Groups v. Teams

Group work is an important part of cooperative learning.  Most experts agree that the best way for students to learn and retain the content that their learning is to teach that content to others.  And doesn't that make perfect sense?  As teachers, aren't we the best at what we teach? 

What is the difference then, between groups and teams?  A lot of it has to do with the noun.  Oftentimes when people think of the word group, they think of a bunch of people together.  The word team usually has people think of sports teams and working together.  Personally, I think the word team has a more positive connotation than the word group, which is more of a neutral connotation.  It's probably because I played on sports teams growing up. 


Teams are groups of people that are working toward a common goal.  Because I feel this way, I often used the word team instead of group when I talked about grouping my students together. 

My teams were all created based on ability.  I used the pretest that I gave my students the first week of school.  After I graded the pretests, I put the scores in order from highest to lowest.  I then divided the number of students I had by four.   I used the Kagan Cooperative Learning system for organizing my students.  On the list, each student will be determined by 1 of 4 categories:  High, Med-High, Med-Low, Low.  For example, if I have 24 students, the top 6 will be my High students, the next 6 Med-High, etc. until I am finished assigning the students. 

Ideally, you will have teams of 4.  That always doesn't work out.  Go for teams of 5 over 3 and teams of 3 over 6.  5 is the maximum amount of students you want in a team.  Grouping teams based on ability is better than by grouping by behavior.  BUT, do what you have to.  You need to have control of your classroom before you can effectively teach. 

When students are in their groups, assign them a partner letter or number.  I used partners:  A, B, C, D.  I just did it from where they were sitting.  I even had each desk labeled at the beginning of the school year!  Another thing:  Where you arrange your team members is important.  They will be working with each other and in pairs.  We used face partners (the person sitting across from you) and shoulder partners (the person sitting next to you).  Never partner your High with your Low. 

The seating arrangement should go like this: 

Face Partners:  High-Medium High; Medium Low- Low
Shoulder Partners:  High-Medium Low; Medium High-Low

I wish I could draw a diagram on here.  Sorry, but just remember that High and Low NEVER partner together.

Last, but not least, do some team building exercises after you get your teams together.  If you want them to work together well, they need to be comfortable with each other.  Have them make goals together; do a get-to-know-you activity, create a team name together, make a team cheer and encourage them to become friends.  I know it sounds corny, but the more comfortable students are in their learning environment, the better they learn.  And when they get too comfortable and start talking too much, you know it's time to switch it up.  :) 

I also cannot stress how important it is for students to become properly social with others.  I think this is huge.  Character education is shoved aside so often now because of standards and the rushing to teach curriculum.  When students are in teams, they learn to work with others and hopefully, eventually, understand that the world is not about them alone, but about others just as much.  I hope that in the running around and teaching students day after day, that teachers remember that students are also kids that need social interaction. 

I highly recommend the Kagan Structures Seminars for teachers of all ages.  A wealth of knowledge is found in these seminars and well worth the time spent!