Work Completion: In a Group

A student who struggles with group work completion may...

have challenges with social skills
struggle with the academic content
have processing speed challenges, making keeping up difficult
have peer relationship challenges
be impacted by lower self-esteem
be challenged by their own executive functioning, making it difficult to engage with someone else's
be defiant or dis ruptive with peers
struggle with multi-tasking (the academic, language, and social demands of a group task)
have stronger skills in one modality over another

When supporting a student with work completion in a group, some general strategies involve

have clear roles and responsibilities for each group member; facilitated by the teacher
use the student as a "fifth" group member
structure the space of the group for the team, providing boundaries with maintaining inclusion in the group
talk to the student about what the challenge is
teach cooperation skills
evaluate the group with careful observation to identify the challenge or breakdown
recognize the student's effort and ideas in front of peers

Interventions may include

provide an independent work project instead
build a partnership first, then move to a group
work in the group 2-3 times per week
pre-teach the skill or task with the student, so they enter the group prepared for success

Literature Links

Teamwork Isn't My Thing by Julia Cook

Stone Soup by Marcia Brown

The Little Red Hen by Byron Barton

An Operation of Cooperation by James McDonald

Teacher Readings

Cooperation--Good Character