Essay, Research Paper: Small Group Communication

Small Group Communication in the Elementary Classroom
The definition of a small group is a group having at least three and no more than fifteen members ( Borchers). At least three members are necessary to keep the group from being a dyad and a maximum of fifteen members is important to avoid inhibition of the group members’ ability to freely communicate with fellow group members (Borchers). It is necessary for the group to have a common purpose or goal in order to bring the group together and help the group to avoid conflict and tension( Borchers).
Small group communication is an important part of everyday life. We are all involved in some type of small group in some way. Often the first exposure we have to working and communicating in a small group is in an elementary classroom where communication is vital. This type of communication greatly effects children and will continue to do so throughout their lives.
Small groups are important for young children because it will affect them socially and academically. Having had an opportunity to work in a kindergarten classroom for an entire year, an average of ten hours a week, I was able to witness the results of small group communication. We used small groups in many different ways. The classroom activities were based on a “center” rotation, meaning that there were five “centers” that the children would rotate in. This was a great way for the children to learn how to share their supplies and get along with each other. They learned to “use their words” to communicate with each other. One of the children, Steven, had a lot of trouble with the concept of group work. At the beginning of the year he would come up to me at least once a day, crying, that one of the other children had decided not to be his friend anymore. I would take him over to his group and ask the other children why they were mad at Steven. Their reply was always something as simple as Steven wouldn’t share the glue or Steven had tried to steal their stickers. I had to work really hard with Steven to help him realize all the different aspects of getting along with his peers. By the end of the year, we had no trouble with Steven because he had learned how to get along with others in his center. I know that this exposure to working in a small group had important lasting effects socially on Steven. His mother even commented to me on how he was getting along much better at home with his younger brother. This is an example of how small group communication will affect a child in the social aspect.
There are several different types of small work groups that affect children academically. Once again, I witnessed this in my classroom. An additive work group is one in which all group members perform the same activity and have to gather their results at the end in order to reach a result or conclusion (Borchers). An example of this in a classroom would be a survey in which the children pick a subject and take a survey of each other. One survey that was always popular was favorite colors. The children would have to take a poll and then make a graph that showed the end result of their survey. Another type of work group is a conjunctive work group. This type of group differs from the additive work group in that the members each perform a different task, which allows for the completion of the task (Borchers). I saw this in my classroom when we made a big turkey to hang on the wall. Each child was responsible for making a feather to put on the turkey. All of the feathers completed the turkey. Another type of group work that I feel is extremely important is disjunctive task group work. In this type of group, the group members try to determine the best solution for a problem or issue (Borchers). An example of this in the classroom would be reading an open-ended story. These stories are the ones that start to tell a story by giving the main characters and plot but leave the ending with several options that the reader can choose. The children have to talk among their group and pick only one option. This enforces decision-making. All of these different types of groups are a vital part of the classroom experience. These groups are important in teaching the children to get along in the classroom but the lasting impact of group work is even more important.
Working in groups at such an early age will better prepare the child for their future, including their career. My father is an architect and owns his own firm. I talked to him about how small groups are important in his everyday life at the office. According to Jerald Merriman, group communication is extremely important (personal communication, February 1, 2000).
My firm is based on a team structure with each team consisting of four to five architects. Different jobs are assigned to different teams so it is important that the team members can learn how to work with each other professionally and on a personal basis. I recently had one of my more talented employees leave our firm due to the fact that she couldn’t get along with another team member.
In all aspects of the dynamics of a small group, this is a perfect example of how important communication is.
Through the different examples and different types of small groups, it is easy to see just how important it is to teach children how to communicate in small groups. The best way to teach these communication skills is in the classroom. The small group communication skills will prove to be invaluable to the student in many different aspects of their lives.
References
Borchers, Tim. Small Group Communication. Retrieved February 1, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.abacon.com/commstudies/groups/group.html


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