a nonjudgmental posture when groups do not function smoothly serves to role model the problem-solving posture you would like them to attain.
New tasks and challenges can be designed as opportunities for students to explore the skill of self-governance. As the functioning of groups matures, students should be given specific, open-ended problems or tasks, and encouraged to figure out how to organize themselves to solve them.
Self-correction is better than top-down correction
Since internalized motivation is at the heart of self-directed learning, student-driven improvement in behavior is preferable to unilateral correction on the part of the teacher. Working with students to resolve issues themselves contributes to their belief that the student-centeredness of study groups is genuine.
When working with a group, first discuss the nature of the problem. Find out whether students understand it in the same way that you do. If they do not think there is a problem, they will not be able to participate in fixing it. Guide them towards defining an immediate goal for themselves.
For instance, one possible way to address a group that is not working well together might sound like this: “What percent of on-task behavior can you achieve during the rest of this period? How will you manage to do that? Who will lead this group and pay attention? I’ll check back in with you at the end of the period and we’ll compare notes then.”
Help them define a longer-term goal and a time frame to achieve it. Tell them (and mean it) that you will hold them responsible for sticking to the plan. Check in periodically about whether they are successful or not. Remind them that the best solution is for them to fix the problem themselves. They will learn more that way.
Have patience with the self-correcting process. They need to learn how to solve their own problems, and they have had little or no experience with this important skill. On the other hand, when self-correction is not working, or taking too long, it is important to step in and make the corrections for them. That, too, can be a learning experience for them if it is handled in a non-judgmental way.