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Steps to Ensure Support is Provided to All Class Members During an Assignment

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Steps to Ensure Support is Provided to All Class Members During an Assignment

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1. Allow time before group project begins for students to get to know each other and establish group norms and goals.
2. Assign tasks that require involvement and the fair division of work.
3. Require students to check in with teacher throughout the assignment to evaluate understanding.

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written by: Amanda Smith * edited by: Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch * updated: 7/12/2012

Accountability is one of the most important concepts to teach a child. Teaching students how to respect one another and work together as a team will help them succeed throughout their academic and working career. Here are seven steps to help create an accountability system in the classroom.

1. Redefine Group Work

Almost all students have had some experience working in groups. They have most likely worked in groups to complete large projects or worked with partners to complete smaller assignments. As the first step in creating a classroom accountability system, it is important to educate your students about what it really means to work in groups. Teach them how working with others holds them accountable. It is also a good idea to set up standards for group work in your classroom. Encourage students to hold each other accountable by limiting the amount of teacher facilitation. This will help students find ways to solve problems on their own and support one another during the process.

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7 Easy Steps for Creating a Classroom Accountability System

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Check out these seven easy steps to teach your students how to be accountable in the classroom. This is essential in helping students grow and succeed in their future endeavors. It is also a great way to create trust and team building in your classroom and may even cut down on bullying.

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"Courtney really gets on my nerves," Mario said to his coworker Amira. The two were sitting in the commissary, trays of food in front of them, ready to eat lunch.

"She has to be 'miss perfect' and flaunt finishing her projects," Mario continued. "Yet getting her work done before everyone else doesn't satisfy her-she continually asks other people if they've finished their projects yet. It's like she wants to toss us under the bus every chance she gets."

"She's obviously maneuvering for a promotion. Hopefully she'll get it soon and we can work in peace," Amira replied. The two began to eat their lunch, Mario wearing an expression of agitation, and Amira simply looking disinterested.

"Ravi on the other hand does absolutely nothing," said Mario with a sigh.

"I can't believe Tanya hasn't said anything to him, even after he missed the RFP deadline. What kind of manager is she? I wish she'd crack down on him," responded Amira now wearing Mario's look of agitation on her face.

"Have you finished updating the client files?" Mario asked Amira.

"Not yet," she replied. "Have you finished the research you were working on?"

"Not yet," Mario said, bored at the thought of the research. "It will get done eventually."

"Yeah, we finish when we finish," Amira said as she stood up with her tray, headed to the trash bin, and prepared herself to get back to work.

Back in the office, Tanya, the team manager, is frustrated. Only one person on her team, Courtney, actually meets deadlines. And now the department head is coming down on her, accusing her of not managing her team properly. How can she get her team to get their work done?

Let's start by identifying the major problem that is affecting the productivity of this team: lack of accountability.

This Team Has a Problem: Lack of Accountability

The business dictionary defines accountability as "the obligation of an individual or organization to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and disclose the results in a transparent manner." It's simple: to be accountable to a team, a person needs to be clear about what they plan to do, execute on that thing, and let the team know when it's done.

But when it comes to teams, accountability must go both ways. For a team to function well, an individual is not only obligated to be accountable, they need to hold their coworkers accountable too. That means consistently asking for updates on clearly defined goals, and openly sharing their own updates. Yet holding others accountable is difficult because it can cause interpersonal discomfort. Patrick Lencioni writes, "Once we achieve clarity and buy-in, it is then that we have to hold each other accountable for what we sign up to do, for high standards of performance and behavior. And as simple as that sounds, most executives hate to do it, especially when it comes to a peer's behavior."

In the team above, Courtney is the only one holding herself and others accountable. And she is definitely facing interpersonal discomfort.

The Facts About Accountability in Business

Although being accountable is vital to teamwork, organizations across industries struggle with accountability. Take a look at these statistics:

93% of employees don't really understand what their organization is trying to accomplish in order to align with their own work.

85% of leaders aren't defining what their people should be working on - and an equal number of employees crave clarity.

84% of the workforce describes itself as "trying but failing" or "avoiding" accountability, even when employees know what to fix.

80% of people see accountability as punishing.

These are not small numbers! It looks like many organizations could use a lesson in accountability. Let's take a look at what teams that hold each other as accountable look like, versus teams that do not.

Accountable Teams and Unaccountable Teams: What do they look like?
Teams That Are Not Accountable

Create resentment among team members who have different standards of performance

Encourage mediocrity

Miss deadlines

Put disproportionate pressure on leaders to discipline

Teams That Are Accountable

Make sure poor performers feel pressure to improve

Identify problems quickly by questioning one another

Establish respect among team members who are held to same high standards

Avoid excessive bureaucracy around management and corrective actions

For a real-world example of the problems that come from unaccountable teams, let's visit the coffeehouse giant, Starbucks.

What Starbucks Can Teach Us About Accountability

During the economic slowdown of 2008, Starbucks took a hit-600 stores closed and profit fell 28%. Leadership during that time blamed the economy and increased price of dairy for the slump. That was until Howard D. Shultz came back as CEO after leaving eight years prior. He held leadership accountable rather than blaming things that can't be controlled, like the economy and dairy prices. He said, "Starbucks's heavy spending to accommodate its expansion has created a bureaucracy that masked its problems."

His solution? To create a strategy that developed brand trust. The initiative, called "My Starbucks Idea," created a way for customers to share ideas directly with the company and with each other. After 1.3 million users on social media shared 93 million ideas, the program was a success and Starbucks pulled out of its slump. Had Shultz not held the company accountable, it's unlikely the leadership team would have solved the problem.

So what can you do if you find yourself on a team that is not accountable and Howard Shultz isn't around? Try these three tips:

Set Team Goals and Team Rewards

People are less likely to watch someone fail if the entire team is at stake

The enemy of accountability is ambiguity

Ask Questions, Stress Inquiry

Agree on goals and then conduct inquiry-oriented dialogue. Questions help people deconstruct the details and try alternatives without being defensive

Break goals into specific elements

Analyze the details that accumulate to produce either success or failure

This makes it easier to identify specific steps for improvement

It gives people pride in the elements that went well

Helping the team see strengths and weaknesses holds others accountable to improvement

Going back to Mario, Amira, Ravi, Tanya and Courtney's team, we can see clear signs of a lack of accountability. Mario and Amira resent Courtney for having a different standard of performance. They even encourage each other's mediocrity with statements like, "we finish when we finish." The two blame their manager, Tanya, for Ravi's missed deadline, expecting her to discipline rather than holding their team accountable. And from what Tanya says, the team misses deadlines all the time.

What if they were more accountable? Mario, Amira and Ravi would feel pressure from the team to improve. They'd identify what stood in their way by asking questions and resolving problems quickly. They'd even strip some of the bureaucracy away, by not relying on management's use discipline to get things done. All of this would help establish respect among the team, which would now be holding each other to higher standards. And what do higher standards mean? Better performance.
Have you ever worked on a team that lacked accountability? What was it like? I'd love to hear about it. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter.

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Why Accountability is a Must For Teamwork and How To Create It

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"Courtney really gets on my nerves," Mario said to his coworker Amira. The two were sitting in the commissary, trays of food in front of them, ready to eat lunch. "She has to be 'miss perfect' and flaunt finishing her projects," Mario continued.

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From a leadership perspective, there's a real thirst for increasing leadership accountability. Executives have recently asked me various questions that linger over the concept of building team accountability to help them achieve their strategic plans while creating high-performing teams:

"How do I build accountability in teams? "

"How do I increase accountability in leadership and employees?"

" What else can I do to get people to do what we need them to do?"

"How can I hold a team member to be held accountable and still be seen as a good leader?"

"How do I balance leadership accountability and personal accountability when building a team of engaged employees?"

"Creating a culture of accountability is hard, how do I provide constructive feedback without being the bad guy?"

Building team accountability requires understanding a few dynamics because it's more complicated than we might recognize. It goes beyond the responsibility for the outcomes, which is obviously important. Still, effective leaders know that they need a culture of accountability in their teams that provide the input needed to achieve the expected team performance. Holding people accountable is one of the most important things that a successful leader does for organizational alignment, but it is also one of the hardest. It is one thing to outline your strategic objectives during team planning, but you need to create the culture to implement it.

First of all, teams - by definition - are made up of individuals. We can't forget that. An understanding is needed that society tends to truly value individual contribution while also (and separately) valuing team contribution. This interesting contradiction causes much confusion about which should be valued the most. The secret alchemy, then, is to simply sort out the confusion to start building accountability in the workplace. Without accountability in a team, it is much more difficult - and stressful - to achieve your quarterly plan. Each team member needs to be responsible for - and take ownership of - their actions, so the team can achieve results as laid out in the plan.

Team Accountability

We can do this if we recognize where the individual plays a more vital role and where teamwork plays a more vital role. For instance, when there's sudden chaos or an emergency of some sort, you want one or more individuals to step up and take the lead. On the other hand, teams are better when you need smart thinking to solve a problem or transform a process. Successful strategy execution must allow each of your team members the flexibility they need to make decisions and be held accountable for the results. Accountable leaders at all levels are responsible for holding people accountable and regularly reviewing goal progress with their teams to win the talent war.

That said, though, the individuals placed on a team matter. In an HBR article, Gratton and Erickson noted that the "greater the proportion of experts a team had, the more likely it was to disintegrate into nonproductive conflict or stalemate." These kinds of teams are not teams. They are groups of individuals coming together under the façade of working as a team. They're still a group of individuals.

Yet, most individuals in team formation want to do what they're supposed to do. Their intent is good. The missing link is that what the team is supposed to do gets lost in translation. It's assumed that they just know what to do, which is why our leadership development program is so popular as it provides actionable advice to develop accountable leaders and teams. Accountability training for leaders provides a positive return on investment as it builds accountability and trust throughout the organization.

Hopefully, your company isn't full of one crisis after another. If it is, then celebrating the individual might be your default solution. But for most companies, the continual journey is around improvements, innovation, and problem-solving. With that said, we can see the relevance of accountability in a team environment. Lack of accountability spreads quickly through the organization, limits productivity, kills morale, and destroys trust.

The missing link is that this 'team' of individuals needs to know what they, as a collective whole, are accountable for accomplishing. Personal accountability doesn't always translate to accountability in a team. As a leader, it's your job to provide them with a definition of what it is you're holding them accountable for doing and increase your communication to increase accountability. Consider implementing skip-level meetings to bridge the gaps between levels of management, start with our best skip-level meeting questions.

To do this, consider using The Five C's Framework for Building Team Accountability:

1. Common Purpose: Set the stage for any team initiative by talking about the 'why.' Why are they here? Why are they working on this project or this special task force? Connect what you need the team to do with why you need them to spend valuable time doing it. What's the point? Why does it matter? We always tend to tell a team of people what to do; many leaders are good at that. As a result, the 'why' gets completely ignored. The sign of a high-performing team is the ability to rally around a common purpose.

2. Clear Expectations: What is it that you ultimately need the team to do? These are the accountability questions leaders to set clear expectations for the team. You need to tell the team repeatedly so that all team members are clear on what is expected of them. It often takes several repetitions before the entire team can communicate them effectively.

Clarify: Are you looking for one specific viable solution to a company-wide problem, or are you asking the team to jointly agree on three potential solutions to present? Do you expect them to define a roadmap for the one (or three) solutions or not? Do you need them to present a list of pros and cons with their solution(s)? How do you want to be kept informed along the way? An email every Friday afternoon? A white paper three times a week (Side note: Please don't do this last one), or what? Whether it's an intact workplace team or a task force, use the Job Scorecard as a tool to help prompt your thinking as to what you need the team to be responsible for doing. Clear expectations are the cornerstone of accountability.

Accountable Leadership: If it's a special task force (vs. an intact workplace team), who's the person who's driving the train? In other words, who's ultimately accountable for making sure that what the team needs to do gets done? It doesn't mean this person is the only one doing the work; it simply means s/he is on top of it. The same would hold true for a new initiative for an intact team. You, the leader, shouldn't think you have all the power to check how things are going. Instead, who on the team can take the leadership role to ensure the transition gets moving and keeps moving? Who's accountable for driving the train? Do you accept responsibility when it is required?

In your mind, what does success look like when you achieve a goal? Setting up a metric for what success looks like clarifies the degree to which people are supposed to do something. Otherwise, you can get a checkmark that says, "We did it." But was it done relative to the expectations you had in your head? Define (clearly) what success looks like. (Side note: Avoid having a due date as a success metric. Any of us can produce a ton of mediocre work by a deadline.)

3. Communicate & Align: As time passes, as part of their leadership development, it's a leader's job to keep a team focused and aligned so that everyone's involved and moving in the same direction. How are they going to do what you need them to do? What resources might they consider using? Keep everyone focused. Over and over, communicate with them, ask questions, remind them why what they're doing is essential, etc. Your job as a leader is to keep them rowing in the same direction, especially when rolling out annual and quarterly plans. Communication and alignment are what provide life to any team because it's what fosters longer-term sustainability.

4. Collaborate and Coaching: Set the stage for collaboration all along the way so that adjustments can be made in real time. You can monitor progress and coach your people. Don't tell them what to do. Coach. Listen to them (80%) and talk with them (20%) to increase your team's performance. Nurture them to talk with each other. Be a resource for them. What roadblocks must be removed, and how can you help remove them? If what you've tasked your people to do is essential, then it deserves your support. Collaboration is at the heart of a great weekly team meeting, where the accountability rubber meets the road. Did everyone do what they said they were going to do? How are you coaching employees to take ownership of their commitments? An effective leader must first keep your commitment to building trust with the team, or they're doomed to failure.

5. Consequences: Most people see consequences, and they immediately think of a negative connotation. We overlook that consequences can also be positive, and every organization should use positive feedback. Make results and consequences visible. Talk to your team strategically vs. tactically, usually done through questions vs. statements. Secondly, for some reason, leaders are the first to let people know when something's not right or if it's gone awry. But when things go well, it's as if success is glossed over. The consequence of that, though, is that you help create a remedial culture. People are only noticed and given attention at weekly team meetings when things go differently than expected. So work to provide equal (or more) weight to what's gone right. Celebrate!

Need some help getting started? Rhythm Systems has programs that can help you execute your strategy with less drama!

Team Accountability Vs. Personal Accountability (Video)

Leadership Accountability: How Good Leaders Hold Their Team Accountable

Which of the Five C's do you find the hardest to do?

Which is the most important, and why?

You can take our team accountability assessment to see where you stand and how to improve.

Need help getting your team aligned to achieve your growth goals? Rhythm systems software was ranked the #1 easiest software to use, highest ROI, fastest implementation, and highest adoption rate on G2.

Additional information on accountability in leadership:

The Power of Systems and People: Accountable Leaders and Teams leadership development program to improve team performance and avoid being part of the great resignation.

You can take Our Team Accountability Assessment to see how your team stacks up.
Why You Need a Peak Performance Plan for Your A-Players Leadership Accountability Definition in Management
Level 5 Leadership - How to be a Level 5 Leader with examples
Team Accountability Begins with Personal Accountability How top CEOs Close the Strategy Execution Gap Follow-Up: The Key To Leadership Development Building Team Accountability: Job Scorecards 10 Signs of an Accountable Culture [Infographic]Growing Team Accountability in Your Organization 5 Steps to Having an Accountability Discussion [Video]
You can learn more about accountable leaders and teams.

Photo Credit: iStock by Getty Images

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Leadership Accountability: Build Accountability Leadership in your Team

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Building team accountability through leadership development requires that we understand a few dynamics because it's more complicated than we might recognize. Accountability in a team starts with personal accountability and accountable leadership.

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Reciprocity - People is so dumb! One of the most basic principles of human behavior is the tendency to reward the kind behavior of others. The reverse is also true; we are inclined to punish those who are unkind.

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Active Learning Classrooms: Sharing responsibility for learning

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Sharing Responsibility + Video Tips from Jessica at Revela

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Lev Vygotsky and Social Learning Theories

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Social learning theories help us to understand how people learn in social contexts (learn from each other) and informs us on how we, as teachers, construct active learning communities. Lev Vygotsky (1962), a Russian teacher and psychologist, first stated that we learn through our interactions a…

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Teamwork Theory: Tuckman's Stages of Group Development
Probably the most famous teamwork theory is Bruce Tuckman's "team stages model".
First developed in 1965, Tuckman's model is widely known as a basis for effective team building. Yet how many people really know how to use it?

Below we explain Tuckman's model and offer some fresh insights on how to take it further.

But before reading on why not take the chance to "team-up" with our great range of e-guides . The complete set is now available at half price!

You'll find advice, tips, tools and new models which you won't find anywhere else. You can read about the real benefits of our teams bundle in our article on team building activities. Or why not download your half price offer right now! You're in good company with satisfied customers from over 30 countries around the world. Click the image below to view some of our most popular e-guides:

Tuckman's model is significant because it recognizes the fact that groups do not start off fully-formed and functioning. He suggests that teams grow through clearly defined stages, from their creation as groups of individuals, to cohesive, task-focused teams.

Our e-guide: Build a Better Team, has been specifically designed to help you understand and use a team stages model. It contains a tool for each stage to help you build a high-performing team - as quickly as possible.

Tuckman's Teamwork Theory

Tuckman describes working with a team of social psychologists, on behalf of the U.S. navy. The team studied small group behaviour, from several perspectives. In doing so, Tuckman reviewed 50 articles on group development and noticed that there were two features common to these small groups: the interpersonal or group structure, and the task activity. From this he identified that groups evolved into teams via four common stages.

Firstly an orientation, testing phase which often led to a period characterized by a degree of conflict. This then generally resolved itself, leading to a more socially cohesive phase. Finally, groups settled to a functional phase, during which they focused on role-relatedness. To summarize these four phases, Tuckman coined the oft-quoted terms: "forming", "storming", "norming" and "performing".

Tuckman's teamwork theory is best illustrated on a graph which shows the link between group relationships (the horizontal axis) and task focus (the vertical axis). The optimal or "performing" position is reached when relationships have developed within the group and it has started delivering with a clear focus on the task.

However, Tuckman's ideas clearly indicate that it takes time to reach the "performing" stage, and it's normal for these teams to go through ups and downs as they develop relationships. Particularly in the early period, which is perhaps why Tuckman called it the "storming" phase!

The 4 Phases of Tuckman's Teamwork Theory

Forming:
The initial stage of team development during which individuals have not yet gelled together. Everybody is busy finding their place in the team, sizing each other up, and asking themselves why they are here! Find out more in our articles: Team Building Techniques and Teamwork Tips. The first offers advice on starting a new team while the second will help you take over an existing team (perhaps a far more common situation).

Storming:
People begin to see themselves as part of a team. However at this stage they may challenge each other, and the team leader, about such things as what the team is doing, and how things should be done. As the stage title suggests, conflict and confrontation typify this stage, as differences surface. This may result in some loss of performance or focus on the task, as the diagram illustrates.

Norming:
This is the phase where team members start to come together, developing processes, establishing ground rules, clarifying who does what, and how things will be done. This phase is characterized by a growing sense of "togetherness". Find out more about both the Storming and Norming phases in our article: Team Building Concepts.

Performing:
This is the final stage where increased focus on both the task, and on team relationships, combine to provide synergy. Performance is delivered through people working effectively together. We have written two articles to further develop this stage. Team Building in the Workplace will help you build a performing team. Characteristics of Effective Teamwork will help you and your team sustain that performance.

The value of Tuckman's model is that it helps us understand that teams evolve. It also helps us to consider how they may encounter different problems at different stages of their development.

One limitation of the model may be that it makes team building appear too linear and sequential. Although it's a useful analytical tool, we must remember that some teams may "loop" around in their development.

For example, not all teams evolve smoothly through Tuckman's stages but may yo-yo between norming and storming until they either begin to function, or are disbanded! Regardless of limitations, all well-conceived models can be useful in helping us to understand and better manage our circumstances.

Beyond Tuckman

Read our new book:

Uncommon Leadership: how to build competitive edge by thinking differently
"a tour de force ... all integrated into a fascinating intellectual package"

Professor Dennis J. Garritan, Adjunct Professor, Harvard University

Tuckman's famous phases are part of a teamwork theory based on stages of team development. His theory may have gained popularity partly due to the catchy labels for each of his stages.

However, it also provides a useful and simple way to think about how we humans interact in team situations. Firstly by illustrating that it's normal for teams go through stages as they develop. Secondly, by highlighting the need to manage different aspects of team behaviour at each stage of that development. The beauty and usefulness of Tuckman's model is perhaps in its simplicity.

Team development theories such, as Tuckman's group development stages, recognise that teams develop through different stages, from forming through to performing.

Whilst these theories give a useful understanding of different team requirements at different times, there are a number of questions that aren't particularly well answered by the models. For example:

How should you lead at the different stages of a team's development?

How do you identify when you are progressing through a stage?

How does the team develop in the organisational setting?

How is it affected by other outside influences?

The theory of group stages alone doesn't answer these questions. To do so, and thus to build a more robust teamwork concept, ideas about team leadership and outside factors need to be introduced. We've done just this in our STAR team performance model. You can see how this model applies to group stages in: Stages of Team Development.

This is the first of ten articles in our teamwork series. But for some practical tips on using teamwork theory, look at our great-value guides (below), or at our Team Building Exercises for all team stages.

Team Building Exercises and Team Stages

The exercises in this guide are grouped according to our team stages model. Remember, each team is unique and needs to be led through several developmental stages. These include:
Creating a new team or taking over an existing team

Exercise 1: Being a TEAM together

Exercise 2: True or false

Exercise 3: Who does what in a team?

Exercise 4: Getting the mix right

Exercise 5: Doing something for the first time

Exercise 6: Two years from now

Developing a team

Exercise 7: A clearer vision

Exercise 8: Mad, sad or glad

Exercise 9: Seeing the bigger picture

Exercise 10: Positive feedback

Exercise 11: Conflicting views

Performing and achieving results with a team

Exercise 12: Did you notice?

Exercise 13: Limiting beliefs

Sustaining team performance

Exercise 14: Scarce resources

Exercise 15: Keeping going

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Probably the most famous teamwork theory is Bruce Tuckman's "team stages model". First developed in 1965, Tuckman's model is widely known as a basis for effective team building. Yet how many people really know how to use it? Below we explain Tuckman's model and offer some fresh insights on how to take it further.

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Making Group Contracts | Centre for Teaching Excellence

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Assigning tasks to small groups during class can have many benefits, such as involving students in their own learning, making course topics come to life, deepening students' knowledge, and developing particular skills. Groups thrive most when their task is challenging and closely related to the course content, course objectives, and students' experiences and interests. The following are some sample tasks that you can adapt to your discipline. For more information about the types of small groups (e.g., Buzz Groups, Snowball) discussed in this tip sheet, see our " Group Work in the Classroom: Types of Small Groups " teaching tip.

Getting students involved early in the course

Break the ice or build a team atmosphere

If you want significant student participation during your course, spend time at the beginning of the term helping students to get to know and develop trust in one another. Ask students in subgroups to share something about themselves, such as their names; a personal triumph, trial, or challenge; what is foremost on their minds at the moment; or one reason they are taking the course. Or, if you'd like them to move around and meet many students, have them develop a list of ten things they would take with them to a deserted island and look for others who have similar items on their lists. For more ideas, see Race (2000) andSilberman(1996).

Discuss the Course Outline

In the first class of the term, before handing out the course outline, ask subgroups to generate a list of at least eight questions they have about the course (e.g., assignments, topics covered, grading policy). Then hand out the course outline, and give the groups time to find the answers to their questions. End the activity by answering the questions for which groups found no answer.

Develop assessment criteria

Have small groups develop a list of assessment criteria that they think would be appropriate for a specific assignment (e.g., essay) or for a particular component of their course grade (e.g., participation). Conclude the small group activity with a plenary discussion in which the class comes to consensus about which criteria to use. This task could work well with snowball/pyramid groups.

Making course topics come alive

Analyze case studies

Provide case studies for groups to read and analyze. You could extend this task by using a jigsaw format: have each subgroup analyze a different case study or a different aspect of the same case, or analyze it from a different perspective and then shuffle the groups so that in each new group, every member shares the information discussed in their original group.

Find and share news articles

Ask some of your students to bring an article, editorial, or cartoon related to a concept discussed in class. Begin your class by asking those who completed the assignment to share in small groups their findings with those who were not assigned the exercise. Move into a whole-class discussion by having volunteers share their examples with the entire class. Draw together the examples by identifying common themes and principles, and reinforce the concepts applied throughout the assignment. Rotate this assignment throughout the term so that all students are equally involved.

Create and enact role plays

Ask students to create scenarios related to a topic being discussed, which they can then share with other groups. This task can work well in fishbowl or buzz groups.

Create a commercial

Students create a thirty-second commercial that advertises the subject of the class - emphasizing, for example, its value to them (or to the world) and famous people associated with it. Ask them to create a slogan for the commercial. When presenting their ideas, groups can either describe the general concept and then outline or act out the commercial.

Debate a topic

Four-member groups debate a controversial topic. Two students take one side of the issue and two take the other. Then they switch roles and argue the opposite side. Finally, all members drop their advocacy and come to a consensus about the topic, or develop a report that synthesizes the best evidence and reasoning on both sides. This can also be done as a fishbowl.

Discuss quotations

Provide a "hatful of quotes" taken from the text or person being studied. Students in each subgroup take a quote, reflect on it for a few minutes, then read it aloud and comment on it. This provides reticent students with something concrete to speak about. Use of quotations works particularly well in a circle-of-voices groups.

Deepening thinking about a topic

Generate questions

At the beginning of a lecture, ask groups to make a list of questions based on completed course readings or on the lecture topic. Or, at a later point in the lecture, ask students in pairs to come up with questions about what was discussed. Double the group size and give students an opportunity to discuss and answer each other's questions before they are posed to you and the whole class. You may also leave the questions unanswered as suggestions for further research.

Another idea is to hand out two index cards to each student at the end of a unit or class. Ask students to complete the following sentences, one on each card: "I still have a question about..." and "I can answer a question about...." Create groups and ask each to select the most pertinent "question to ask" and the most interesting "question to answer" from the cards of their group members. Reconvene as a class and ask the groups to share their questions and answers. For each question raised, ask if another student has an answer before you provide your own.

Generate answers

This is the most common task for groups. Give subgroups one or more question(s) to answer about course reading material or lecture content.

Create quizzes

Divide your lecture material into short segments (e.g., three ten-minute segments). Divide students into the same number of groups (i.e., one for each segment). Ask the first group to prepare a short quiz on the first segment of your lecture. The quiz should take no more than five minutes to prepare. The other groups can use this time to review their notes. The first team then quizzes the other groups, either as a whole, or in turn, assigning points to a team when a question is answered correctly. Repeat this process with the other groups after your next lecture segment(s).

A variation on this is to divide students into small groups and give a practice "visible" multiple-choice quiz. Groups choose an answer within a short time, then you ask for their answers all at the same time. Groups indicate their answer with index cards, number of fingers, or some other visible item. You can then discuss the answers as a large group.

Strategize solutions

Have small groups work together on complex procedural or computational problems. They can either figure out the exact answer or, if the problem is particularly long or complicated, develop the strategy they would use to find the answer.

Review lecture or course material

Ask groups to provide a summary of the class content. Provide questions to guide their work, such as: What were the major topics we have examined? What questions do you still have? Alternately, at the end of the course, invite students to develop a "gallery of learning." Ask each group to discuss what its members are taking away from the class, such as: new knowledge, new skills, improvement in a certain area, new or renewed interest in a topic, confidence in a particular skill. Have them write these lists on large pieces of paper and post them on the classroom walls. Give students an opportunity to walk around and read the lists. Discuss the results with them, noting the most popular, unusual, and unexpected learning outcomes.

Strengthening skills

Develop listening skills

Divide students into four teams and give the teams the following roles: "questioners" (who ask at least two questions about the material covered), "agreers" (who report on which points they agreed with or found helpful and explain why), "nay-sayers" (who comment on which points they disagreed with or found unhelpful and explain why), and "example-givers" (who give specific examples or applications of the material). Present the lecture, then allow the teams a few minutes to complete their assignments. Call on each team to question, to agree, and so on.

Respond to student writing

Have pairs of students respond to each other's written drafts. Depending on the time you have available, ask them to provide oral or written feedback, informal comments, or answers to specific questions, such as "What is the thesis? What arguments are most/least successful? What do you still want to know about the topic?"

References

Race, P. (2000). 500 Tips on Group Learning. London: Kogan Page.

Silberman, M. (1996). Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject. Boston: Allyn and Bacon

Resources

CTE teaching tips

Other resources

This Creative Commons license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon our work non-commercially, as long as they credit us and indicate if changes were made. Use this citation format: Group Work in the Classroom: Small-Group Tasks. Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo.

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Group Work in the Classroom: Small-Group Tasks | Centre for Teaching Excellence

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Assigning tasks to small groups during class can have many benefits, such as involving students in their own learning, making course topics come to life, deepening students' knowledge, and developing particular skills. Groups thrive most when their task is challenging and closely related to the course content, course objectives, and students' experiences and interests.