Demo Lesson: Group Dynamics

Lesson Plan Outline, Typical Student

Reactions, and Pedagogical Connections

Harvard University Extension School

EDUC-E109/W May 4, 2010
 Demo Lesson: Group Dynamics
Typical Day Structure:
• Agenda, “Do Now”
• Plan Activity/Mini-lesson
• Activity
• Mini-lesson/Wrap up
• “Ticket to Leave”

(FYI: Typical student answers are in italics. Most slides in this

Demo Lesson recap reflect the content of structured notes
and discussion. PowerPoint is mostly just projected on the
whiteboard as a template to guide my board writing.)
 “Do Now”
Name an advantage and disadvantage of
working in a large group.

Advantages: Disadvantages:
-more ideas -get distracted
-fun -don't like people
-get to talk in group
-don't like result
 Mini-lesson: Group Dynamics
Scholarship= Social loafing=

when group members when group members

work extra hard... slack off...

ideas! ZZZZZ...
ideas!
ideas!
 Planning Experiment:
Futuristic Car Design
Objective: To compare individual work and group work.
Hypothesis: Which style of work is better for this activity?
– Group work is better because...
– Individual work is better because...
Method: What we will measure to evaluate our hypothesis?
-measure the time it takes or percentage of class
completion
-rate enjoyability
-rate creativity/variety of ideas
-rate satisfaction with end product
 Planning Experiment:
Futuristic Car Design
Method (continued):
Step 1: Independent Design
Using the table on the next
page, design a futuristic car
that you would like to own.
(Star your two best features!)
Rules:
-nothing inappropriate for
high school
-no talking to others about
your ideas
-don't look at others' papers
Step 2: Group Design
As a group decide on one
car design that everyone will
like. (Try to get your favorite
idea included!)
Rules:
-nothing inappropriate for
high school
-take turns or raise hands
-elect a leader?
 Activity: Design a Futuristic Car!
Individual then Group Design
Color?
Model? (truck, sedan, etc.)
Mode of Propulsion? (gas, etc.)
Safety Features (need 3)

Anti-theft features (need 2)

Fun features (7)

Other ideas?
Data/Observations:

Rate the individual work.

•Faster
•Still talking, not working
•Not as fun
•Some good ideas if you're creative and keep
thinking, otherwise not as many

Rate the group work.

•Off topic conversations
•More fun
•More, cooler ideas
•Took more time
•People get ignored, don't participate
Conclusions:

Which method was better? WHY?

•Individual because... (usually pick a
personally important advantage or that it was
faster)
•Group because... (usually pick a personally
important advantage or that there were more
ideas generated)

What did you learn by doing this activity?

•I learned... (usually define vocab, describe a
surprising result/observation, or say what they
learned about themselves)
 Groupthink
Groupthink= behavior of groups where people
try to reduce conflict while making a decision in
order to reach an agreement.

Groups enforce conformity! (generate & discuss as a class)

– Not speaking up with new ideas
– Stereotyping different people/ideas (“us” v. “them” attitude)
– Assuming everyone agrees, ignoring people that don't agree
– Believing the group is superior (“Our ideas are the best!”)

Select a symptom of groupthink we discussed and

describe how it affected our group dynamics.
 “Ticket to Leave”
How can we avoid the negative effects of groupthink?

-stand up for people, be nice to everyone

-ask other people for opinions
-be brave, speak up
-don't always think your work is better than someone else's
 Differentiation
-Gardner's Multiple Intelligences:
– Intrapersonal (individual design)
– Interpersonal (group design)
– Visual/Spatial (creative design)
– Linguistic/speaking (group design, scientific
analysis, share-outs)
– Logical/Mathematical (practical design,
planning, scientific method/analysis)

-Piaget's Cognitive Processes:

– Concrete Operational (activity)
– Formal Operational (scientific analysis)

-Erikson's Psychosocial Stages:

– Industry v. Inferiority
– Identity v. Ego-confusion
 Differentiation & Motivation
-Addressing IEP/ELL Needs:
– structured notes
– presentation software to guide board writing
– pictures
– time to check in with individual students

-Motivational Tactics:
– assigning group leaders, note-takers, timers, etc.
– peer pressure (check your classmates for signs
of “social loafing”!)
– utilizing school's reward/demerit system
 Bibliography

Snowman, J., McCown, R., & Biehler, R. (2009).

Psychology Applied to Teaching (12th ed.).
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Gerrig, R., & Zimbardo, P. (2008). Psychology

and Life (18th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Myers, D. (1983.) Social Psychology (4th ed.).

New York: McGraw Hill.