Contrary to what many believe, group work is not the same thing as productive group work. Furthermore, there is a stigma attached to group work and the fact that the teacher has to relinquish control in the classroom. This stigma is due to the fears associated with what could happen during group work. However, when teachers plan productive group work in their classrooms, the benefits are substantial and the possibility for the chaos associated with group work is reduced and/or eliminated. After reading the introduction to Productive Group Work, I found several key points that I think are the keys to transforming group work into productive group work.
* Teachers must have a way to hold individual students accountable during PGW
* Students must learn to communicate with one another over a meaningful task prior to engaging in PGW
* Teachers must pre-establish the conditions for the collaborative learning of PGW
* The teachers’ job is NOT to supervise by walking around the classroom
* This is an opportunity for RTI while the majority of the class is engaged in PGW
* Engage students in PGW that builds off what you did as a whole group, which was an extension of your modeling during an ‘I do’
* Soon after PGW, students will be ready for independent work
* Independent learning is the ultimate goal. PGW will help prepare students to achieve independent learning
Here are some of my thoughts... a couple are repeats of Eric's but with comments added.
ReplyDeletep. 1 – productive group work is “a necessary part of good teaching” and “when teachers get it right, something remarkable happens.”
p. 3 – thought about higher-order-thinking. Groups force kids to go further with their thinking. They have to listen, debate, and negotiate. They can improve self-esteem, relationships among students, and enhance skills.
p. 4 – I think it would be good to show staff that group work can start out with good intentions but often end with one of two students taking over, doing all the work and essentially doing all of the thinking/learning. This is not “equal” and is especially not fair to those kids that sit and do nothing.
p. 6 – gradual release may happen over time, not necessarily in one sitting – this thought is WAY different from what we are currently thinking… but is it too soon for us to tell this to the staff? We want them to always have the model in mind and eventually get to the bottom of the continuum, but will they fall back into old ways if we reveal this too soon?
I also think that guided is something that teachers need to work on. Too often, we observe teachers planning out the gradual release with certain points in the lesson moving ahead to the next level. However, teachers are not necessarily “checking for understanding.” They are still just moving along without the majority ready.
p. 8-10 – Guided instruction targets those students who are showing you NOW that they need assistance. It is not always possible to create groups ahead of time. Teachers should always have an idea, but allow for changes in groupings. This can also alleviate some behavior issues – like non-compliance. (Those students who show they don’t understand will continue to work with the teacher one-on-one or in a small group, while the others are working with peers.) This holds students accountable for doing the DO NOW, listening during the I DO, and participating and demonstrating understanding during the WE DO TOG.
p. 11-12 – the idea of bumping the lesson up for those that are ready is discussed here. The teacher should be prepared to not only assist those that need a little more, but make the task higher-order and challenging for those that are finished or are ready for more.
I think the comments Eric and Rachel made are exactly what we need to remember when using productive group work. I also liked how it was stressed that PGW can do more than just help students understand content – it helps them learn to work in a peer group! I also think the individual accountability piece is key. But I also remember Doug Fisher saying in October – that it is perfectly fine for students to coach each other in what to “write” or “produce” during this piece. I think this is important to remember. I think the key is making sure one or two students do not do the bulk of the work!
ReplyDeleteI also think students need a model for productive group work. I think they would be more successful if they could see what it actually looks like. (Maybe an ideas for our iPads?)
Finally, I really liked the exemplar in this introduction. I think it is a great example of how to use productive group work in math! It is also a great example of formative assessment and implementing RTI. I think this would be a good example to share with the staff!
I think Rachel and Eric hit the major points. To echo what they said, productive group work allows students to demonstrate higher levels of learning and retention than just working individually.
ReplyDelete"When teachers get the circumstances right, something remarkable happens: Students educate one another and end up knowing more than they would have working alone." This statement holds a lot of power. Productive group work can be a great tool for the classroom, but it could also be a waste of time.
"The teacher who has no more tools for the planning of group work than an initial attraction to an idea... is likely to run into trouble." Groups, tasks, and questions should be planned ahead of time.
Maybe the book will discuss this later, but when we warn teachers about what could happen/go wrong, then we need to give them ideas on how to improve/fix the problem.
Like Rachel, I was surprised that the gradual release may be done over time instead of lesson by lesson. I don't think this is worth mentioning to staff until they are comfortable with the gradual release. Maybe, if a teacher is ready for this information, then it can come from feedback during an observation.
Here are my thoughts from the introduction.
ReplyDelete• Pg. 1 When PGW is used correctly; students educate one another and end up learning more than they would have working alone.
• Pg. 3 Cooperative group work enhances student’s social and educational skills. (Think/Write/Pair/Share)
• Pg. 4 I think that the comment about why teachers do not use more PGW is very true. It is thrown together, usually at the last minute and the expectations and planned support are not appropriate for what is needed.
• Pg.5 Failed implementation of cooperative learning groups results from failure to CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING. How can a teacher move the students to a “You Do Alone” without some type of formative assessment? The teacher must be well prepared to check for understanding and know what they are going to do with the students who still don’t get it.
• Pg. 7 By using the gradual release we are building student confidence by allowing them to demonstrate their expanded competence.
• I like the scenario and how the teacher checks for understanding before using the PGW. The teacher then evaluates who gets it and who doesn’t. A point that I took away is that after working with the small group, the teacher still needs to go from group to group checking for understanding and asking the higher-order thinking questions.
PGW allows the students to practice with content and gives them opportunities to better understand what they are learning before moving on to independent learning. I can see this occurring from one lesson to another but I have trouble understanding how the gradual release can work over a months’ time. I understand that by checking for understanding the teacher cannot move into the independent learning until the majority of the class understands what they are doing. However, I feel that our teachers might feel that they have to get all parts of the gradual release into each daily lesson.
Aaron
I really like the exemplar and thought that it might be a good thing for some teachers to read when we get to that. It was great that it wasn't something the teacher did totally off the top of their head, but it didn't take a ton of planning.
ReplyDeleteI think it is great also (like Becky said) to allow the kids to have someone tell them what to write. It will take a lot of work to figure out all the bugs of cooperative group work and how to implement correctly in all rooms, but when we get it, it will benefit all the students.
What was said about gradual release confirmed my feelings about it. It makes more sense to do it over time. I think it took time away from productive group work or independent work if I was reteaching them something that they could already do during productive group work/independent work, but this can only be done if checks for understanding are in place. The science department and I had already talked about his during our planning and it seemed to make a lot of sense to them too.
The intro did pique my interest and makes me want to know how I can better implement this in my classroom. At my LETRS training last week , I learned a summarizing strategy that would work great for productive group work and holds kids accountable for working in the group.
It is hard to comment after reading everyone's ideas. Here are some quotes that I highlighted while reading:
ReplyDeleteP. 1 "The key to getting the most out of group work, to having groups be truly productive, is creating those "right circumstances." This is SO important for PGW to run smoothly because it takes time to set up the routines and procedures for PGW. Teachers must use time at the beginning of the year teaching kids "how" to work in a group. You cannot expect to throw some rules on the board and tell students to follow the directions. You have to "show" them how to do it correctly. The deserted island lesson that Kristin talked about in our Wednesday meeting would be a great community building activity that teachers could use in the beginning of the year to set up group work procedures.
P. 3 "A large body of research shows that students involved in cooperative group work demonstrate higher levels of academic learning and retention than their peers working individually." Simply put, we learn from each other.
P. 5 Most of the time when groups go wrong, it is because the teacher has failed to "check for understanding or link instruction with performance." There should be a reason why teachers are doing PGW, not just because they think they have to. Everything that happens in the classroom should tie directly to the learning goals and assessments.
P. 7 "The best productive group work allows students to apply what they have learned during teacher-modeled focus lessons and guided instruction, and they prepare students for independent learning, which is the ultimate goal of instruction." EVERYTHING MUST BUILD UPON EACH OTHER!
I agree strongly with the comments offered in previous posts. The PGW model outlined in the introduction is a must read for our staff. It shows the importance of paw and also allows teachers to see that with a little prep work the process will allow for tremendous growth for our students. I found the discussion of using PGW time to work with RTI thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I think we still need to focus on the formative assessment process to be certain that students are really ready to take on the responsibility of the class. Often I think we still have teachers who are relying on anecdotal evidence to determine when we take the next steps. Additionally, we know that all components of the gradual release or contingent on solid instruction in the “I do” and “we do” sections.
In the first few chapters of this book I see numerous opportunities for staff development and ways to familiarize our staff with the basic foundation needed to make pgw a workable and meaningful process.
I like the adult example of the JonBenet Ramsey scenario. I think we need to create effective productive group work for our adult learners. Sometimes the content could be a random piece of text that would be highly engaging. Their experience will give them a better perspective and practice as a learner. I do not think the Gradual Release Effective Lesson Design is way different than what the model is saying. You need to think through all these pieces for any skill/concept you plan to teach. It really forces teachers to break down the the learning objective into "chunks" while having a vison for the end result....success criteria. Teachers have always done both short 60 minute lessons and lessons spread out over time, but they have not always thought in terms of gradual release for learning. Depending on the success criteria gradual release could be a short lesson or an extended lesson. We need to show examples of both...video would be good. The most recent example would be the shared inquiry strategy Becky and Amanda taught using the effective lesson design. I have that picture in my head and can bring up real examples of each component delivered over time and not necessarily linear daily. The most exciting thing to me was when I witnessed students doing their final exam essay questions...TOTAL engagemnt, effort, and quantity (Becky and Amanda would need to comment on quality). I truly thought the class I observed(videoed) were successful because they in fact did experience a true gradual release of responsibility for their learning and were totally prepared and confident to show their learning on the final...very exciting! One of my favorite quptes is "Groups are smart". I think it would make a great t-shirt :). I am confident that the DRT group together are smart...we need to show the staff we are learners in this process and share honestly our mistakes and misconceptions so they are more willing to take risks. Remember Schmoker said "It does not need to be perfect!"
ReplyDeleteMarianne