The following phases should be used when implementing small group or laboratory activities. The phases enable the science teacher to integrate positive management strategies with the elements of lesson planning developed in Chapter 9.
Phase I: Preparation. There are a number of management decisions that have to be made in advance if cooperative group work and laboratory work is to be effective. You should decide upon the goals for the activity. Once goals have been established, and you have chosen the activity, task or laboratory exercise or problem in which students will be engaged you will need to make these decisions:
1. Decide upon the size of each group, and how students will be assigned to them. Generally, keep groups from between two and four students. Student teams should be heterogeneous by ability, sex and ethnicity. You can use a random method as well.
2. Identify roles for each member of the team. Examples include facilitator or team leader (principal investigator), recorder, reporter, materials handle.
3. Obtain all the materials needed for the activity. Organize them either at stations around the room or in the laboratory, or put them in containers that can easily be distributed to individual teams.
Phase II: Pre-Activity Discussion. Effective facilitators of small group work prepare students to work in small teams and in the laboratory. Students need to have a clear understanding of the task, whether it is a problem to investigate, a phenomenon is observe and analyze, or a small group activity that is accomplished sitting together around tables pushed together. The teacher's ability in establishing group focus is important at this stage. Here are some of the management procedures that should be accomplished during this phase:
1. Explain the task pointing out the goal and purpose of the activity.
2. Explain how students will work together to achieve positive interdependence, and how each group member is individually accountable.
3. Identify the interpersonal skill(s) that will be emphasized in the activity.
4. Explain time constraints and when the students should be completed with their work.
Phase III: Equipment and Safety Needs. After students are in their assigned teams and arranged as small groups at their work stations (around desks, in the lab), take time to explain the equipment needs of the activity. Equipment should be picked up by a materials handler from each group (who is also responsible for clean up and return of the equipment at the end of the period). If equipment is already set up at work stations in the classroom, or at laboratory tables, someone from each group should be designated as being responsible for the equipment.
You need to anticipate any safety problems associated with the equipment and materials that students will be handling. At all times, students should wear safety goggles when handling materials in a science activity. One principle to keep in mind is to weigh an activity's science educational value against it hazard. School liability experts recommend that if a potentially hazardous activity cannot be changed or altered to reduce the risk, then it should be eliminated. Take the time to demonstrate the use of materials or equipment before the students begin the activity. Discovering how to use equipment and materials is not one of the goals of the science laboratory.
Phase IV: Activity Monitoring. Effective science teachers actively monitor the work of students in cooperative activities and laboratory work. Active monitoring involves observing the groups as they work on the problem or task. Some teachers make notes on each group's performance, especially noting progress on interpersonal skills. The teacher should intervene by asking students, from-time-to-time, to explain what they are doing or to answer questions. An important role in monitoring is to exhibit "with-it-ness" by preventing any misbehaviors before they begin. Laboratory work, especially if students are standing in a laboratory environment, can "facilitate" misbehavior among students. Your careful monitoring will head off most of these problems.
Phase V: Post-Activity Processing. The facilitator role of the teacher is maximized during post activity processing. There are two aspects to post-activity facilitating there are crucial. On the one hand the teacher is responsible for helping the students understand the concepts or the results of the experiment carried out in the laboratory. The teacher should be center stage in order to facilitate verbal communication among the entire class. Reports (by the reporter) from each group can be given. The teacher can ask high level questions to extend the reasoning ability of students. The teacher might arrange for the results from each group to be posted for all to observe. This dimension of the post-activity processing should focus on the cognitive and affective outcomes associated with the activity.
On the other hand, post-activity processing should also be an opportunity for the cooperative groups to process their work as a team. This is an opportunity for the team to sit together to reflect on how well they worked as a team, and what steps they need to take to improve their team's ability to function. The teacher can suggest a question or two for the team to consider and discuss, e.g. What skills did the group use effectively? What are some areas that need to be worked on?