GROUP LEARNING

An Academician’s Guide to Group

Dynamics

Prof. R Sathyanaryana
JSSATE, BANGALORE
BENEFITS OF WORKING IN A GROUP
 Several people can make more time / effort /
resources available than one
 A wider range of knowledge / skills /
experience shapes and informs the
deliberations and decisions
 More ideas can be generated
 A greater variety of ideas can be generated
 Errors and 'blind alleys' can be identified and
corrected/abandoned more easily
 Participation increases commitment
 BARRIERS
 Absence of or lack of adequate coordination /
organization
 Unequal participation, ranging from over-
domination by one or more individuals to partial
or complete opting out / withdrawal
 Harmful effects of differing status, over-exercise
of power, formation of cliques, and pressure by
sub-groups
 Pressures (external and internal) to conform or
polarize
 Absence of a systematic approach to the work
 Unsound / ambiguous / changing decision-making
procedures
 Premature evaluation of outcomes
GROUP DEVELOPMENT PHASES
-THEORY PROPOSED BY TUCKMAN

 Forming
 Storming
 Norming
 Performing

Groups and teams generally move through all

four before reaching a decision or completing a
task. Each of these four stages has identifiable
process features and a task-related outcome
THE PRACTICAL SCENARIO
The current consensus is that groups and teams
do not necessarily behave in such a sequential,
predictable fashion.

Rather, group behaviour may be a matter of

flexible progression and regression, with decision-
making / task-performance taking place via a
combination of the four basic stages occurring in
multiple sequences, to use the modern parlance.
THE DYNAMICS OF SIZE
Small Groups:
 Less formal
 Less rigidly organized
 Structured

Large Groups:
 Very formal
 No co-ordination
 Need a leader
ROLES PEOPLE PLAY –BELBIN,1981

 The Chairperson / Leader

 The Company Worker
 The Team Worker
 The Shaper
 The Ideas Person
 The Resource Investigator
 The Completer / Finisher
 The Monitor / Evaluator
ROLES PEOPLE PLAY

 Effective teams should, ideally, contain people

with all the above characteristics.

 Note that these do not necessarily need to be

eight different people, since most people are
capable of fulfilling more than one of these
roles.

 The most important role is that of the leader

EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS OF
GROUP LEARNING
Group learning improves:

 Problem-solving
 Decision-making
 Creative thinking
 Divergent-thought processes
 Open-mindedness
 Willingness to listen
 Communication skills
 General interpersonal skills.
…AND THE DISADVANTAGES

 Organizational problems
 Difficult to assess student performance fairly
 Requires active cooperation
 Various degrees of confidence
 Teacher’s Unfamiliarity
MODES OF WORKING WITH A GROUP

DISCUSSION
CLASS/LECTURE /SEMINAR
ROLE OF A TEACHER
 Group leader (giving strong direction to the
discussion)
 Group facilitator (generating self-expression and
interaction within the group)
 Neutral chairperson (controlling the procedure,
but not contributing substantially to the
discussion)
 Consultant (providing assistance and / or
information as and when needed)
 Or simply, Observer.
WHAT THE TEACHER NEEDS TO DO

 Exhibit good organizational skills

 Planning and structuring
 Be more adaptive
 ..and less authoritarian
 Allow open discussions
 Channelize when necessary
 Debrief
GROUP LEARNING TECHNIQUES
 Buzz sessions
 Small-group activities
 Class discussions
 Seminars
 Group tutorials
 Games
 Simulations
 Case Studies
 Group Projects