Fadlilah Rahmawati

180221607080/C-C1

In the learning process, group work is effective to motivate the students, encourage
active learning, and develop key critical-thinking, communication, and decision-making
skills. Before asking the students for group work, the teachers need to consider 3 core steps
such as introduction, monitoring, and end. There are several advantages to give the students a
group work such as make the passive students taking part or speak up in the group, help
overcome, overcome the anonymity and passivity of a large class or a class meeting in a
poorly designed room, and make the students participate actively better for class.

In the introduction, the teacher can start with preparing for group work, designing the
group activity, forming the group, introducing the group activity. In preparing for group
work, the teacher should mind about how the students will be physically arranged in groups,
insist on professional and civil conduct, talk to students about their past experiences with
group work activity. When designing the group activity teacher should identify the
instructional objectives, they should decide their goals through the small group activity.
Small group allows the students to learn interactively because there will be a lot of possible
alternative point of view or solutions to a problem, giving students a chance to work on a
project individually, allow students to speak up, giving chance to teach each other, and giving
the students a structured experience. After identifying the instructional objectives, the teacher
continues with forming the group. Teachers can authorize students to form their own groups.
The important point is the teacher allows the students to form their groups first before give
them instructions because if the teacher gives the instructions first, the students may be too
busy deciding on group membership rather than listening to you. Then, the teacher can give
the students a task taking into account the level of difficulty of the task. The teacher can start
giving a relatively easy task early in the term to arouse students’ interest in group work and
encourage their progress. Besides that, the teachers should assign group tasks that encourage
involvement, interdependence, and a fair division of labour. In deciding the group, the
teacher should consider the number of the students, the way the students divided, and the
time for group work. After that, the teacher can directly give the task and the instructions of
the task. The instructions should clear and the teacher can let the students ask questions.
 After giving the instructions and the students start to work in a group, it is crucial for
the teacher to mentoring the group activity. While the students do their work, the teacher can
circulate among the groups and answer any questions raised. The teacher can also listen for
trends that are emerging from the discussions, so the teacher can refer to them during the
discussion. Let the students solve their own problems before the teacher getting involved.
The teacher might consider leaving the room for a short period because frequently the
teacher’s absence can increase students’ willingness to share uncertainties and disagreements.
Better the teacher clarify his/her role as a facilitator in the class. The teacher can go around
each group and hear everyone’s ideas (before discussing them) or encourage divergent
thinking by brainstorming. People mention ideas in any order (without others' commenting,
disagreeing, or asking too many questions). The goal is to produce as many ideas as possible
in a short time without evaluating them. All ideas are carefully listened to but not commented
on and are usually written on the board or large sheets of paper so everyone can see them,
and so they don't get forgotten or lost.

At the ending of the group task, the teacher can provide closure to the group activities.
The students tend to want to see how their work in small groups was useful to them and/or
contributed to the development of the topic. The teacher can end with a plenary session in
which students do group reporting. Effective group reporting can make the difference
between students’ feeling that they are just going through their paces and the sense that they
are engaged in a powerful exchange of ideas. The students can report it orally or in writing.
Although the plenary session should wrap up the group work, feel free to leave some
questions unanswered for further research or the next class period. It is also important for the
teacher to connect the ideas raised to course content and objectives. Ask students to reflect on
the group work process is useful reflection helps them discover what they learned and how
they functioned in the group. It also gives the teacher a sense of their response to group work.
They may do so either orally or in writing you a sense of their response to group work.