Small Group Projects
Learning to Speak
Speaking to Learn
Teaching Oral
Communication
-Establish effective atmosphere
Teaching Oral Communication
-Establish effective atmosphere
-Teach specific skills
Teaching Oral Communication
-Establish effective atmosphere
-Teach specific skills
-Low risk opportunities to practice
Teaching Oral Communication
-Establish effective atmosphere
-Teach specific skills
-Low risk opportunities to practice
-Assignments integrate skills with content
Teaching Oral Communication
-Establish effective atmosphere
-Teach specific skills
-Low risk opportunities to practice
-Assignments integrate skills with content
-Make assignments and grading criteria
explicit
Teaching Oral Communication
-Establish effective atmosphere
-Teach specific skills
-Low risk opportunities to practice
-Assignments integrate skills with content
-Make assignments and grading criteria
explicit
-Offer effective, concrete feedback
Teaching Oral Communication
-Establish effective atmosphere
-Teach specific skills
-Low risk opportunities to practice
-Assignments integrate skills with content
-Make assignments and grading criteria
explicit
-Offer effective, concrete feedback
-Repeat
Teaching Oral Communication
An Effective
Atmosphere
Small Group
Communication Skills
Definitions
-3-30 people (depends on function)
-Share a common task
-Communicate face to face
-Interact with and influence one another
-Membership may be assigned or selfselected
Small Group Communication
Skills
Small Groups Are Systems
Members play roles in system
One member plays many roles
Roles overlap
Small Group Communication
Skills
Small Groups Are Systems
Formal/Informal
Task/Maintenance/Procedure
Small Group Communication
Skills
Task Roles
Record
Report
Research
Clarify
Initiate
Coordinate
Devil’s Advocate
Task Specific Roles
Small Group Communications
Skills
Maintenance Roles
Support/Encourage
Relieve tension
Expedite communication
Monitor and manage conflicts
Small Group Communication
Skills
Procedural Roles
Arrange/Call meetings
Communicate with members
Provide copies
Arrange space
Create/Monitor agenda
Create/Monitor member and group tasks
Small Group Communication
Skills
Dysfunctional Roles
Controller
Distracter
Blocker
Cynic
Ghost
Small Group Communication
Skills
Inherent Problems
Time
Conflict
Evaluation
Small Group Communication
Skills
Solving Inherent Problems
Time
In Small Group
Discussion of expectations
Topic management
Use of agendas
Final review of time and tasks for next
meeting
Small Group Communication
Skills
Solving Inherent Problems
Problem-Solving Agendas
Small Group Communication
Skills
Conflict Management
Solving Inherent Problems
Conflict Management
Procedural
Substantive
Personal
Dysfunctional Roles
Small Group Communication
Skills
Solving Inherent Problems
Conflict Management
Procedural
Usually minor
Address it directly in meeting
Small Group Communication
Skills
Solving Inherent Problems
Conflict Management
Substantive
How important is the disagreement?
How strongly do members feel?
Small Group Communication
Skills
Solving Inherent Problems
Conflict Management
Substantive
Resolution can be forced
Imposed by leader
Direct compromise
Vote
Small Group Communication
Skills
Solving Inherent Problems
Conflict Management
Substantive
Resolution can come from consensus
Make conflict clear
Discuss both sides respectfully
Focus on specific issue/listen actively
Summarize strengths of each argument
Look for common ground
Take a break
Small Group Communication
Skills
Solving Inherent Problems
Conflict Management
Interpersonal
Encourage individuals to:
Sleep on it
Check with 3rd person
Define/identify/state specific conflict
Identify exactly what outcome he/she
wants
Work for good outcome and let it go
Small Group Communication
Skills
Solving Inherent Problems
Conflict Management
Dysfunctional Members
Identify specific role
Most common are controller, blocker, ghost
Small Group Communication
Skills
Controller/Blocker:
-Wait for pause then state your opinion or ask for
opinion of others
-If interrupted – “Wait, let me finish…”
-”I’m concerned we’re running out of time and we
haven’t heard from everyone.”
-”Ok. I think we get it. What does everybody else
think?”
-”I thought we’d already discussed this. Does
anyone else feel the need to talk about it again?”
Small Group Communication
Skills
Ghost:
Identify and address reasons:
Anxious or shy – Encourage and support
Irresponsible or lazy - Confront without venting
“We’re all getting graded on this. We’re all
evaluating one another. We all need to do the
work.”
Small Group Communication
Skills
Assigning Group
Projects
-Focus on specific skills
Group Assignments
-Focus on specific skills
-Integrate skills with class content and time
limitations
Group Assignments
-Focus on specific skills
-Integrate skills with class content and time
limitations
-Make product meaningful
Group Assignments
-Focus on specific skills
-Integrate skills with class content and time
limitations
-Make product meaningful
-Ask for focused and coherent product
Group Assignments
-Focus on specific skills
-Integrate skills with class content and time
limitations
-Make product meaningful
-Ask for focused and coherent product
-Include substantial written component
Group Assignments
-Focus on specific skills
-Integrate skills with class content and time
limitations
-Make product meaningful
-Ask for focused and coherent product
-Include substantial written component
-Ask for student evaluations of themselves
and the group experience
Group Assignments
Simple Tasks
-Generate and support arguments and counterarguments
-Draw up lists of similarities and differences
-List items from experience/observation
-Respond to writing or reading
-Generate list of ideas
-Generate list of questions about
reading/assignment and identify most important
ones
-Make categories and populate them
-Find evidence for conclusion
-Diagnose/Analyze problem
Group Assignments
Project Evaluation
-What you don’t evaluate, they don’t see as
important
Project Evaluation
-What you don’t evaluate, they don’t see as
important
-Evaluation is strategic communication
Project Evaluation