Fish Bowl Activity to Model Group Work
Yes, group work can work!
I have heard teachers claim that group work doesn't work…with good reasons. Yet, interaction is crucial for student learning.
Reasons include only one student doing all the work, some students not engaging, or all physically moving in a group but not really talking. I agree with all of these examples and have seen them as well. Group or pair work needs structure and is more complex than first meets the eye.
It takes time to structure group work interaction in a way that will result in learning.
Decide groups ahead of time.
I am adamant that teachers should never say, "Get into groups and do _____." Form all groups intentionally ahead of time. If the exercise is short, you can have the students number off or physically tell them who is in what group, but you should facilitate the formations. Far too often, I see worried or confused looks on students' faces, especially Multilingual Learners (MLs), wondering if they should ask students to form a group or are concerned that no one will ask them to join. You can take away this anxiety by being the one to form the groups.
For MLs, it's essential to keep these additional factors in mind.
1. Think about the level of English proficiency of the MLs. If an ML is at the beginning or intermediate stages of fluency, they are less likely to contribute if they are the only one at that stage in the group. Many MLs, understandably, are afraid to make errors in front of their peers. One way to help mitigate the stress is to place at least two MLs in each group, preferably with a bilingual student in their language. Teachers sometimes tend to distribute the few MLs they might have in a content class in each group, which can feel isolating. In addition, it might be hard for them to keep up with the group conversation if they are the only ones in the process of learning English.
2. Consider other factors students might have in relation to your content area, such as background knowledge, cultural knowledge, lived experiences, personality, willingness to make mistakes or reach out to others, and their time in the United States.
3. Group roles can create an atmosphere of cooperation and learning. With MLs, it's important to assign them a role where they can stretch and is consistent with their linguistic abilities, so they don't get too frustrated. For example, a student at the beginning stages of development might have the role of illustrating the project or timekeeper. Those in more advanced stages could have the roles of connector or reporter. The types and names of roles within groups are numerous. Here are a few: facilitator, project manager, timekeeper, notetaker, resource manager, process observer, summarizer, questioner, connector, and participation tracker. It's important that the roles reflect the project and that they are inherently beneficial for the group's tasks.
4. Within the groups, students should be allowed to use their dominant language (one most comfortable using in that content area). I would discuss with students how to use their dominant language within the group in a way that is respectful for all involved. For example, let's say you have a group with four students. Two of the students speak Spanish (one is beginning level of English proficiency and the other at intermediate). The other two students are monolingual. It's important to explicitly state that sometimes the two Spanish-speaking students might need to speak in Spanish for clarity. Still, the Level 3 speaking student will briefly share what they discussed with the English-speaking students. The English-speaking students need to understand that when the other two speak Spanish, it is not to talk about them or leave them out—instead, it's to make sure they understand and can contribute to the project. All students can be explicitly taught how to use the comprehensible input strategies discussed in the previous chapter.
Fish Bowl Activity-Make Explicit What is Hidden
Group work is enhanced when you make explicit the hidden expectations of what will happen in pair or group work. I recommend the following ideas to help all students know the group work process. Group work is more productive when each student has a role. I assign those roles and always create the groups ahead of time, based on several factors.
Model group work.
Ask a few students (ideally ahead of time) to sit in a circle in the middle of the classroom as if they are in a small group. All the rest of the students in the class stand in a circle around them. Give these students the role of jotting down aspects of cooperative group behavior.
Preselected students will model a group activity.
Everyone shares their names.
Each person shares the role they have been given. The group briefly goes over the action of this role.
The students begin working on the task. I assign a short task for this fishbowl activity, so students are not standing too long.
After they finish the task, one student presents the result of the task.
You then ask the students in the outside circle to share what went well with the group work. Then, ask if there is anything the students could do to make the group work even more smoothly. Write their specific ideas on the board or projector.
Instruct all the students to return to their desks and write at least (3) ideas they can do in the future to contribute to positive group work.
Group work flourishes when all the students buy into the process AND the product. Assessing group work has additional aspects to consider, especially in mixed linguistic and ability grouping. With every task within a group work assignment, both process- and product-related skills should be assessed. Group contributions must be translated into individual grades, raising fairness and equity issues.
The process is enhanced when students have time to assess their contributions and focus on what others in the group did well rather than having students state what others could have done better. Many process skills could be included, such as (a) respectfully listening to classmates even when they have opposing views, (b) managing conflict around differences in ideas or approaches, (c) keeping the group on track both during and between meetings, (d) inviting individuals in the group to share if they have been quieter, (e) stepping back from sharing if they have been talking a lot.
After the group has worked together, assess how much each individual learned. Independent reflections, journal entries, short quizzes, or ticket-out-the-door slips can accomplish this.