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Section
Contents
Ethics
in Teaching
Lecturing
Presentation Suggestions
Learning Technologies
Dealing With Difficult Group Members
Using Concept Maps
Information Seeking Skills
Evaluating Web Sites
Writing-to-Learn |
Dealing With Difficult Group Members
(Source: Adapted from Linda Lerner, 'Those Unwelcome Group Members,'
The Teaching Professor, October 1995)
Group work is increasingly becoming a common student experience. Whether
the experience is positive or not largely depends on the time and attention
that group process issues are given in class. The 'difficult' group member
profiles provided below might be useful for facilitating a class discussion
at the beginning of the semester on how to deal with difficult group members.
Encourage your students to think about, discuss, and agree how they will
handle group conflicts, before they arise.
| Nola No-Can-Meet |
Here's the group member who can't make the meeting, no matter when the others
schedule it. She's willing to contribute, but she has a busy schedule and
lots to do. She believes the group should carry on without her and she
will do her part, as long as somebody lets her know. |
| Do-It-All Dottie |
Dottie doesn't much trust other people and their ability to do things the
way she thinks they ought to be done or up to her standards, so she does
it all herself. If somebody offers to help, she puts them at ease: it's
no problem, everything is under control, and they shouldn't worry. The
less others in the group are involved, the happier Dottie is. |
| Seldom-Seen Steve |
Nobody had seen hide nor hair of Steve. He hasn't come to class, he hasn't
tried to contact anybody else in the group and nobody knows how to get in
touch with him. |
| Always-Right Artie |
Artie definitely contributes to the group. His ideas are good and he's
always ready to offer them. The problem: he doesn't listen very well to
the ideas of others and he tends to force his solutions on the group. He
takes charge and pushes the others in the direction that he thinks best,
even though some in the group may not agree. |
| Quiet Quentin |
Quentin is so quiet that the others often forget he's there, although he
comes to the meetings quite well prepared. His ideas would really help
the group, but unless they call on him, Quentin is unlikely to speak up. |
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