3 minutes
Group activities are essential tools aimed at bringing a group of people together through participation. That is why we want to share the advantages of implementing group activities in the classroom and the steps to do so effectively.
This methodology has some things in common with gamification or play-based learning, which have been widely used in settings ranging from business to education.
Collective benefits
Applied in the classroom as an educational method, this methodology offers a range of benefits that can be highly enriching for all students. We could summarize them as follows:
- Every group activity creates a sense of belonging through an awareness that involves recognizing the group's importance to each member and vice versa.
- This methodology is motivating for all group members, who, as in project-based learning, become involved in meeting the activity's proposed objectives.
- It stimulates cooperative learning among participants through the use of interpersonal intelligence.
However simple this type of activity may seem to implement, every group activity requires proper implementation not only to take advantage of its educational benefits, but also to function as a collective activity.
How a group activity works
Every group activity, educational or otherwise, must relate to what happens within a group whose members share, in one way or another, the same objective.
To implement a group activity, we must consider the following steps:
1) Choose a topic
Group activities generally coincide with the content covered during a course, so it is extremely effective for the chosen group activity topic to relate in some way to one of the educational aspects found in that content.
2) Plan the group activities
Whenever we implement an activity, we must establish a series of logical, ordered steps so the chosen activity produces the expected results, from implementation through evaluation of its educational outcome.
3) Make it work for everyone
Because of their collective nature, group activities are based on cooperation among members to meet an objective.
This means ensuring participants take on their own role, which, combined with the others' roles, can guarantee both the task's success and everyone's participation.
Group activities generally unfold differently because of factors that vary from one experience to another and must also be considered when planning, for example:
- Individual factors such as the personality, attitude, or values of each member of the intended group, and their relationship with the other group members.
- Contextual and environmental factors such as the type of educational institution where the activity will be implemented, existing working relationships, or available resources, among many others.
Have you used group activities in the classroom? Do you think they are useful for improving learning and coordination among students?
Share your experience with the Colplex community!