Making groupwork productive..

...and not just noisy.

Hello all. Welcome to the 163rd edition of TEPS Weekly!

Have you ever walked past a classroom and wondered if the noise you are hearing is "good" noise or "bad" noise? We’ve all been there. As teachers, we often rely on what we can see and hear. If students are sitting together and the room is quiet, it often feels like things are working. But both silence and physical grouping can be misleading.

Take a look at this picture.

At first glance, everything looks in place. Students are sitting around a table in a disciplined manner. They appear focused. The classroom feels calm. But look a little closer. Each student is thinking about something different. They are sitting together, but they are not thinking together. The task allows them to work side by side without needing to engage with each other’s ideas. This is something we see often – students are grouped physically, but there is no shared thinking.

Now take a look at this picture.

The classroom is probably louder. Students are energetic, talking, pointing, reacting. It may even look a little chaotic. But they are all focused on one shared idea. They are questioning, explaining and building on each other’s thinking. The noise is not just louder, it is more purposeful and focused. This is what cognitive collaboration looks like.

So what does group work actually mean?

In many classrooms, students sit together, share materials and divide the task. As long as everyone appears busy, it feels like learning is happening. Research shows that simply placing students in groups does not lead to deeper learning. What matters is how students interact with and respond to each other’s ideas. Cognitive collaboration is the cornerstone of effective group work.

Group Work: 5 common mistakes and what we can do instead

Common Mistake 1: Asking students to work quietly in their groups

One of the most common things we hear during group work is, “Keep the noise down.” In many classrooms, this is the main instruction. We are used to quiet classrooms, and when it gets loud, it feels like we’re losing control, so we try to bring the volume down. When students are quiet, they stop explaining, they stop asking, and they stop reacting to each other. They may still finish the work, but they’re not really thinking together. There is no cognitive collaboration.

What we can do instead: Define and model noise levels

Instead of expecting silence, we can show students what productive talk sounds like. One way teachers do this is by giving names to noise levels and defining when it is acceptable to use which level. For example, there are times for complete silence, times for whispering with a partner and times for table discussion where only the group should be able to hear. But it is not enough to just name these levels – it is also important to model them. Students need to hear the difference between a whisper, a group-level voice and a voice meant for the whole class. When they know what the levels are and are able to see and practise them, they begin to regulate their own volume.

Common Mistake 2: Sitting together does not mean students are working together

Students are often placed in groups with the expectation that they will naturally work together. To a third person, it looks like collaboration – they are sitting together, sharing materials and working on the same task. But in many cases, one student takes over, a few follow along and others stay quiet. Everyone is doing something, but they are not really using each other’s ideas. They are sitting together, but thinking on their own.

What we can do instead: Assign clear roles in groups

If we want students to work collaboratively, the structure has to support it. One way to do this is by assigning clear roles within the group. For example, one student facilitates the discussion, one records ideas, one checks for accuracy and one explains the group’s thinking. This makes participation more balanced. Each student knows what they are responsible for, and quieter students have a way to contribute. It also becomes harder for one student to do all the work. Over time, rotating these roles helps students become more confident in working with others.

Common Mistake 3: Assuming that busy students are learning

During group work, when everyone is doing something, it can feel like learning is happening. Students are writing, talking and moving through the task. At first glance, it looks like the group is fully engaged. But if you look more closely, students are often able to get through the task without really having to think. For example, the work gets divided. One student writes, another draws, another colours – and the work gets passed from one to the other. Each student completes their part, but no one needs to think about the whole task. The work keeps moving, but there is little need to explain, question or make decisions together.

What we can do instead: Design tasks that require shared thinking

If we want students to work together, the task has to make that necessary. Complex tasks are not easy to split. They require more than one idea and push students to think together. Instead of answering questions, students might have to agree on one answer as a group and explain why. In a Maths class, this could mean solving a problem and deciding on the best method together. In a Language class, it could mean writing one response as a group and justifying their choices. Students might also compare two different ideas and decide which one makes more sense. Now they have to listen to each other, question and come to a shared decision. In Science, instead of labelling parts of a cell, they create a model together and explain how the parts work as a system. The group has to agree on how the parts connect and how to represent that clearly. In these situations, the task cannot move forward unless students talk to each other.

Common Mistake 4: Assuming students don’t work well in groups

When group work does not go as planned, it is easy to assume that students are not good at working together. But these patterns are quite common. In many groups, students begin to rely on each other to complete the task, and no one feels fully responsible for understanding it. When no one feels clearly responsible, participation becomes uneven and the quality of work drops.

What can we do instead: Build individual accountability

For group work to be effective, each student needs to feel responsible for the learning. This can be done by making sure every student is expected to understand the entire task, not just contribute to a part of it. For example, the teacher might ask any student in the group to explain the final answer, or ask students to first think individually before sharing with the group. This changes how students approach the task. They know they cannot rely only on others. They have to stay involved, follow the discussion and make sense of the ideas being shared. Over time, this leads to more balanced participation and stronger understanding across the group.

Common Mistake 5: Stepping back once group work begins

Once group work starts, it can feel like the teacher’s role is to step aside and let students get on with the task. The idea is that students should work independently, while the teacher observes from a distance. But when this happens, group work often loses direction. Students may move through the task without much discussion, or conversations drift away from the learning. Without guidance, it becomes harder for students to deepen their thinking or stay focused on the goal.

What can we do instead: Stay involved through questioning and feedback

Productive group work still needs the teacher. Instead of stepping back, the role changes. The teacher moves around the room, listens to conversations and steps in at the right moments. This might mean asking a question, pushing a group to explain their thinking or helping them connect ideas. Simple prompts like:

• Why do you think that?

• Can you explain your answer?

• Do you all agree?

 can move the discussion forward.

These small interventions help keep the thinking on track. The teacher is not leading the task but is shaping the thinking as it happens.

When group work feels messy or unproductive, it’s often not about the students. It’s about how the work has been set up. Across these examples, a few things make the difference:

• being clear about what kind of talk is expected

• giving each student a role in the group

• designing tasks that cannot be done alone

• making sure every student is responsible for learning

• staying involved and guiding the thinking as it happens

When these are in place, the classroom may still be noisy, but the noise starts to reflect learning.

---

If you found this newsletter useful, please share it.

If you received this newsletter from someone and you would like to subscribe to us, please click here.

Edition: 5.18