431 Classroom Dynamics

Updates from practicum schools…
• What made you happy this week?

• What made you frustrated this week?
• What are your observations about the classroom dynamics and group dynamics
in your practicum settings?
• Any vibrant classroom or student group observations?
• Have you observed any pair/group work activities or cooperative learning
practices in your practicum schools? What was the rationale behind it?
• How were they structured?
• How did the process go in terms of efficiency, student participation, engagement, and
motivation?
• Any other outstanding observations/experiences you would like to share?
Classroom Dynamics and
Group Dynamics
FLE 431.4 - Oct. 2, 2023
Dr. Aycan Demir Ayaz
Cooperative learning and Group work
• Cooperative learning is more structured and aims
to achieve particular learning outcomes by
requiring students to work together with clear
roles and responsibilities.
• Group work is a more flexible approach where

students collaborate but may not have the same
level of interdependence or structured roles, and it
can be used for various purposes, including
discussions and idea sharing.
Why do we talk about it?
• Research on group interaction shows the importance of group dynamics—the way in

which members of a group react to one another—and how pair/group work can be
improved.
• Hadfield (1992, 10) believes positive group dynamics “can have a beneficial effect on
the morale, motivation, and self-image of its members, and thus significantly affect
their learning.”
• Hadfield (1992) found what troubled teachers most was not how to present the
language to learners, but how to deal with unmotivated groups.
• Creating vibrant student groups is a challenging task that requires careful observation
and appropriate intervention from the teacher throughout the course.
Group work…
• A form of learner activation

• Fosters learner responsibility
• More opportunities to talk
• More relaxed atmosphere
• Increase in motivation
• Feeling of cooperation
• Loss of control
• Too much noise
• Crowded class
• Students do sloppy job with task or they don’t do it at all
• Over-use of mother tongue
Success of Group Work?
It depends on…
• Surrounding social climate
• How frequently it is used in the class
• Selection of interesting and stimulating task
• Effective and careful organization
Group Work Organization
1. Presentation:
• Instructions (give at the beginning) to avoid:
• Wasting time
• Confusion
• Lack of effective practice
• Loss of control
2. Process:
• Approval & support
• Help the Ss
• Keep the Ss speaking English
• Regulate participation in a discussion
3. Ending:
• Finishing the activity appropriately
• Time limitation
4. Feedback:
• Giving the right solution
• Evaluating suggestions
• Pooling ideas
• Displaying materials
Practical tips for succesful implementation of
cooperative learning…
1. How big should groups be?
• The smaller the group, the more each member talks

• If time is short, small groups (2-3 students)
• If the task is complex, larger groups (ideally 4)
2. How should groups be formed?
• Teacher selected groups until students become proficient at collaboration

• Variety in language proficiency, first language, sex, race and diligence
• Band the learners’ names into proficiency clusters from high to low and select randomly
from each band
• Random grouping, quick and easy
• Counting off, giving out numbered pieces of papers, distributing cards with different
categories on them (e.g. names of animals, countries )
• After becoming good at cooperative work, self-selected groups
3. How to get the attention back to the teacher?
• A pre-determined signal (e.g. the teacher raising hand,
knocking on the door, ringing a bell, blowing a whistle,
singing etc.)
• RSPA (Raise hand, Stop talking, Pass the signal,
Attention to teacher)
• Two signals on the board, one to stop working and
another to continue but more quietly
• Play music in the background and turn it off as the
attention signal
• A group checker role to watch out for the teachers’
signals
4. What to do about too high noise level?
• Assign the role of noise monitor or quite captain

• The closer the students sit, the more quietly
they can talk
• Pre-determined signals to continue working but
more quietly
• Stoplight cards on the group desks:
• green card doing great,
• yellow card quite down a little bit,
• red cardstop working, count to ten silently and
start working again
5. What if a student rejects working in a group?
• Discuss the potential advantages (e.g. learning more, having more fun)
• State that talking with others is a language learning strategy applicable to real life
• Clarify that studying in groups is only one of several ways of learning in class (it is
not permanent)
• Use group games
• Start with pairs and tasks that require exchange of information (create the need
for interaction)
• Provide language support in terms of useful vocabulary and structures to help
them taste success
• Allow individual work
6. What about early finishers?
• Check to see if the groups have done the assignment properly
• Have early finishers compare their work with other early finishers
• Ask exemplary groups discuss how they worked together to explain their group
process later on in class to provide good models for the other groups
• Develop one or two sponge activities (short activities related to main task)
• Set time limits to discourage groups from dawdling
• Ask students help other groups
• Early finishers can work on homework or other assignments

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Updates from practicum schools…

• What made you happy this week?

• Group work is a more flexible approach where

• Research on group interaction shows the importance of group dynamics—the way in

• A form of learner activation

• The smaller the group, the more each member talks

• Teacher selected groups until students become proficient at collaboration

• Assign the role of noise monitor or quite captain

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