Building a group community
I’ve spent some time today building a Glow group for my S2′s to use. They are about to embark on the first of 2 group challenges. We have used the RBS Moneysense website as the focus of the first task for the past couple of sessions, but we’ve never quite got it right. The materials are good and the pupils have been on task, but we (my colleagues and I) have failed to develop group communities as pupils complete the task. I’m also not very good at focussing on the role of the individual within the group; assessing each pupil’s contribution to the process is more important than the end group result, but I know I’ve not given that enough attention in the past.
The Glow group is going to be one tool that I use to change that. I am going to ask every pupil to upload their work as they go, not just the finished products. I’m also going to use the class forum to challenge them to reflect on what they are trying to achieve. I’m going to ask them to reflect honestly on how they have worked with others; what have they brought to the table, how could they improve and what have they seen others do that is worth celebrating?
I’ve neglected my own blog for too long, and as a result my own opportunity to reflect. I read Kenny Pieper’s latest blog post earlier today, “More Teachers Need to Blog“. Kenny reminded me why blogging is so important: it’s an opportunity to develop your thought process, and therefore to improve the experiences of your pupils. With that in mind, here comes my thoughts!
The task
Pupils have been asked to consider the skills and qualities that they already feel they have as well as those where they need to improve. It was apparent when speaking with them that they have had many opportunities to work in groups, but most could not give an example of a time where they were innovative, patient, reflective or able to demonstrate leadership. For this task I am mixing my pupils up, so that they are in a group with pupils who they have not chosen to work with already, in my class at least. I have tried to make sure that every pupil has at least one person in their group who they have already established a relationship with.
In groups of 4 or 5, they are going to be given the brief, developed by the RBS Moneysense team. They have to appoint people to 4 roles: Manager, Consultant, Marketer and Finance Officer. The success of the task is dependent on each individual giving information to others in their team.
They are going to use the Glow group as a basic document store, allowing notes, images and documents to be shared amongst the group, and with me. One paper pack will be given to each group. Each pack has a QR code on it, allowing pupils to access the information online via their Smart phones if they choose to. I have also created a Twitter account for this task. I will use this to tweet task and deadline reminders as we go through the weeks. Not sure how successful this will be, but without trying it I will never know!
I have 4 S2 classes, one on a Monday, one a Wednesday, one a Thursday and the last class on a Friday. I am going to add a blog post each week, hopefully on a Wednesday night, to give me a chance to reflect on how things are going. I’m still not quite sure how to assess the role of the individual, all I know is that I need to do it and want to include the pupil being assessed as well as the other group members. That one needs thinking out!










