What You Need to Know:
Working in groups is something that your students will encounter not only in the classroom, but in their professional careers as well. The following resources will provide examples of possible assignments as well as tips on how to foster positive group experiences for your students.
Things to Consider:
When assigning group assignments, there are several things to remind your students. First, they should take time to think about and assign group roles.
Group roles tend to fall into one of four categories:
- Task Roles – these are roles that either help or impede a group’s ability to execute the tasks at hand
- Social-Emotional Roles – these roles aid in relationship-building within the group itself
- Procedural Roles – these roles are centered around the completion of the task itself
- Individual Roles – these roles are often centered around the individual rather than the goal itself
After assigning their roles, students have logistical and delivery items in mind.
- When speaking as a group, each group member should be aware of their nonverbal behavior. If they do not appear interested in what the speaker is saying, their audience will not be as inclined to listen.
- Transitions between each speaker should be clear and effective.
- When deciding who will present what – play into each speaker’s strengths. If one group member consistently has strong introductions, suggest that they be the one to present the introduction for this assignment.
Lumen Learning. (n.d.). Group Roles. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/atdcoursereview-speechcomm-1/chapter/groups-roles/#:~:text=We%20organize%20group%20roles%20into,ability%20to%20accomplish%20its%20goals.&text=Procedural%20roles%20are%20concerned%20with%20how%20the%20group%20accomplishes%20its%20task.