Promoting Effective Group Work in the Primary Classroom A handbook for teachers and practitioners

Promoting Effective Group Work in the Primary Classroom, 2nd ed. is designed to enhance teachers’ and teaching assistants’ confidence in engaging their children in effective group work, allowing for more active participation, more on-task focus and higher levels of achievement. This accessible second edition is packed full of valuable strategies for teachers and fun activities for children, offering guidance on how to create an inclusive and supportive classroom by developing the social, communicative and group working skills of all pupils. It has been thoroughly updated and includes new material on whole school approaches to group work, the risks and challenges involved, and how to involve Teaching Assistants and other support staff in undertaking inclusive and effective group work in classrooms. A tried-and-tested, step-by-step approach encourages both children and their teachers to develop supportive relationships that have been found to facilitate academic performance, positive social behaviour and motivation. Since the first edition the authors have found that this handbook can be used successfully in many different countries around the world. With ideas to help resolve problems that might arise and suggested training activities to support pupils, this text is a one-stop resource to ensure effective group work in the classroom. It is an essential guide for both trainee and practising teachers, as well as TAs and support staff, and a valuable basis for school action.

Series preface Acknowledgements Contributors Chapter 1 Background to the handbook Part I Developing group work in your classroom Chapter 2 Introduction: the case for group work Chapter 3 How is your classroom organised? Chapter 4 Preparing the classroom for successful group work Chapter 5 Developing pupils’ group-work skills Chapter 6 Creating effective group-work activities and tasks Chapter 7 The role of the teacher and other adults in supporting group work Chapter 8 Evaluating group work Chapter 9 Using group work in the curriculum Chapter 10 Developing a whole-school approach to group work Chapter 11 Troubleshooting Part II Group-work and training activities for your class Introduction Unit 1 Group work and group-work rules Unit 2 Sensitivity and awareness Unit 3 Developing trust Unit 4 Sensitivity, respect and sharing views Unit 5 Becoming a good listener Unit 6 Listening, asking questions and giving instructions Unit 7 Helping skills Unit 8 Group discussion: giving reasons and weighing up ideas Unit 9 Group discussion: making suggestions and speculating Unit 10 Group decisions: reaching a consensus Unit 11 More decision-making: consensus and compromise Unit 12 Roles within group work Unit 13 Planning group work

Ed Baines is Senior Lecturer in Psychology of Education at the UCL Institute of Education, UK. Peter Blatchford is Professor of Psychology and Education at the UCL Institute of Education, UK. Peter Kutnick is Emeritus Professor (Psychology of Education) in the Department of Education and Professional Studies at King’s College London, UK, as well as Honorary and Visiting Professor at the University of Hong Kong, and Visiting Fellow at Beijing Normal University, China.