2nd Edition
Promoting Effective Group Work in the Primary Classroom A handbook for teachers and practitioners
Promoting Effective Group Work in the Primary Classroom, 2nd ed. is designed to enhance teachers’ and teaching assistants’ confidence in engaging their children in effective group work, allowing for more active participation, more on-task focus and higher levels of achievement.
This accessible second edition is packed full of valuable strategies for teachers and fun activities for children, offering guidance on how to create an inclusive and supportive classroom by developing the social, communicative and group working skills of all pupils. It has been thoroughly updated and includes new material on whole school approaches to group work, the risks and challenges involved, and how to involve Teaching Assistants and other support staff in undertaking inclusive and effective group work in classrooms. A tried-and-tested, step-by-step approach encourages both children and their teachers to develop supportive relationships that have been found to facilitate academic performance, positive social behaviour and motivation. Since the first edition the authors have found that this handbook can be used successfully in many different countries around the world.
With ideas to help resolve problems that might arise and suggested training activities to support pupils, this text is a one-stop resource to ensure effective group work in the classroom. It is an essential guide for both trainee and practising teachers, as well as TAs and support staff, and a valuable basis for school action.
Series preface
Acknowledgements
Contributors
Chapter 1 Background to the handbook
Part I
Developing group work in your classroom
Chapter 2 Introduction: the case for group work
Chapter 3 How is your classroom organised?
Chapter 4 Preparing the classroom for successful group work
Chapter 5 Developing pupils’ group-work skills
Chapter 6 Creating effective group-work activities and tasks
Chapter 7 The role of the teacher and other adults in supporting
group work
Chapter 8 Evaluating group work
Chapter 9 Using group work in the curriculum
Chapter 10 Developing a whole-school approach to group work
Chapter 11 Troubleshooting
Part II
Group-work and training activities for your class
Introduction
Unit 1 Group work and group-work rules
Unit 2 Sensitivity and awareness
Unit 3 Developing trust
Unit 4 Sensitivity, respect and sharing views
Unit 5 Becoming a good listener
Unit 6 Listening, asking questions and giving instructions
Unit 7 Helping skills
Unit 8 Group discussion: giving reasons and weighing up ideas
Unit 9 Group discussion: making suggestions and speculating
Unit 10 Group decisions: reaching a consensus
Unit 11 More decision-making: consensus and compromise
Unit 12 Roles within group work
Unit 13 Planning group work
Biography
Ed Baines is Senior Lecturer in Psychology of Education at the UCL Institute of Education, UK.
Peter Blatchford is Professor of Psychology and Education at the UCL Institute of Education, UK.
Peter Kutnick is Emeritus Professor (Psychology of Education) in the Department of Education and Professional Studies at King’s College London, UK, as well as Honorary and Visiting Professor at the University of Hong Kong, and Visiting Fellow at Beijing Normal University, China.
"With ideas to help resolve problems that might arise and suggested training activities to support pupils, this text is a one-stop resource to ensure effective group work in the classroom. The book shows the value of group work in helping children to develop skills for life, and also emphasises the importance of a whole-school approach. It is an essential guide for both trainee and practising teachers, as well as TAs and support staff, and a valuable basis for school action - a book to be read by leaders as well as classroom teachers." - Sarah Brew, Parents in Touch
