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Group Observation Report, Reflection, and Analysis

Lauren McCaskill

SOWK 411
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Group Observation Report, Reflection, and Analysis

For my group observation I went to Batesburg-Leesville Primary School with the

University of South Carolina Center for Disability Resources Palmetto Pyramid Police

Partnership (P4) social work interns. I got to observe four small groups that consisted of children

ages 4k- 2nd grade that have gone through or are going through a traumatic event.

Structure

These small groups meet every Monday for thirty minutes. Each group meets at the same

time every week and the times they meet depend on their grade and goes along with their school

schedule so they aren’t missing important things during their school day. Each child that

participates in these groups has been referred by a teacher and has parent consent for their child

to participate. The groups range in size depending on how many consent forms are returned and

how many children are referred in each grade. The day that I went, the groups ranged from 3-5

students except for 1 that had a child by himself.

The group norms for each group are different and depend on the age of the group and

what they are interested in. Each week, the group does fun activities that the students are

interested in while also helping them talk about their feelings. The social work interns want these

kids to be able to work through their feelings while also feeling comfortable in the group and

being comfortable sharing their feelings with them and being comfortable sharing their feelings

in front of the other group members.

With each group and their age difference, they have different interest so from what I saw

the younger children had a little more flexibility and play time while the older students had a

little more structure.

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Dynamics and Leadership

These groups are led by two P4 interns consisting of an undergraduate student and a graduate

student. Along with the two interns, their field instructor is also with them. Their field instructor

does not facilitate the groups with them but is there in case the interns need a little extra help or

get lost. The interns are not there to teach the groups anything, they are there more to help the

children talk through any feelings they are having about the events that are happening or have

happened in their life.

Since these children are young and have already gone through a lot in life, the dynamic of these

groups is very comforting and open. They want these kids to feel comfortable talking about their

feelings and how to work through them. They want these children to interact with each other

during the groups and outside of the groups. Some of the kids are in the same class so these

groups give the children the opportunity to make friends with other kids their age and make new

friends that have gone through similar things in life. They also want these kids to have this time

to have fun during the groups and want to come back each week.

Expectations. Considering I had never been to any group like these, I didn’t have many

expectations going in. This was also the first day that the groups had met so I was unsure of how

they would go. Although I didn’t have many expectations, I did have some. One of my

expectations is that I would see the kids enjoying the group. This expectation was met, and I got

to see the children having fun while also talking about their feelings. Another expectation that I

had was for the interns and I expected them to have control of the groups. The interns did great

with this, and they kept the students focused while also allowing them to speak their mind and

enjoy the time spent with the other students.

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Another expectation that I had before observing these groups is that the P4 interns will

make sure the students feel engaged and heard during the group. The P4 interns met this

expectation through all groups. During the groups, the kids were interested in the activities and

the interns participated with them to help keep the kids interested. The P4 interns also made sure

that everyone had their chance to talk while also listening to what the other children were saying.