Managing Groups: How do I keep my students engaged?

Working with even a very small group of students will often be louder, messier, and more difficult to manage than working with a student one-to-one. A certain amount of lively disagreement is a healthy part of group discussion and can help students develop and respect alternate viewpoints and different learning strategies. Still, tutors need to keep group members focused on learning.

Many children may not be accustomed to small-group work. Take the time to teach, discuss, and model the expectations of small-group interaction. Children need time to develop the habits of working respectfully in groups if they have not been exposed to them before.

Posting an agreed-upon set of rules or guidelines is appropriate for some groups. Group members can discuss what is most important to them and work together to write out, illustrate, and post their agreement. Incorporate classroom guidelines into these rules whenever possible. A working agreement might include the following:

• Attentive Listening: Pay close attention to everyone’s ideas and feelings.
• Right to Pass: Contribute to the group when you feel comfortable. If you don’t always feel like answering a question, it’s OK.
• Mutual Respect: Recognize the value of each person and encourage all to grow and learn. Treat each other kindly. Avoid negative remarks, name-calling, and hurtful behaviors. (Adapted from Gibbs, 1995)

When individual student behavior interferes with group work, tutors need strategies to return students’ focus to the task at hand. Try the following:

• Describing: Point out the child’s behavior in order to make him aware of his actions and their effect on the group: John, the group is reading this section of the book now. That’s what you need to be doing, too.
• Chaining: Link together repeated behavior patterns to alert the child to the way she acts in given situations: Sarah, I notice that you are more focused when you don’t sit next to Emily.
• Offering choices: Give the student the power to make her own decision, but limit choices to those that are favorable to the group: Would you like to do some writing now or after we read the book?
• Redirecting: Place the child on a different path when his behavior is not appropriate: I see that you’re having a hard time concentrating. Why don’t you keep reading to find out what happens to the ants after they fall into the boiling lake?

Keep in mind that certain behaviors perceived as disruptive are a natural part of child development. For example, a group of first-graders will not sit still for a serious half-hour discussion. This issue outlines many activities that get children out of their seats and utilize their natural energy while still promoting learning.