A form of organization that is popular and often used by students and teachers is group work. Group work can either be done in school or outside such as camping and thus backpack activities can be exciting.

What does the term group work mean?

Group work is a very widespread and well-known form of organization. The students work in groups on the content of the lesson and have to solve the task they are given together. In order to do this, the learners first have to “get together”. They must distribute the tasks within their group according to their individual performance and interests and meet the demands placed on them by the teacher or with regard to the set learning goal. Accordingly, this social form is based on very high demands. The better the students work together, the more targeted the path to solving the task.

Learning to be open to other points of view

As with partner work, a great challenge for the students is to deal with that of others in addition to their own perspective. The views of the group members can of course be contrary and not “fit together”. The larger the number of people, the more difficult a goal-oriented and positive collaboration becomes. Everyone has to open up to an exchange of views with the partners and allow their opinion in the discussion. The students do not only deal with the technical aspect of the task, but also with the group members and their worldviews. It is about entering into a dialogue and working together on a topic or helping each other with problems.

Group work must also be practiced

The prerequisite for successful group work is that the students have already learned to work with a partner. The rules of conversation must also be well-rehearsed for everyone involved and the whisper in which work is carried out must not just be a mere empty phrase. Group work also requires a certain degree of organization and is not as versatile as, for example, partner work. This is also due to the fact that the students first have to come together in their group.