Buß, Imke; Rump, Jutta; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra

a) Description of the method
Group work is a phase in the learning process in which a (usually) small group of students completes a work assignment more or less independently.

What is it good for?
Learning in small groups sets various cognitive and social processes in motion. For example, both short questions can be discussed in groups of 2 to consolidate, repeat or apply knowledge. More extensive tasks enable the cooperative and independent elaboration of learning objects. The advantage of forming groups should be taken into account when setting the task (e.g. bringing in different experiences and levels of knowledge). The successful completion of a task can remain in the group or be available at the end as an observable and measurable result.

Whether the use of group work makes sense depends on the respective learning objectives of the course. Since the subject matter of the group work is usually of a technical nature, it must be possible to work on this technical content in groups in a meaningful way. Group work is also suitable for the promotion of interdisciplinary competencies, such as communication skills, teamwork, conflict management and independent learning.

Procedure in the context of a presence meeting
The procedure is divided into several phases:
1. Preparation phase: Clarification of the task and group allocation
2. Execution: discussion round and processing in small groups
3. Presentation/evaluation: Presentation of the group results (selected or by all groups)
4. Feedback/evaluation: Feedback and discussion of the results in the plenum

There are many practical uses for group work, such as for practicing, applying, and consolidating knowledge, generating new approaches to a solution, or introducing a new topic, as well as for preparing poster sessions or role plays. By deliberately dividing students into groups (e.g. according to previous experience, strengths of the students), the diversity of the students can be well taken into account. If students can divide themselves into groups, this may lead to homogeneous groups and exclusion of those who are less integrated.

The role of the teachers is to give precise work assignments. During the group phase, they withdraw - but are available as advisors and remain approachable. During the exchange of results, teachers act as moderators and give feedback.

Group size
2-6 students per group

Room equipment
Several group work sessions can take place in the same room. Attention should be paid to the noise level.

Material
You need a flipchart or a blackboard for collecting and recording the ideas. Students can also prepare handouts or similar for larger group work.

b) How does & encourage group work to address the following diversity dimensions?
Prior subject knowledge & Prior knowledge
Prior knowledge and prior experience can be easily accommodated by a) Grouping students with different prior knowledge in one group. This is especially useful if students are expected to have a similar level of knowledge after group work. Alternatively, tasks exist that explicitly address particular student experiences or strengths (e.g., if each group is to examine a topic from a different perspective). Then b) distributing topics according to prior (professional) knowledge can be useful.

Study motivation
Group work promotes intrinsically as well as extrinsically motivated students. Regardless of the subject interest, however, it is important that students understand the meaningfulness of group work (it must not "stand on its own"). For intrinsically motivated students, there is the opportunity to work cooperatively with other students to deepen their subject interest. For extrinsically motivated students, recognition occurs through performance in the group and recognition of the results by the instructors.

However, studies indicate that as group size increases, not only does coordination of individual performance become more difficult, but individual commitment decreases (social loafing - i.e., individual participants decrease their commitment to group tasks). Accordingly, it is important to keep group sizes appropriately small.

Academic & social integration
Group work especially promotes social integration among students in the form of peer-to-peer exchange, a shared group effort, and the shared learning process. Academic integration tends to be less present in shorter group work (e.g., short marble group of two), but regular group work with more extensive assignments allows for exchange with the instructor.

Time and place restrictions
Time and place restrictions depend on where the group work is used. Within the lecture/seminar they are similarly restrictive as with all other attendance events. At the same time, a high degree of plannability is given (time known in advance). Longer-term group work, in which students meet in a self-determined manner, can compensate for time restrictions and at the same time have the challenge of bringing all students "under one hat". Here, virtual exchange is an alternative.

Literature
Landmann, M.; Schmitz, B. (2007): Successfully promoting self-regulation: Practical training programs for effective learning. Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer Verlag.

Metz-Göckel, H. (2013): Group work and its dangers. In: Journal Hochschuldidaktik 1-2/2013.

University of Cologne (2010): Methodenpool. With the collaboration of K. Reich.

Citation
Buß, Imke; Rump, Jutta; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra (2017): Group work in face-to-face courses. In: Rump, Jutta; Buß, Imke; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra: Toolbox for good teaching in a diverse student body. Working Papers of the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences, No. 6. www. hwg-lu.de/arbeitspapiere

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