ERIC Number: ED363603
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1993
Pages: 10
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Feedback Exchange: Managing Group Closure.
Wagenheim, Gary; Gemmill, Gary
A common problem in an "experiential class" is the lack of attention devoted to group closure at the end of the course. Toward the end of the semester, students working in small groups in organizational behavior classes often experience anxiety over losing the support and identity that they enjoyed as members of a small learning group. A final assessment of group learning is vital, so members have an opportunity to clarify the meaning of their experiences in the group, to consolidate the gains they made, and to decide what newly acquired behaviors they want to transfer to their everyday lives. A feedback exercise assignment for the end of the course is presented to help manage the adjournment. The assignment involves having students provide members of their group with written feedback concerning how they personally experienced their fellow students' behavior in the group. Students circle any comments that they can also "own" about themselves. Group members then discuss the feedback. A closing exercise for the class as a whole is to have each small group write what they learned about themselves, about others, and about groups. In reading other groups' responses, students are encouraged to look for universal themes and differences among groups. (JDD)
Publication Type: Guides - Non-Classroom; Guides - Classroom - Teacher
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Teachers; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Society for Exploring Teaching Alternatives (23rd).