Planning and facilitating group learning

This is an innovative text for teacher educators exploring detailed research and information that novice teachers need to know about group work in school settings. There is more to learn about group work than simply sitting children together and letting them get on with it! 

Group work across schools is very common and trainee teachers will step into classrooms where small groups are a predominant structure. Research has suggested that there is a great deal more to understand about group work, however there is a tacit presumption in ITE that trainee teachers will simply pick up the expertise associated with organising and managing group work. This book aims to fill in the gaps and educate trainee teachers on the subtleties and complexities of group work to ultimately make their teaching more impactful and effective.

In this accessible and informative guide, the authors delve into the existing research on how children learn in collaborative groups and what trainee teachers need to learn and understand about planning and executing group learning. It examines the skills teacher educators should aim to develop in pre-service teachers to help them build expertise in this important area. Following other books within the series, this book is packed with case studies and opportunities for critical thinking.

1. Introduction and rationale for the book 
2. What research suggests pre-service teachers should know about small-group learning
3. Facilitating personality-sensitive group learning: a research case study 
4. What really goes on in pupil groups?   
5. Thinking about group composition 
6. Group learning in teacher education: principles and practice 
7. Conclusion   

Marcus Witt began his teaching career in the hills of South India teaching in an international school before moving to a school in rural Kentucky and then returning to the UK to complete his PGCE. After several years teaching in primary schools, he moved into teacher education, where he has been working for the past 16 years. He has been involved in the writing of two books about teaching primary mathematics and is interested in the emotional aspects of mathematical learning and teacher professional development. 

Ben Knight has been a teacher educator in higher education for the past 14 years and before that was a primary school teacher and senior leader in both suburban and inner-city schools. His research and publications reflect his interests in the complexities of classroom learning, teacher professional development, and encouraging teachers to refine and draw on their professional instincts, judgement, and intuition.  

Ian Menter is former President of BERA, 2013-2015. At Oxford University Department of Education he was Director of Professional Programmes and led the development of the Oxford Education Deanery. Prior to that he was Professor of Teacher Education at the University of Glasgow and held posts at the University of the West of Scotland, London Metropolitan University, University of the West of England and the University of Gloucestershire. Ian was President of the Scottish Educational Research Association from 2005–07 and chaired the Research and Development Committee of the Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) from 2008-11. He is a Visiting Professor at Bath Spa University and Ulster University and an Honorary Professor at the University of Exeter. Since 2018 he has been a Senior Research Associate at Kazan Federal University, Russia.