Group dynamics and group work
This course aims to enable teachers to guide students in effective and creative group work. Students are often required to participate in group work during their studies without specific support or guidance, and teachers often assume that groups will perform adequately despite such lack of guidance.
This course is aimed at
- Teacher
- Other teaching staff
Topic
- Pedagogy
About the course
A teacher is not always aware of how she/he shall provide the support required so that students develop their group working skills in action. Planned and strategic support provides great opportunities for a teacher to set up creative, constructive and motivating group work and thus enhance student learning. This can for example be done via how a group task is designed, how to communicate with the students and through the assessment process.
Examples from the course content:
- Various forms of group work; on group size and composition; on designing group tasks.
- Group dynamics: knowledge regarding what has an effect on a group dynamics and communication, creativity and efficiency.
- How to supervise a group during groupwork and getting a group to work efficiently, both on-campus, independently and through digital tools.
- Tools for developing groups – self-evaluations, feedback, teambuilding and discussion regarding group cohesion and dynamics.
- Various forms of groupwork assessment.
Course participants will complete and present a group task during the course.
Target group
University teachers and other staff with teaching duties at Uppsala University that utilize groups and group work in their learning and teaching activities. Participants have competed the Academic Teacher Training Course or equivalent five-work-week course. We enrol up to 24 participants per course, on a first-come-first-served basis
Intended learning outcomes
On completing the course, a participant will be able to
- arrange a well-organized structure for group work within her/his subject, including learning outcomes, instructions, group division strategies and follow-up/feedback on work,
- be capable of action regarding supervising groups in groupwork, which implies deciding why, where and how support should be arranged for all groups as well as for groups with special requirements,
- analyse various situations in regards to group dynamics and make decisions regarding how to act/react,
- finalize an in-depth groupwork where both group process and group product are the essential components,
- plan for changes in one´s own teaching which includes groupwork with the aim of supporting students in developing into effective, creative and successful group work participants.
Requirements
In order to receive a certificate of completion a participant must
Be present and active during the formal scheduled sessions. Finalize all set course tasks according to the course facilitators instructions. Participation is mandatory during all scheduled sessions. In case of unavoidable absence, a participant will be required to complete a make-up assignment to compensate for what has been missed. Certain session moments may not be replaceable with an alternative task and a participant may have to return to complete during a later course.
Format
The course is the work-time equivalent of one work week. The course consists of four scheduled on-campus sessions (equivalent of 3 days), group work and individual readings/preparations.
Exercises based on cases and situations, group discussions, mini-lectures groupwork, oral and written presentations, individual readings and seminar discussions.