For a more participatory approach to learning, participants can be organized in small groups to discuss something or to carry out activities such as exercises, practicals, role play performances, preparing materials and so on. In doing so, care must be taken to form groups properly and to deal with the outcomes of such group work.
Groups of participants can have the following activities, for example:
Discuss questions or assignments.
Carry out experiments.
Prepare learning or demonstration materials (posters, charts, models, games, displays, etc.).
Carry out a project.
Prepare and perform a role play.
Group formation
Pay careful attention to the way a group works together; one or two group members may dominate the activity, so that some group members are left out, especially when it comes to planning and decision-making. Certain participants may always be given the least pleasant task to do; other participants may use the ‘cover’ of the group to avoid doing anything at all. Try to ensure that all group members share responsibilities and actions. You may need to reorganize some groups if it appears that they are not functioning well. Watch out for the situation where the most able participants always work together and those who have the most difficulty with their work always remain in their own group. Sometimes this is not a bad situation. It may offer an opportunity for giving additional tasks that go beyond the specific objectives for the lesson to the ‘able’ group. However, ensure that a less able group of participants is given sufficient attention, so that they do manage to complete the activity to a satisfactory level.
Tips for trainers
Group formation can be organized in many different ways:
According to existing seating arrangements – participants can work in pairs or in groups of three or four, just where they are sitting.
Random group formation – sometimes it is good to mix participants up into new groups. There are many ways of doing this. One is to simply ‘number off’ the individuals, counting 1,2,3,4, etc. depending on how many groups you need. Or you could give out pieces of card with names or numbers of groups written on them, and your participants must find the other members of their group.
According to individuals’ ability/experience – you may decide to form groups of participants who have the same level of ability or similar experience in a specific area of study.
According to individuals’ interest in a given topic – if different topics are to be discussed by different groups, participants can choose which group they would like to join.
According to individuals’ interest in their own choice of topic – this is discussion. Groups are then formed according to the interest of each individual in the suggested topics, or individuals can still suggest other activities.
According to some other common feature, e.g. age group, gender.
Group work outcomes
Once the groups have finished their group work, the results need to be shared with the larger group of participants. This is mostly done during a plenary session so that participants can learn from each other and has to be facilitated by a resource person who makes sure that presentations stay focused on the learning outcomes. Group work outcomes can be presented in different ways.
Tips for trainers
— If the outputs have been written on cards and placed on a chart, they must be organized in some way. Cards usually work best with brainstorming activities (one idea per card, clearly written) because you can then move the ideas around after the exercise to form categories or groups of ideas. You can do this yourself, in front of the group or during a break period. See which ideas are similar or identical and group them together, physically, on the chart. Draw a line around each group of ideas and give a name or title to this category which describes it clearly, e.g. ‘resources’, ‘methods’, ‘management’, etc. Then have a short discussion on the categories of ideas in the plenary session.
— Alternatively, ask for volunteers from the participants to categorize the ideas, either on the spot or during a break. This is the better option, since the groups are constructed according to the perception of the participants rather than you, but it may take longer.
— Another option is to ask each group to present their output on a chart (give them some advice first about visualization, so that the charts are clear, attractive and easy to understand). A member of each group can then give a short feedback on what is on the chart to the plenary session. However, DO set a time limit, and ask the reporter not just to read what is on the chart. It is more interesting for the reporter to mention something about the process they went through to arrive at this output, and to highlight the most important, key points.
— Instead of having verbal feedback from group representatives, a ‘market’ of ideas is often more interesting. Each group should post their chart on the wall, and all participants can then spend around 20 minutes looking at all the posters. If participants have a comment or further idea, they can write their idea on a card or ‘post-it’ note and stick it on the chart. A member of each group can be available to answer any questions of clarification by individuals. Then have a final plenary session where you visit each chart with all participants, and quickly check the comments made by individuals. A short discussion can then take place.
— A more expressive approach is if you ask the groups to present their outputs as a short play or a drama presentation, which can offer a very effective and less threatening feedback for topics that are ‘hot’ or ‘sensitive’. However, it will also depend on the capacity of the group and their familiarity with such methods.
Very often, some important points and issues are raised in these feedback sessions. Nevertheless, they are often not used effectively, or even forgotten as the training moves on. Keep any key outputs where all participants can see them and refer back to them when necessary. They can be referred to in the daily review, and can provide a good overview of what happened during a workshop.