Too many teachers throw students into small groups and expect meaningful learning to ensue.
They don’t discuss or teach small group interpersonal skills. They may not think through how best to group students of different interests and abilities. They may not clearly communicate or model their expectations. And they may not check to see that the students truly understand what to do before telling them to begin working.
So instead of getting right to work, students end up talking about what they think they’re supposed to do. And because the expectations and steps aren’t posted anywhere, the teach frantically runs from group to group answering clarifying questions. One or two of the students do the bulk of the group work while the others passively coast.
Then the teach doesn’t make time to challenge students to reflect on and identify what they did and didn’t do well within their small groups. Too many teachers wrongly assume that small group cooperative learning skills are intuitive; consequently, they don’t have to teach them. As a result, most groups are dysfunctional, the sum rarely if ever equals more than the individual parts, and students develop negative associations with small group cooperative learning.
They end up carrying around invisible backpacks filled with negative group experiences. “Not group work again.” Often in high schools, it’s easy to detect a pervading sense of small group doom and gloom which teachers often mistakenly chalk up to “laziness” or “immaturity”.
Teachers aren’t alone. Coaches sometimes refer to team chemistry, but rarely if ever teach how to be a good teammate. Again, they assume the requisite interpersonal skills—listening, encouraging, and problem solving for example are built-in, even though there’s ample evidence they’re not. Orchestra conductors, youth pastors, drama teachers, employers, and parents often fail to teach young people how to prepare for and contribute more positively to their inside and outside of school small groups.
To the detriment of meaningful learning, we focus on work products at the expense of work processes.
Pressing Pause 
Compelling insights Ron. What would be your best guess as to the percentage of those teachers who “wrongly assume that small group cooperative learning skills are intuitive.” ? Over 50%?
At what level do teachers or business leaders for that matter truly attempt to put people in small groups to brainstorm topics that they have a genuine interest in?
Thanks Larry. Yes, at the secondary level at least, over 50%. Of course it helps when there’s interest in whatever the focus of the group work is, but brainstorming is a relatively simple small group activity. It’s interesting to think about and to ask other adults, when have you been apart of excellent small groups or teams that created something that you by yourself clearly could not have?
excellent!