Decide how much time you can devote to group work, given the coverage expected in class. Brief (2-5 minutes), informal activities in pairs can help students identify questions for further discussion. Longer, analytical, problem solving, or interpretation activities (10-15 minutes) give students initial practice and feedback to prepare for complex, out-of-classroom assignments.
Consider how groups should be composed in order to achieve your learning goals. For example, group members might need different academic backgrounds for some tasks and similar interests or goals for others.
Don’t rely on oral instructions alone. Write instructions to which students can refer back. The instructions should provide organization for the groups’ discussions. Be as specific as possible in your questions and about the expectations and goals for the group work.
Plan a method of encouraging or ensuring individual accountability within the groups. You might ask individuals to report (in writing or orally) the group’s final product (e.g., a decision, a solution, an interpretation). Sometimes students are motivated by knowing that you will call on someone from each group rather than allowing them to choose a spokesperson. Move around the room and ask questions to “spot check” to help keep all students focused on the task.
Plan a strategy to facilitate, coach, or mediate to improve communication within the groups. Planning a variety of probing questions specific to the task will help you think fast enough to intervene when you see a problem. To prevent common problems, it is useful to give explicit directions about what constitutes good group communication (e.g., everyone has a chance to contribute, dissenting views are heard). For some activities, teachers may ask group members to take on specific roles, such as leader, scribe, or reporter.
Be prepared to deal with groups that finish the task before the rest of the class. Expect students to finish at different rates and have questions ready to discuss with early finishers. Also, do not always wait for everyone to finish. If two-thirds of the class is done and restless, it is usually a good time to discuss everyone’s results. With group work, it is always better to give them too little time than too much time (causing them to lose interest).