nf1336: er our topic this morning is er collaborative learning [0.7] now [0.7] 
the reason that we have this session is actually because a few years ago i 
think it was four years ago [0.7] students on the M-A course actually suggested 
[0.6] that we do this session at the beginning of the year [0.9] er [0.2] we 
were talking about collaborative work [0.3] and i was using it a lot in my 
classes [0.4] and i was doing some research some study of collaborative work [0.
4] and i gave a talk at the end of the year to which M-A students were invited 
[0.4] and they said at the end of that talk [0.6] we think you should do a talk 
like that at the beginning [0.2] of the year so that people become aware [0.3] 
of the issues in collaborative work [0.3] because a lot of the tutors [0.2] use 
it in their classes [0.3] and you may well have experienced it already [0.4] 
perhaps tutors have asked you to sit together [0.3] in a small group or to 
prepare something together out of class [0.3] in [0.2] a group [0.8] er so 
that's really my role this afternoon i'm acting as a kind of intermediary [0.4] 
between previous students [0.2] and yourselves to pass on [0.3] some of their 
thoughts about [0.2] collaborative work [0.2] okay [0.5] i think it would 
probably be a good idea [0.3] just to explain [0.4] what i mean by 
collaborative work because it can take many shapes and forms [0.6] it can be 
fairly straightforward and simple [0.5] er in other words [0.2] a short [0.6] 
er group discussion task [0.3] er during class time [0.3] just to give you a 
quick example and i'm taking the examples [0.3] from my own classes [0.3] one 
that i've often used with teachers [0.3] er which i used [0.2] many years ago 
when i was working with [0.3] namex which is why his name is there [0.7] er [0.
4] it was at the beginning of a psychology course and we asked teachers to 
think [0.4] about [0.2] the sorts of [0.6] opinions or assumptions that they 
had about learning [0.5] and we gave them some [0.2] to think about okay [0.5] 
er these are statements [0.2] about language learning in the English language 
classroom [0.6] and we wanted the teachers first to look at it together [0.7] 
and then to compare their 
opinions with those of colleagues in a small group [0.5] now that task usually 
took [0.4] er fifteen to twenty minutes and then there was a plenary [0.2] 
afterwards [0.3] and students tended to be grouped [0.2] as they were sitting 
[0.3] in the classroom and that's probably happened to you [0.3] already just 
turn to the few people around you [0.3] and talk about the particular [0.3] 
topic [0.3] and exchange opinions [0.4] so that's a fairly short simple [0.3] 
example of collaborative work [0.4] but then i think you'll find during the 
year [0.3] that there will be more [0.3] complex and longer [0.4] tasks which 
you're asked to do [0.3] this is another one [0.6] er and this takes about an 
hour [0.3] in the classroom [0.4] and it's from the topic of extensive reading 
the idea of setting up [0.3] a class library [0.3] of reading material for 
learners [0.5] er and you can see [0.3] that it it's a task that will take 
quite some time [0.3] because the teachers are going to select [0.2] a set of 
readers [0.2] that they think would be useful [0.2] for their classes [0.4] so 
we take 
into the classroom a huge pile of graded readers [0.4] ask students to work in 
groups of four or five [0.3] and together [0.3] sort through [0.3] and decide 
what they would choose and as they do that [0.3] think what criteria [0.2] they 
are using [0.3] to make those decisions [0.3] so at the end of the task [0.3] 
they will have [0.2] a set of criteria [0.2] for selecting reading material for 
learners [0.4] and then we ask them to [0.2] prioritize [0.2] the criteria [0.
6] er i think you can appreciate that in asking a group of teachers to do that 
[0.5] it gives plenty of time for them to reflect [0.6] to make sense [0.3] of 
this to use their experience to use their own opinions [0.3] and perceptions [0.
3] and it's likely to be far more effective [0.4] than somebody just standing 
up and saying [0.3] this is a useful list of criteria [0.2] for selecting [0.3] 
reading material in the classroom [0.5] er it's what some people call [0.4] 
deep [0.2] learning because you become involved [0.4] in the topic in the task 
[0.3] er and you learn by applying [0.3] your own knowledge your own experience 
as it were [0.5] so those are just two 
examples [0.4] but there is also more complex [0.3] still [0.3] er types of 
collaborative [0.2] learning [0.8] sometimes you may be asked to work with a 
group of two or three other students to prepare a presentation [0.4] of an 
article [0.3] on a particular topic that the class is looking at [0.4] and you 
will need to work together outside the classroom [0.3] to decide how you're 
going to organize the presentation [0.4] who's going to talk about what [0.4] 
and and you will need to build a relationship a rapport with your colleagues in 
order to do that [0.3] successfully [0.7] and later on in the year in the 
professional practice courses certainly in mine and i think in namex's [0.2] i 
don't know namex's so well [0.5] but [0.3] you will be asked to form er what we 
call a design syndicate [0.4] because part of the purpose of the professional 
practice courses [0.3] is that you design materials [0.2] and you learn through 
the process of designing them [0.6] and quite a lot of that design will go on 
outside [0.4] the classroom [0.5] and you will be given the opportunity to work 
with 
who you wish to work with [0.3] but with the tutor's help if you need help [0.
3] but by that time you probably have got to know people [0.3] and will know 
who you might work successfully with [0.6] and again in groups of four or five 
[0.3] you will be asked to design [0.2] a particular kind of material [0.3] and 
then come back to the next week's class and present it [0.3] to your colleagues 
who will evaluate it [0.3] critically [0.4] er and give comments and opinions 
and so on [0.3] as feedback [0.4] to your work [0.7] er and as i said a lot of 
that work will go on [0.3] outside the classroom so it will be your 
responsibility [0.3] to get together [0.3] to organize yourselves [0.3] and and 
to work successfully [0.3] together [0.7] now [0.6] there are obviously [0.4] 
great advantages i say obviously i hope it's obvious to you as teachers [0.5] 
that there are great advantages [0.3] in working collaboratively [0.6] er i 
have to say that this summer [0.4] er i have been doing a small-scale research 
study [0.3] with last year's M-A students before 
they went home [0.5] and it involved interviewing [0.5] er teachers who were on 
the course last year [0.4] the topic of the study was actually about [0.4] the 
ways in which they felt the course had helped them to develop [0.4] as teachers 
as creative [0.3] as autonomous as resourceful [0.2] teachers [0.7] er [0.3] 
and i interviewed about twenty-two [0.3] of the teachers from last year and i 
was very [0.3] pleased to hear that they [0.2] all but one [0.4] er felt that 
they had [0.4] developed con-, substantially [0.3] er in terms of their their 
teaching their creativity and so on [0.9] and when i asked them what in 
particular [0.4] had helped them to develop [0.7] i was i was quite surprised 
actually [0.4] but without excepti-, well w-, with the exception of one [0.5] 
er [0.2] they all said [0.7] that the main [0.4] prompt [0.9] towards their 
development was working with other teachers [0.2] in the group in the different 
kinds of collaborative work [0.4] that they had been doing [0.3] during the 
year that they had learned a very great deal [0.5] not just from the reading 
not just from the tutors the input [0.3] but from working with 
other people [0.2] sharing ideas [0.3] and learning that people all round the 
world have the same kinds of problems and issues [0.2] in the English language 
classroom [0.3] and have found lots of ideas for resolving them [0.3] so it was 
sharing of that kind [0.4] that they felt particularly useful [0.7] er [0.4] 
here are some quotations [0.2] from teachers [1.4] i found [0.3] that this 
collaborative work really helped me [0.3] in finding solutions to problems 
which i couldn't find entirely [0.3] from my own experience [0.3] or from the 
theory i had learned [0.6] okay [1.4] here's another one [0.5] er and this was 
er a teacher who was also a teacher trainer [0.4] okay [0.6] so [0.3] she said 
i think in a teachers' workshop such a method is indispensable [0.4] and i 
would surely apply it [0.5] to get teachers feeling they are part of the 
learning [0.4] to draw from their experience [0.2] and knowledge [1.1] here's 
another one [1.1] working in a group [0.4] sharing my opinion with others was 
instructive i learned a lot [0.3] 
from my colleagues [1.0] er [0.2] this was an interesting one [0.6] i should 
try to work with someone i don't like [0.9] [laughter] this is important to me 
as a teacher trainer [0.3] who has to work together sometimes with someone i 
don't like [laughter] i think that was a very sensible [0.3] approach to take 
[0.4] and this one i found very interesting he was a university lecturer from 
India [0.8] and [0.2] he was somebody who was a bit irritated by group work but 
nevertheless [0.2] felt that it was important look what he says [0.7] group 
work i sometimes felt to be irritating and so polarized [0.3] so much time is 
spent before intersubjectivity is achieved [0.3] and discussion seems to 
progress [0.5] so often [0.3] i've been tempted to chip in [0.4] and to direct 
the discussions the way i think [0.2] is right [0.4] but group work is a 
cooperative process that necessarily [0.2] involves a warming-up period [0.5] 
and interpersonal skills [0.3] i shan't push the river [0.2] that's a very nice 
metaphor [0.4] 
i shan't push the river [0.4] it makes me realize what i ask of my students [0.
2] in discussion [0.5] because it is standard practice now in many parts of the 
world [0.3] to get students in the language learning classroom [0.3] to work 
together [0.3] so when you experience it as a teacher [0.3] it can be quite a 
salutary [0.4] er [0.2] er experience [0.6] so there are very positive things 
that teachers report on [0.6] but of course group work [0.8] has [0.6] implicit 
in it [0.4] quite a lot of potential [0.2] problems and issues [0.4] er namex 
[0.3] that er teacher [0.3] said it can be very irritating [0.3] and sometimes 
he wanted to direct it [0.4] er in his own way [0.7] er i remember reading an 
article in the Higher Education Journal a British journal [0.5] er and it was 
about collaborative learning on undergraduate courses [0.4] er [0.3] where 
students had to work in a team for six months [0.2] and produce materials and 
give presentations [0.4] and some of the students were interviewed [0.4] about 
what they had learned from that 
experience [0.3] and i always remember one of them said [0.8] i learned how not 
to do murder [0.5] just [0.7] [laughter] er and that that was really her main 
reaction it had been so difficult and so painful at times she wanted to murder 
[0.4] [laughter] her colleagues [0.4] er and i remember a course i ran some 
years ago [0.3] it was a diploma course a practical diploma course [0.3] where 
teachers were practising teaching together [0.3] and i had a party at home and 
invited everybody home [0.4] and i said to one of them Caroline i said [0.4] 
i'm very impressed about the way [0.2] the group has got together this year 
everybody seems to be getting on it's gelled very well [0.4] and there's been 
none of the usual screaming and shouting that you get before that happens [0.3] 
and she said [0.5] oh namex there was plenty of screaming and shouting going on 
[0.2] but it was in our heads [laughter] right [0.7] so [0.7] what students 
from previous years really want me to pass on to you [0.5] are some of the 
issues that arise in 
group work [0.4] things to think about when you find yourself working in a 
group [0.4] with other people on the course [0.6] i'm going to give you an 
example [0.4] er of one oh i in f-, fact it's in your handout [0.2] on pages 
two and three [0.6] you'll find an example [0.3] of some group work going on [0.
3] and this was on this M-A course er [0.3] a couple of years back [1.0] if you 
have a look at page two [0.5] er oh sorry i haven't [laughter] given them out 
[1.7] okay [0.3] if you have a look at pages two and three [0.4] you'll find 
that one 
nf1336: now as i said this is a transcript [0.5] from [1.9] a group discussion 
[0.6] a few years ago [2.1] and it's right at the beginning [0.6] of the 
professional practice course [3.9] and the task that students have been given 
[0.5] is a design task so they're working in what we call design syndicates [0.
6] er and as you can see in this group there were five people [0.6] and it was 
a multicultural group [0.6] namex namex [0.3] namex [0.4] namex [0.4] and namex 
[0.8] from different countries [0.2] er [0.8] all European countries in this in 
this group [0.2] in fact [0.8] and what they were doing [0.3] was designing [0.
4] er [0.3] a presessional course [0.8] we chose a 
presessional course because some of them had experience of that [0.6] er and 
could inform the group [0.3] but we wanted [0.3] a course that [0.3] everybody 
could think about not a course that would be specific to any particular country 
[0.7] and this is how they started off on the discussion [0.3] because they 
were looking [0.4] at the scores the IELT scores [0.3] that the group of 
students had it was a simulation so they had information [0.3] about a group of 
students their IELT scores [0.3] their needs for the future and so on [0.5] and 
they just started off trying to talk [0.3] about the information that they had 
[0.8] now [0.2] if you take time to read this at length [0.3] you will find 
that it's rather a nervous [0.3] discussion [0.8] because the group [0.2] was 
in [0.2] the very early stages of forming [0.4] what we know [0.4] from a lot 
of research into [0.4] groups and group development [0.3] is that they usually 
go through four stages and this is something worth thinking about [0.5] what we 
have here is an 
example [0.3] of stage one [0.5] which is usually called forming [1.1] that's a 
nice set of words here because they're [0.3] four verbs [0.2] er which rhyme [0.
7] forming storming norming and performing [0.8] and at the forming stage [0.2] 
you can imagine it i think people are sort of [0.3] eyeing each other up [0.4] 
wondering what they're like [0.4] wondering who's going to become dominant 
who's going to want to lead the group [0.6] er who's going to be silent why are 
they silent [0.4] er how they're going to manage to get on with people who's 
going to do the work who might not do the work and so on [0.4] so it's a kind 
of [0.2] edgy [0.2] nervous getting to know people [0.3] as the group [0.3] 
forms [0.4] and you need a bit of time [0.2] to get through [0.2] that stage [0.
4] and then we have [0.2] storming [0.4] you can imagine from the word [0.3] 
what that involves very often [0.3] you then get a difficult stage [0.3] where 
people start clashing [0.3] personalities clash [0.5] or aims clash [0.5] or 
people clash because they [0.2] they each want to control the group [0.3] 
you've got two strong personalities who want to be the chair [0.2] and direct 
everything [0.6] so you get that stage of storming [0.4] and then gradually [0.
5] the group will [0.4] work out [0.3] its routines its procedures [0.2] if 
they're going to rotate the chair [0.2] how are they going to function together 
[0.3] and will reach the stage of [0.3] norming [0.2] they've sorted it out [0.
5] and after [0.2] they have [0.3] normed they will be able to perform [0.3] 
effectively [0.3] now bear that in mind [0.4] if you're in a design syndicate 
[0.2] next term [0.3] you need probably to go through [0.3] those stages you 
need to be aware [0.4] that that that's normal [0.7] and and you don't need to 
get worried [0.3] about the storming phase because normally it will sort itself 
out [0.3] and things will fall into place and routines [0.3] will form [0.6] 
now [0.2] i've given you that er [0.5] transcript [0.4] in your handout but let 
me show you [0.3] what i discovered because i think it illustrates this and it 
shows some of the issues [0.5] because [0.2] while the groups were working [0.
4] i asked them to write diaries about what was going on [0.6] some of them 
wrote things down as they were actually working in the group every 
so often [0.3] they stopped and wrote something in their diary [0.3] and some 
of them wrote diaries afterwards immediately afterwards [0.2] so i was able to 
take things from the diaries [0.5] and [0.3] relate them to what was going on 
[0.2] in the group and it was really very very interesting let me show you some 
of the things [0.3] so here we have [0.5] the transcript [0.8] and this is what 
they wrote in their diaries [0.3] here's one [0.7] i don't like to work in a 
group with her [0.6] she's too straightforward in expressing her ideas [0.2] 
opinions [0.3] and rude in rejecting other people's opinions [0.4] [laughter] 
right [0.9] or this one [0.6] i cannot progress at my own pace but at the pace 
of the group [0.4] one member had to beg for explanations as she could not 
follow [0.7] right [0.3] perhaps some of you will recognize these feelings [0.
3] from when you've been working in groups [0.6] pity we're all saying the same 
thing and don't realize it [1.5] [laughter] i tried to butt in several times 
and repeat my 
idea until at last one of my friends says they accept mine [1.5] [laughter] it 
annoys me when people emphasize words all the time [0.2] [laughter] there was 
somebody with very very dogmatic [0.4] er style in that [0.7] er [0.3] nothing 
new was said that i didn't already know [0.8] i've been on enough committees to 
know what a shambles they can be [0.6] right [0.7] or this one discussions 
tended to be dominated by a few individual students [0.3] others could be given 
a chance to speak [0.7] some wanted to impress tutors they were active 
participants and others wanted to be on the cassette [1.0] [laughter] this talk 
struggle was contrary to usual turn-taking [0.4] right [0.4] so you can see 
some of the issues coming up here [0.3] that need to be resolved [0.4] and a 
couple more [1.0] i decided to express my disagreement i noticed a certain 
rejection to what i was saying [0.3] i know i was a bit direct [0.3] but what i 
said was true [0.6] and this is the person who the other person said [0.3] was 
very dominating 
sf1337: mm 
nf1336: 
in the discussion [1.8] this disorganization makes me feel impatient and 
aggressive especially as there's one person in the group who's very negative [1.
5] [laughter] and then this one which is interesting because the group was 
mixed and had different educational and cultural backgrounds [0.3] i found it 
difficult at times to discuss openly [0.4] 'cause i didn't really know what the 
reactions would be [0.7] and i think we have to bear in mind here [0.2] in 
CELTE [0.3] that we are working in a multicultural [0.2] group [0.4] and people 
[0.2] have very different ways [0.3] of doing things [0.3] let me [0.2] give 
you an anecdote about that [0.3] some years ago in another university [0.4] i 
organized an induction from a [0.2] for an M-A group [0.3] and i asked the 
president of the Students' Union to come along his name was Winston [0.8] and 
Winston came along and talked about the Students' Union [1.4] and then he said 
any questions [0.5] and and one of the teachers in the group [0.3] raised a 
hand and said yes i yes i've i've got a few 
queries [0.5] er and he asked a question [0.3] and Winston just opened his 
mouth to start answering and [0.2] this teacher Matthew said no no wait i've 
got another question [0.9] er and people looked a bit shocked but Matthew just 
ploughed on and and asked another question [0.5] and Winston waited till he 
finished and [0.3] just started to speak and m-, no i haven't finished yet i've 
got another question [0.9] [laughter] and he actually went through five 
questions by which time Winston had [0.2] got his notebook out [0.3] and was 
[laughter] jotting then down [0.6] now [0.5] that was actually very fortunate 
because after it had happened [0.4] one of the students in the group who was 
quite direct said to Matthew [0.6] is that the way you do things in your 
country [0.3] and he looked very surprised and said well [0.6] well yes what's 
the problem [0.6] [laughter] and and the other people said well [0.6] we 
wouldn't do it like that in my culture you know pe-, people might get a bit 
offended and it's difficult to 
remember all the questions [0.4] so we were able to move into [0.2] a useful 
discussion [0.5] about cultural differences [0.2] in the group [0.6] er [0.5] 
all sorts of things like [0.8] what are the polite ways in er a British context 
or in a multicultural setting [0.4] to [0.6] er [0.2] get your way into a 
conversation if there's er a seminar discussion going on [0.3] and you want to 
say something [0.3] what are the ways in which it's acceptable [0.2] to do it 
[0.2] that won't offend other people [0.5] do you just butt in [0.4] and and 
speak over another person [0.4] or [0.4] well what are the ways what strategies 
would you use [0.3] if somebody's talking perhaps you think they've been 
talking too much and you want to say something [0.3] and there's a group of 
eight of you sitting around [0.3] what would you do to get into the 
conversation [1.2] 
ss: excuse me 
nf1336: excuse me so you would use verbal excuse me [0.3] and then you'd try to 
say something what 
else could you do 
ss: 
nf1336: namex 
sf1338: i'm putting my raised hand 
nf1336: yeah w-, yes [laughter] 
sf1338: in the air 
nf1336: waving your hand [0.3] yes so some kind of non-verbal signal [0.3] 
waving your hand or [0.4] raising a finger [0.4] [laughter] or [0.9] or half-, 
halfway between verbal and non-verbal [0.2] [0.5] [laughter] right coughing or 
clearing your ready to speak [0.5] but there are ways that are acceptable and 
there are ways which are not so acceptable [0.4] and which might cause offence 
and this is the kind of thing [0.3] that one needs to be [0.3] aware of [0.5] 
and [0.2] why are people silent [0.2] in groups [0.7] what are the reasons for 
silence in groups [0.5] is it because somebody's bored [0.6] is it because they 
haven't understood the topic [1.0] er is it nothing to do with the class 
whatsoever [0.3] is it because they had a row with their partner before they 
came to 
class [0.4] is it because their car broke down on the way to work and they're 
worried about what it's going to cost [0.3] to fix it [0.6] right is it because 
they were cruel to their cat and they're feeling guilty [0.4] [laughter] i mean 
there could be lots and lots of reasons why people are silent in class [0.3] 
what is the significance of silence [0.3] and if somebody is silent [0.4] what 
can you do [0.2] as another member [0.2] of the group to perhaps [0.3] draw 
them [0.3] in [0.4] okay [0.4] so there are lots of things going on in groups 
[0.3] some of them we may be aware of some of them we may not be [0.7] when i 
analysed all the diaries i found that the things [0.3] teachers were 
particularly concerned about [0.4] were these i've just built some categories 
[0.4] er and these are there in in the handout for you [1.9] interpretation [0.
9] you are given a task by a tutor [1.3] and sometimes people get [0.4] er 
different impressions of what they're supposed to do [0.5] and it's always 
worth spending the first few minutes of the say half-hour that you've got [0.3] 
to do the task [0.4] just talking through what it is you're supposed to do if 
somebody says okay what are we doing [0.6] er how are we going to tackle this 
[0.4] so that you're sharing interpretations [0.2] of the task [0.4] er and 
especially if you're working by yourselves out of class [0.2] it's very useful 
if somebody [0.3] takes on that role and says okay [0.4] w-, what are we doing 
[0.3] er and how are we going to go about doing it [0.6] which d-, which leads 
us on to procedures [0.6] er [1.0] the need for some organized constructive [0.
2] approach [0.5] er and somebody here comments on it took a long time to form 
the group [0.5] to clear the backgrounds to find a way of working [0.2] 
together [0.7] so it's always a good idea if you've been put together by [0.2] 
the tutor [0.5] just to say who you are [0.3] where you're from [0.5] er [0.3] 
and then to move on to interpreting [0.3] the task [0.3] and to make decisions 
[0.3] about how you're going to proceed [0.2] i'll give you an example later on 
of what one group decided [0.3] because they actually put together [0.3] a set 
of procedures that they wanted to use for group work [0.3] and they 
published it [0.2] and circulated it to all of the tutors [0.2] in the 
department this is how we [0.2] want to do group work when you ask us to do it 
[0.5] okay [0.7] er [0.5] participation [0.8] being aware [0.4] of [0.3] turn-
taking [0.5] making sure that you're not being too dominant that you're giving 
other people a chance [0.3] trying to contribute [0.3] and if people aren't 
contributing [0.3] trying to [0.2] draw them in i'll say a bit more about that 
later [1.4] relationships often get in the way especially in the early stages 
you want to get to know people you're not sure about them perhaps you want to 
impress them [0.6] and [0.4] your relationship with other members of the group 
[0.5] and this student this teacher has said overrode the need [0.3] for 
objectivity or efficiency in carrying out the task [0.3] now that's something 
[0.2] that may happen in the early stages you're so busy getting to know [0.3] 
other people [0.3] and finding a way of working together you're not focusing 
sufficiently [0.3] on the task but you do need to get [0.2] through 
that [0.2] as it were [0.8] and the other things [0.2] disputes [5.2] and 
perhaps [0.3] ideally [0.5] you do need [0.4] er a stage of storming [0.6] 
where you can actually say look [1.0] i don't actually agree with the way that 
we're doing this could we possibly consider another way of doing it [0.2] or [0.
6] i do feel perhaps you're talking [0.2] a bit too much and [0.4] other people 
[0.4] perhaps should have a chance to talk [0.5] and if it's done [1.3] 
politely [0.2] pleasantly [0.3] er it usually works i i find that teachers [0.
4] are usually [0.2] very collaborative people [0.4] er it it's part of the the 
ethos of education [0.6] i might regret saying that this year but [laughter] [0.
3] er i do i do think that that's often the case teachers want to be [0.3] 
collaborative people and are anxious to get on [0.3] with others [0.8] time was 
something that came up again and again and this is worth thinking about [0.5] 
er [0.5] i think the collaborative work was much more productive when we 
started to feel the time pressure [0.6] and you'll see when i show you [0.4] 
the procedures that one M-A group came up with is 
they decided [0.3] that whenever they had group work they would appoint a chair 
[0.3] who would keep the discussion going [0.4] a secretary who would make 
notes for the feedback [0.3] and a timekeeper [0.7] so if the task had like 
four parts to it [0.2] it was the timekeeper's job to say we've got twenty 
minutes [0.2] five minutes on each [0.2] okay [0.2] and the timekeeper would 
keep an eye [0.3] on the watch [0.2] and k-, and keep the group moving [0.3] so 
even if you didn't finish one bit of it you could move on and think about [0.3] 
another part of the task [0.7] and achievement as well and this is something 
for the tutor too [0.6] er [0.4] i have the feeling that the group is limited 
by its own ideas there must be many ideas in other groups [0.2] that we haven't 
used [0.5] now your tutor [0.3] will have some method of feedback either a 
plenary discussion [0.5] or you may be asked to er [0.5] er [0.2] to appoint a 
spokesperson who will speak for the group [0.4] or you may be asked to write 
notes on a poster [0.3] which is then put up on the wall and people can wander 
round [0.4] and 
see the things [0.2] that you've written [0.4] or somebody might be asked to 
write a short report for the next [0.2] meeting of the class [0.5] er different 
ways of [0.2] plenary work [0.5] if you find that a tutor hasn't done that [0.
4] you may like to organize it for yourselves if you want to know what's been 
happening in other groups [0.2] suggest it [0.3] don't be afraid to suggest 
things [0.3] in class [1.0] so those are the sorts of issues that have come up 
[0.4] er over the years as it [0.2] were [1.2] and [0.7] er [0.6] i just wanted 
to give you [0.3] a couple of ideas about [0.2] how you might tackle [0.5] er 
[0.5] these sorts of issues if you look at page six [1.1] in the handout [0.6] 
i've given you there [0.6] what's called a self-perception [0.3] inventory [0.
6] of functions in group work [1.4] the research that has gone on [0.9] er and 
a lot of it has gone on not in education but in a business context [0.4] where 
people for example in multinational companies [0.3] have to meet [0.3] and 
discuss things and [0.4] cope with cultural differences [0.5] er [0.6] a lot of 
that research has 
shown that when a group is working together [0.6] there are two types of 
function within that group [0.4] that will lead to [0.2] successful or 
unsuccessful [0.2] collaborative [0.2] work [0.7] er one type of function is 
called a task [0.3] function [0.5] and if you have a look at some of those [0.
5] obviously you need people who will give opinions [1.2] you you need people 
who will elicit opinions [0.2] from colleagues or peers [0.8] you need somebody 
who is monitoring the discussion and if something is unclear [0.4] will say [0.
3] er let's just stop a moment can we clarify that what exactly did you mean [0.
6] okay [0.9] er you need people [0.2] who will [0.4] elaborate who will build 
on other people's contributions [0.3] well that's an interesting idea [0.4] er 
perhaps we could develop it a bit because it seems to me that this might be 
possible [0.4] now these are all task functions that keep the discussion [0.2] 
going [0.3] and get the job of work done [1.0] but groups don't function very 
well if you don't also have [0.3] what we call [0.2] team [0.2] functions [0.7] 
you need somebody as i said earlier [0.3] who will draw in [0.3] the 
silent people [0.6] and actually say what do you think [0.5] okay [0.3] it may 
be that person is silent [0.2] especially in a multicultural group [0.7] 
because the discussion is going quickly [0.7] and it takes some people time [0.
3] not just to think what they want to say [0.3] but to think how to say it in 
English [0.8] er some people feel more confident in the English language [0.3] 
and they start to dominate [0.2] and may think [0.3] well there are some very 
quiet people in this group i i ought to say something or we're not going to get 
anywhere [0.6] but in fact perhaps all it needs is to say [0.2] what what do 
you think have you got an opinion and give somebody [0.3] time [0.3] to 
formulate their thoughts in English and [0.3] and get them out as it were to 
express them [0.7] so [0.3] we need encouragers we need people to [0.4] 
encourage [0.5] we need people [0.4] to [0.4] respond [0.7] when they're 
listening [0.5] to actually say things like [0.4] that's an interesting idea [0.
3] you know what do you think [0.5] er [0.3] to get people together working 
together [0.6] or if people start disagreeing to say [0.2] you know wait a 
minute 
we seem to have a disagreement here [0.3] let's try and sort it out [0.8] and 
teams groups don't really work unless there are people doing [0.3] that [0.4] 
now [0.4] a couple of years back [0.2] er [0.3] i was using [0.7] research 
instruments like this all the way through [0.2] a term [0.3] and at the end of 
a term [0.6] er [0.4] i asked the students to write about their experiences of 
[0.2] group work [0.3] and i've given you one example i've called it case study 
one here [0.6] this was a teacher [0.2] from [0.3] Eastern Europe [0.6] she was 
a teacher trainer [1.0] and here she's reflecting [0.6] on the way in which she 
felt she was able [0.3] to change [0.5] her contributions to group work [0.5] 
as she said [1.5] to begin with she felt that she was very dominant very hyper 
she always wanted to talk she always wanted to make contributions [0.4] but as 
the term progressed she tried more and more [0.5] to take on some team 
functions to draw other people in [0.4] to be a responsive [0.3] listener [0.3] 
to conciliate [0.3] when there were disagreements [0.4] and at the end of the 
course she said [0.2] that was one of the most useful things that 
she had learned [0.3] because she had developed skills [0.3] of interacting 
with other people in groups [0.2] which she had to do a lot [0.3] in her work 
[0.3] so she felt she had developed skills that were transferable [0.3] to her 
job when she went [0.2] home [0.2] okay [0.6] so [0.3] think about [0.4] those 
[1.0] functions as they're described [0.4] and perhaps when you're doing group 
work [0.5] afterwards just have a look at that list and think [0.4] which 
functions did i perform [0.6] er and are there some others [0.2] that i could 
do [0.3] in the group [0.3] okay [0.5] er and the other thing that you might 
like to think about is how you actually set up [0.4] your group work this is 
the [0.3] thing i talked about earlier [0.6] er [0.3] that the M-A course 
participants published to tutors [0.6] er [0.2] and they said okay [0.7] tutors 
should have primary responsibility for designating the members of each group [0.
5] in order to ensure variety throughout the year [0.8] okay [1.1] tutors 
should indicate the approximate amount of time available [0.3] for the 
completion of the task sometimes we forget to do that [0.4] right [0.4] so it 
would 
be very good if somebody [0.3] in the group in your group actually said er how 
long have we got for this [0.2] very nicely if the tutor forgets to tell you [0.
3] 'cause then you can organize yourselves [0.2] you know how much time you've 
got [0.9] that each group should appoint its own chair [0.3] secretary 
spokesperson and timekeeper [0.6] right [0.6] and the roles of the above are as 
follows the chair is to guide discussion and ensure progress [0.4] the 
secretary is to take notes for later feedback [0.5] either [0.3] in clear 
written form for typing and display or as the basis for oral reporting [0.4] 
the timekeeper [0.3] is to remind the group of its deadlines [0.5] and [0.3] 
the fifth [0.4] point that the product of the discussion or task [0.3] should 
be either [0.3] presented in written form [0.4] or [0.2] reported by the 
secretary and this was useful [0.4] with additions from the other group members 
[0.3] that you never leave it entirely to one person [0.5] but that you make it 
possible for other people to chip in [0.3] with something that the 
spokesperson [0.4] might have forgotten [1.0] so [0.3] those are just things to 
think about [0.3] when you find yourself involved in group work [0.2] here [0.
7] but there's one other point that i would like [0.2] to make because [0.4] 
again [0.5] this is something that has developed [0.4] over the years [0.5] 
students [0.4] on the M-A course have found it very very useful [0.3] to set up 
their own [0.2] learning [0.3] syndicates [0.2] now the last page of the 
handout [0.5] er gives you some information about that [1.3] they have 
functioned extremely well [0.8] and when i was doing my interviews this summer 
[0.5] this was the kind of group work that people found particularly [0.2] 
useful [0.6] what do we mean by a learning syndicate [0.7] it's a self- [0.2] 
chosen [0.2] self-help [0.2] group [0.5] you get together [0.3] with other 
students [0.5] the numbers are usually four five or six not more than that [0.
4] and it's a group that meets [0.2] outside of classes [0.5] nothing to do 
with the organization of tutors [0.3] as i said self-selecting [0.7] er making 
your own decisions about when to 
meet where to meet [0.3] and what to do [0.8] er [1.0] and really [0.2] its 
goal is to cooperate in order to support [0.3] whatever work you're involved in 
[0.4] at different times of the year [0.8] er [1.3] it is independent from 
tutors but what i found over the years and it's very helpful [0.4] is that if a 
learning syndicate has come up with some kind of problem or issue [0.7] perhaps 
to do with a coursework assignment and they want to meet with the tutor [0.6] 
then they arrange a joint meeting with the tutor [0.4] so that six people [0.2] 
will go to see me or namex or namex together [0.4] to talk about the same issue 
[0.3] and that is very very economical [0.3] for you and for us because there 
are a lot of you [0.5] er and a discussion in a group usually yields more [0.5] 
er than just a discussion between two people [0.4] but i've listed here some of 
the things [0.3] that learning syndicates can [0.2] do [0.5] er there are some 
things that you [0.2] are very well advised to do and some that you really 
should avoid [0.4] doing [0.3] so i've put things here like sharing library 
books and articles [0.2] 
that's a very useful thing [0.3] to do [0.6] er [0.2] sharing lecture notes or 
recordings as well [0.7] er and taking turns at producing a set of notes if 
you've got three classes in one day [0.5] you might have three different people 
in your syndicate [0.2] making the notes and then sharing them [0.4] and it's a 
lot less work for everybody [1.0] buying textbooks together [0.6] that's a good 
way of sharing it [0.3] and establishing a private syndicate library [0.4] okay 
[0.8] er reading each others' drafts of coursework assignments and commenting 
on them [0.4] trying to see any language problems [0.3] or saying whether you 
feel something is clear [0.3] or not [0.8] practising giving seminar 
presentations you're all going to be asked to give presentations [0.3] at some 
point in the year [0.3] good idea to practise it and get feedback [0.4] from 
colleagues [0.6] er [0.2] or just providing help on demand somebody rings you 
up can you help me with this [0.2] okay [0.4] or just giving moral support [0.
3] if somebody begins to feel stressed or a bit low [0.3] about things giving 
[0.2] moral support can be very 
useful [0.8] what you must avoid [0.9] is doing your assignments together [0.9] 
[laughter] because tutors become very [0.2] aware of that [0.4] and we don't 
have a policy in CELTE [0.4] of doing work [0.2] together because it has to be 
assessed [0.3] individually [0.7] it may be possible later in the year if you 
choose similar topics for dissertations [0.4] to work together on some kind of 
[0.4] research [0.2] instrument [0.4] er i've just marked two dissertations 
from my own students and they wanted to investigate [0.3] staff appraisal [0.3] 
as a topic [0.4] and we found that there were only about twenty people [0.3] on 
the M-A course and among staff [0.3] who had experience of staff appraisal in 
schools [0.3] and i said it's not a good idea if you both [0.3] try to give 
those twenty people a questionnaire [0.3] you're not going to get complete 
returns [0.3] so they worked together [0.4] on the questionnaire and designed 
it [0.3] and administered it [0.3] but then i made [0.2] two lots of copies [0.
2] and they analysed it and wrote it up completely [0.2] separately [0.4] so [0.
3] collaboration may be possible 
to a certain extent [0.3] but your written work should always be [0.2] your own 
[0.4] and tutors will [0.2] recognize immediately if three people have turned 
out the same essay [0.3] so it's not a very good thing to do [0.2] okay [0.6] 
er [1.5] you will find classrooms empty [0.3] in the late afternoon [0.7] the 
period between about four and six [0.3] a lot of the rooms are free [0.4] and 
you just need to ask in the office [0.4] er if there's a room that you can use 
[0.2] for your group [0.4] okay [0.6] but do [0.3] do think about that because 
we've had such positive feedback [0.4] from members of the course [0.2] about 
the usefulness the value [0.3] of these self-help groups during the year [0.4] 
may not be something you're familiar with [0.5] but certainly something worth 
trying [0.4] okay [0.6] and that really brings me to the end of the messages 
that i'm passing on [0.3] from previous students [0.3] er how are we doing it's 
nearly two o'clock does anybody have a burning question at all [5.2] [laughter] 
no [1.2] okay well i hope that's given you some ideas for the year