Reading Reflection 4 - Groupwork Ch. 4-5

Chapter 4 of Cohen's Designing Groupwork discusses the need for "Teaching Specific Cooperative Behaviors" (p.44-52) dependent on the type of groupwork one has in mind for students to participate in. Cohen gives the example of the different student behaviors required for learning stations (different tasks in the room for students to work with their group members to complete) and for small discussion groups. Some of the student behaviors for learning stations include "helping students do things for themselves" and "explaining by telling how and why." For small discussion groups, student behaviors include "allowing everyone to contribute" and "finding out if group is ready to make decision." Teachers need to train their students in these behaviors specific to the groupwork they will have them participating in.
I think that it is important for the teacher to discuss with the class the connections between the training processes and the groupwork used to teach content. This will help students see the training exercises as more meaningful and will remind them of the principles of the training as they do groupwork to learn content. I also think that there are so many different principles for making groupwork successful, that it can be helpful to focus in on just one or two things that you want your students to remember for the specific groupwork activities you will have them participate in.

Cohen also discussed the skills students need in order to participate in high-level discourse. Students may be engaged in high level thinking during group work, but they may only verbalize the conclusions to their thinking. Students do not naturally discuss the logic which led them to their conclusions unless instructed to do so. Being able to articulate one's thinking process is important for communicating scientific ideas, analyzing social problems, and explaining the logic behind mathematical deductions. The skillbuilder "Rainbow Logic" (Appendix A, p.172-175) helps students develop the ability to communicate their thought processes.
It is important for us as teachers to help our students develop this skill of explaining one's thinking, as it will aid us in assessing our students understanding of specific content. If a student can explain their thinking, we can more accurately pinpoint the heart of a student's confusion or understanding. Training students to explain their thinking also helps them think more carefully, paying attention to why they think what they do.

Any of the skillbuilding exercises that one uses to train their students for groupwork need to meet the five social learning principles that Cohen discusses. These are:

1) New behaviors must be labeled and discussed.
2) Students must learn to recognize when new behaviors occur.
3) Students must be able to use labels and discuss behavior in an objective way.
4) Students must have a chance to practice new behaviors.
5) New behaviors should be reinforced when they occur.
-Cohen, p.48

Teachers also need to reinforce and teach students certain skills during the groupwork activities. Teachers can listen in on groups as they work and ask questions to challenge students to give reasons for their ideas. Teachers can also take notes on good examples of behavior that he/she observes and bad behavior. After the groupwork, the teacher can share his/her notes and lead the class in a discussion about how the good behavior led to successful work and how the bad behavior could have been dealt with differently by the group members.
I think that this reinforcement of groupwork skills is critical, as it will help students to be more mindful of the training that they initially received. One training activity is not going to be enough to change a students' habits in relating to others. If the teacher continually draws attention to these skills, and the students become convinced of their effectiveness in groupwork, the skills may eventually become norms.