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| Chapter 5 |
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Chapter 5 - Understanding Group Process
Questions/Problems for Discussion and Review – Chapter 5
Class Discussion
- Review the questions asked in the first paragraph of this chapter. Share your answer with others in a small group. Choose what you consider to be the top three attributes of an effective teacher or group facilitator.
- How are the roles and the tasks of a classroom teacher different from those of a group facilitator?
- Consider again the definition of praxis. Give an example of praxis in your own life. Why is this such a powerful learning tool?
Research Problem
A great deal of research on group dynamics and group process was done during the 1960s and 1970s, a time when encounter and sensitivity groups were popular. Choose a text on small-group process from that time period and one from the 1990s to compare in terms of emphasis and methodology. What is different? What is the same?
Case Study Design
Consider carefully the known characteristics of a group you will be facilitating. Determine a plan for recruitment and assess the quality of the location and the anticipated size of the group. What can you alter to improve the anticipated group climate?
Consider also your personal readiness for leadership, based on the ethical guidelines in Box 5.1 . Discuss with your group how comfortable you are in a conflict situation or a boundary-setting situation. How might you develop more comfort?
Box 5.1 - Ethical Guidelines for Group Facilitators Download a pdf of Box 5.1
Awareness of Ethical Choice - If your beliefs and values run counter to those of the group that has invited you to present, you must make a choice: to refuse the offer or to hold your own views in abeyance, which is actually impossible to do. Just as judges disqualify themselves from certain cases, facilitators should be aware that working with certain systems that are contrary to their beliefs can cause ethical problems.
Awareness of One’s Own Power - The facilitator is often viewed as the expert on everything. You must resist the temptation to dominate or manipulate. Playing favorites is also unwise and tends to cause jealousy and antagonism among other group members. Ask for feedback (anonymous and written) from the group regarding how they see your role in order to provide a safeguard against falling into the “power trip trap.”
Truth in Packaging - Avoid false advertising about what this group experience will accomplish or what the possible risks are. Accept and acknowledge your limitations and those of the group.
Voluntary Participation - When a group member is forced to do anything, it can build resistance to future involvement. Ground rules that stress this point can emphasize the importance of this concept for you and them.
Privacy and Confidentiality - This is expected of leaders and group members. You should not obligate yourself to any sort of written report that reveals personal confidences. If group participation is required by court, you may have to write a general statement about a person’s involvement in the group. This should be noted at the outset.
Competence - The leader is expected to have the training and certification he or she claims to have. It is one thing to feel new and apprehensive, to know the material but be fearful about having the ability to work with the population. It is quite another thing to be so overwhelmed with an assignment that prayer and the fact that you are a good person are all that sustain you. Going beyond your level of competence is dangerous. It is not taking a risk; it is inviting disaster.
Value and Behavior Congruence - The leader who advocates a certain value but whose behavior contradicts that value is acting incongruently. Examples include incongruent values/behavior in managing conflict, self-disclosure, or confidentiality.
Avoidance of Harm - The member’s right to pass on any exercise should be stressed. Goading, sarcasm, or scapegoating can cause psychological harm to a person and to program effectiveness.
Source: Learning to Work with Groups, by M. B. Miles, 1981, New York: Columbia University, Teacher’s College Press.
Box 5.2 - Checklist for an Effective Group
______Does everyone have a chance to talk?
______Are comments understood? Is everyone given feedback?
______Are group members open-minded about ideas and opinions? Do they allow arguments to surface?
______Does each person get recognition even if his or her idea was not accepted?
______Does the group avoid “win-lose” situations?
______Do members help the group to examine the process of exploring problems and making decisions?
______Do members urge others to confront their differences rather than simply agreeing to disagree?
______Do members assist the group in working toward the group’s goal?
Does everyone have a chance to talk?______Are comments understood? Is everyone given feedback?______Are group members open-minded about ideas and opinions? Do they allow arguments to surface?______Does each person get recognition even if his or her idea was not accepted?______Does the group avoid “win-lose” situations?______Do members help the group to examine the process of exploring problems and making decisions?______Do members urge others to confront their differences rather than simply agreeing to disagree?______Do members assist the group in working toward the group’s goal?
From Communicating in the Small Group: Theory and Practice (p. 215), by Beatrice Schultz, 1989, New York: Harper & Row. Copyright 1989 by Harper & Row. Reprinted by permission of Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers.