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Groups are commonly found in which people or working people are together to form a whole. Groups signify the collectivity of friends in circles, families, communities and co-workers. Groups are an essential part of our community life. As they can be in a small group of two or three people or in a large number of people. Groups that are interacting and interrelating with each other. Group interaction in general can be defined as a group of people interrelate and interact together to target the tasks or resolving conflict of issues at in order to reach a good understanding in communication, building team rapport and spirit.
Organizations, school or societies which organize or form a group of students , committees or co-workers to interact and work together for any meetings, events or in any kind of discussions for the purpose of reaching a better understanding by discussing together in team to target the unsettling issues or to cater to any key tasks in their organizations. In order to reach a better understanding and interaction, it is good to have the groups to interact with good and effective skills, brainstorming and share experience, seek explanation and find solutions to resolve the issues together in order to obtain good decisions . . 2 The importance of learning skills The importance of learning skills determine the effectiveness of interaction in groups for an end result of attaining solution. Learning of interaction skills are important steps that enables the ability to speak comprehensibly and convincingly and to listen the needs and analyzing response of others, by exchanging ideas and sharing of experiences. These are the fundamental skills in carrying out the knowledge of communication theory and process in interaction. . 3 How learning these skills will benefit your audience in order to work effectively in a group By learning up effectively in groups motivate us to ask and respond to each other, elaborate and support each other’s opinions, enunciate own thoughts, brainstorming and share experience to reflect own knowledge. A member of the groups in general will open up the discussion issues, suggests the members to provide their ideas and opinions, seek explanation and find solutions to resolve the issues.
Discussions would conclude well if the whole process of group interaction is managed well. Active group participation will also benefit the members of the group in building team spirit. Nevertheless, the benefits of group interaction would very much depend on the well managed teams and their cooperation. Besides, learning the skills will help the group to be more productive and completed their tasks effectively. Effective skills will help the group to generate and develop a good and effective interaction. 1. 3. 1 Instill individual responsibility and accountability
Effective skills will help to instill individual responsibility and accountability as groups will reach an understanding in what they need to do, what are the next steps to carry out and how would they complete within the deadline, each of them hold responsibility and accountable for their own tasks. 1. 3. 2 Positive feedback Focusing and listening well on people’s ideas and comments in one the skills in interaction which help the group members to receive and provide feedback about others’ opinions, questioning of doubts. This will help to open up the members for improvement. Problem solving: Group members help the group to develop and use strategies central to their group goals. As such, they can facilitate group decision making and deal productively with conflict. In extreme cases, they know when to approach the professor for additional advice and help. •Management and organization: Group members know how to plan and manage a task, how to manage their time, and how to run a meeting. For example, they ensure that meeting goals are set, that an agenda is created and followed, and that everyone has an opportunity to participate.
They stay focused on the task and help others to do so too. •Knowledge of roles: Group members know which roles can be filled within a group (e. g. , facilitator, idea-generator, summarizer, evaluator, mediator, encourager, recorder) and are aware of which role(s) they and others are best suited for. They are also willing to rotate roles to maximize their own and others’ group learning experience. “This paper presents a model of collaborative learning designed to help an intelligent collaborative learning system identify and target group interaction problem areas.
The model describes potential indicators of effective collaborative learning, and for each indicator, recommends strategies for improving peer interaction. This collaborative learning model drove the design and development of two tools that automate the coding, and aid the analysis of collaborative learning conversation and activity. Empirical evaluation of these tools confirm that effective learning teams are comprised of active participants who demand explanations and justification from their peers.
The distribution of conversational skills used by members of a supportive group committed to their teammates’ learning is compared to that of an unfocused, unsupportive group. The results suggest that structured, high-level knowledge of student conversation in context may be sufficient for automating the assessment of group interaction, furthering the possibility of an intelligent collaborative learning system that can support and enhance the group learning process. ” |Available: International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education (IJAIED) 12 (2001) 40-62 | |(http://aied. nf. ed. ac. uk/members01/archive/vol_12/soller/full. html) | |Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC), University of Pittsburgh. | |[| |p| |i| |c| |]| “To function successfully in a small group, students need to be able to communicate clearly on intellectual and emotional levels. Effective communicators: * can explain their own ideas * express their feelings in an open but non-threatening way * listen carefully to others ask questions to clarify others’ ideas and emotions * can sense how others feel based on their nonverbal communication * will initiate conversations about group climate or process if they sense tensions brewing * reflect on the activities and interactions of their group and encourage other group members to do so as well “Regular open communication, in which group members share their thoughts, ideas, and feelings, is a must for successful group work. Unspoken assumptions and issues can be very destructive to productive group functioning.
When students are willing to communicate openly with one another, a healthy climate will emerge and an effective process can be followed. ” “Skills for a Healthy Group Climate To work together successfully, group members must demonstrate a sense of cohesion. Cohesion emerges as group members exhibit the following skills: * Openness: Group members are willing to get to know one another, particularly those with different interests and backgrounds. They are open to new ideas, diverse viewpoints, and the variety of individuals present within the group.
They listen to others and elicit their ideas. They know how to balance the need for cohesion within a group with the need for individual expression. # Trust and self-disclosure: Group members trust one another enough to share their own ideas and feelings. A sense of mutual trust develops only to the extent that everyone is willing to self-disclose and be honest yet respectful. Trust also grows as group members demonstrate personal accountability for the tasks they have been assigned. # Support: Group members demonstrate support for one another as they accomplish their goals.
They exemplify a sense of team loyalty and both cheer on the group as a whole and help members who are experiencing difficulties. They view one another not as competitors (which is common within a typically individualistic educational system) but as collaborators. # Respect: Group members communicate their opinions in a way that respects others, focusing on “What can we learn? ” rather than “Who is to blame? ” See Constructive Feedback in the process section for more details. ” Available: (Online)http://cte. uwaterloo. ca/teaching_resources/tips/teamwork_skills. html Individual responsibility and accountability: All group members agree on what needs to be done and by whom. Each student then determines what he or she needs to do and takes responsibility to complete the task(s). They can be held accountable for their tasks, and they hold others accountable for theirs. •Constructive Feedback: Group members are able to give and receive feedback about group ideas. Giving constructive feedback requires focusing on ideas and behaviours, instead of individuals, being as positive as possible, and offering suggestions for improvement.
Receiving feedback requires listening well, asking for clarification if the comment is unclear, and being open to change and other ideas. •Problem solving: Group members help the group to develop and use strategies central to their group goals. As such, they can facilitate group decision making and deal productively with conflict. In extreme cases, they know when to approach the professor for additional advice and help. •Management and organization: Group members know how to plan and manage a task, how to manage their time, and how to run a meeting.
For example, they ensure that meeting goals are set, that an agenda is created and followed, and that everyone has an opportunity to participate. They stay focused on the task and help others to do so too. •Knowledge of roles: Group members know which roles can be filled within a group (e. g. , facilitator, idea-generator, summarizer, evaluator, mediator, encourager, recorder) and are aware of which role(s) they and others are best suited for. They are also willing to rotate roles to maximize their own and others’ group learning experience.
As an instructor, use some of these strategies to encourage students to develop an effective process within their small groups: •Design the group task so that the students must work together. Group members will be more motivated and committed to working together if they are given a group mark; if you choose to evaluate in this way, be sure to make your expectations extremely clear. See the CTE Teaching Tip sheet “Methods for Assessing Group Work” for additional ideas. •Once students are in groups, have them develop, as one of their early assignments, a group contract in which they articulate ground rules and group goals.
See Teaching Tips “Making Group Contracts” for details. Be sure that groups discuss how they will respond to various scenarios such as absentee or late group members and those who do not complete their assigned tasks. •Distribute a list of decision-making methods and strategies for conflict resolution. The CTE Teaching Tip sheet “Group Decision Making” is a good place to start. Have each group articulate, based on this list, a set of strategies for decision making and conflict resolution; this list should become part of the group contract.
You may also want to offer yourself as an impartial arbitrator in emergency situations, but encourage students to work out problems among themselves. •Provide students with guidelines for running a meeting, such as setting and following an agenda, specifying time limits, and monitoring progress on the agenda. Consult the CTE Teaching Tip sheet “Meeting Strategies to Help Prepare Students for Group Work” for additional suggestions. •Teach students effective methods for giving and receiving feedback. For sample methods, see Teaching Tips “Receiving and Giving Effective Feedback. Create an assignment that involves them giving feedback to group members, and make it part of their final grade. •To help students recognize and make the most of their own and one another’s preferred roles, outline with them a list of team roles (see Teaching Tips “Group Roles” for one such list), have them determine which role(s) suits them best, and give them time to discuss within their groups how their particular role(s) will complement those of other group members. Requiring them to rotate their roles helps them to expand their skills set. 2. 0Problems faced in group interaction