Experiences

Work in groups

Marieta Andreeva

Bulgaria

High Secondary School

Maths

Teaching in class

Direct

This is work in groups in exercise lesson. I apply this practice after we had taken lesson with new knowledge and after we had a lesson with doing sums together.
The principle is as follows:
I write a set of tasks on the board. Students are divided to 4-5 in a group. I do not put conditions on how students to group. It is important the desire to work together for the good atmosphere in the group, tranquility and emotional comfort. There are students who prefer to work alone. There must at least one knowledgeable and capable student in the group who to assist her/his classmates. It is all by good will and fortunately there are such students. The knowledgeable students help the others. They are glad to take the role of a teacher.
Meanwhile I observe the work of the groups and when I there is a problem and necessity of my presence I interfere.
I form also the so-called "problem group" where I am the chief. In this group there are students who do not understand anything. When I am with them, they are more focused and feel more confident. The individual work with them has an effect.
Group work helps to fill gaps, for team building, for forming skills to work together and setting up a community thinking. During the team work it is performed communication within the group together with contacting with other groups.
Another successful method used to handle with problems is so called from the students “board method". I raise in front of the board a student who says "I don’t understand anything." These are mostly students who only transcribe what is written on the board without getting it. The idea is to make them think. With my help and the help of the class they are lead to the desired result. Through individual work before all students he/she gains self-confidence. It often happens they to exclaim: "Oh, I got it!"
The class atmosphere remains roughly at good level, but sometimes it appears what is called "creative noise".
At the end of the lesson there are students with confirmed knowledge and those with newly acquired ones.