In an era where active student participation is recognized as essential to effective learning, teachers and instructors in all settings use group discussions as a method of promoting more active participation.
While some critics warn that brain-based learning research tells us that time for individual reflection is still needed, it’s hard to deny the fact that group activities promote more active participation from most students. Furthermore, they are cost-effective and relatively easy to implement.
Teachers look for creative ways to structure group tasks, but some do not recognize the importance of effective group functioning to achieve learning goals. Simply handing out a task to a group is often not enough. The group must be able to function to accomplish the task and, at the same time, achieve beneficial learning outcomes for each participant in the group.
The academic discipline of Social Psychology has been studying how individuals perform in groups for decades. While there may be some debate on some issues, a review of the literature reveals five key dimensions of group functioning cited by most experts. Although there are differences in terminology, the underlying meaning is the same. The following five dimensions were popularized by organizational psychologists Robert Blake and Jane Mouton in their book Spectacular Teamwork. Here are the dimensions:
1. Power and authority
2. Roles and responsibilities
3. Norms and standards
4. Morality and cohesion
5. Goals and objectives.
All groups, even those meeting for the first time, will exhibit these dimensions to varying degrees based on their personal experience. In seminar and workshop settings, participants come from organizations structured under a “boss.” In the absence of an appointed leader, some groups may choose to elect one. In other cases, a member emerges to play the role. The point is that at some level someone in the group must have or assume the power and authority to provide direction to the group.
In some highly structured work groups, roles and responsibilities are assigned for different aspects of group operation. Person A could be the designated timekeeper, while Person B is the designated group recorder. In other cases, roles are assumed and different members may play different roles at different times.
Norms and standards are guidelines for acceptable behavior. For example, some workgroups have discussion standards that only allow participation when the leader recognizes an individual. Other groups have norms that allow some individuals to contribute little to the discussion without being questioned. In a seminar setting, these norms and standards will develop over time, but initially, they are nothing more than the sum total of the experiences of the participants.
In the early stages of development, groups lack cohesion or a sense of unity. Consequently, morality is often neutral. Over time, effective functioning leads to greater cohesion, and successful outcomes build a sense of morality.
Finally, all groups have goals and objectives. The most obvious is the result of the group defined by the task. However, each individual in that group has their own goals and there can be a wide divergence between those goals. In some cases, individual goals can be conflicting, making it difficult for the group as a whole to work toward a common goal.
