TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE COLLEGE TEACHING:
USING GROUP LEADERSHIP SKILLS AS A GUIDE
Gina Cicco
As a school counselor turned educator, I was exposed to two major families of theory on best professional practices. Though the roles of school counselor and college professor are strikingly distinct, practice in one profession helped me to see the other in a refreshing light. My first experience as a college educator began with teaching counselors in training. Years of experience in the counseling profession brought me a heightened awareness of the specific needs and concerns of new counselors. These concerns were addressed in my classroom, openly and frequently, in ways reminiscent of a task/work group. Positive feedback from students and faculty colleagues made it clear that this setup was very effective. Many of the techniques that I had used in facilitating groups were applicable to encouraging student learning in the college-classroom setting. Fred J. Hanna and Francesca G. Giordano argue that experience-based teaching has also been found to enhance students’ connections of theory to practice and improve their critical thinking skills.1
Marianne and Gerald Corey are considered authorities on group process and practice.2 They describe the differences in types of groups, as far as group aims, techniques used by the group leader, and the commonalities of group members. The Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW) identifies the specific competencies required for effective group leadership, depending on the type of group to be conducted.3 This is not to suggest that college educators should run groups in their classrooms, especially because group leadership requires special training, and in some cases mental health training, such as in psychotherapy and interpersonal groups. However, it may be of value to the college professor to examine the dynamics of a task/work group and the qualities of effective group leadership. A task/work group has a unique set of goals. This type of group often aims to assist members in acquiring skills, improving performance, or developing professional expertise.4 These aims resemble those of many college courses.
The process of group formation often involves an initial screening for selection of members. Involuntary groups, however, do not always have a built-in screening mechanism. Once the group is formed, it typically undergoes four stages. In the initial stage, members and leaders are becoming acquainted, focusing on tasks, creating trust, and addressing initial resistance. The transition stage involves dealing with defensive and/or difficult behaviors and conflict, exploring fears and resistance, and working with challenges to the leader. The working stage witnesses and works on emerging themes, intense emotions, projections, problems, and self-awareness. The final stage involves preparing for termination, summarizing successes and challenges, continuing assessment and follow-up, and evaluation.5 The life of a college course, in my experience, develops through a series of such stages. The initial resistances at the start of the semester and the task of evaluating at semester’s end are processes that we undoubtedly go through, whether or not we are consciously aware of them.
How do we translate these similarities in the group and classroom settings into a productive mechanism for educators? Perhaps we should begin by detailing a survey of group leader qualities and leadership skills. In Groups: Process and Practice, Corey and Corey suggest that successful group leaders determine group outcomes.6 The goodwill and enthusiasm of the leader impact on member performance and attitude. Effective group leaders often possess qualities such as courage, willingness to model, presence, goodwill and caring, belief in the process, openness, awareness of their own culture, non-defensiveness in coping with attacks, personal power, stamina, willingness to seek new experiences, self-awareness, sense of humor, inventiveness, and personal dedication and commitment.7 These qualities often make for a successful educator as well.
A survey of group-leadership skills highlights active listening, reflecting, clarifying, summarizing, facilitating, empathizing, interpreting, questioning, linking, confronting, supporting, blocking when appropriate, diagnosing or appraising, modeling, suggesting, initiating, evaluating, and terminating as invaluable to the group leader.8 In multicultural counseling situations, these leadership skills expand to include multicultural responsiveness, recognition of personal limitations, and ability to co-lead.9 How often do we consider the appropriateness of our responses to students? Do we actively listen to their questions and comments? Listening may be the most difficult skill to develop in the classroom when faced with the pressures of time and curriculum. Do we accurately reflect comments that students have made? Do we allow students to openly express their questions through facilitating group activities and interactions? Do we provide suggestions for alternative assignments? Do we explore opportunities for critical thinking? Are we honest about our limitations? These questions may serve as a checklist for conscientious educators. It is clear that many of these qualities and skills are synonymous with those required for effective teaching.
Society continues to demand that educators at all levels be more accountable for their students’ learning. The adoption of diverse teaching techniques may be one viable method for developing greater student leadership, communication and interpersonal skills, and critical thinking skills.10 Anthony F. Grasha describes five teaching styles, including teacher as expert, formal authority, personal model, facilitator, and delegator.11 The facilitator style, by the very term used, draws a connection from group leader to educator, as group leaders are often referred to as facilitators. Using some of the techniques modeled in task/work groups such as discussion, learning circles, and planning groups may help to diversify the basic lecture model of college teaching. Simply working on our leadership and listening skills, however, may be the initial solution for increasing motivation in our classrooms and challenging our students to participate in more thoughtful and meaningful learning.
College educators examining their own behaviors in the classroom may look to the qualities of effective group leaders as a guide. This personal introspection is likely to encourage self-awareness, recognition of limitations, and curiosity. Realizing the extent of actual use of effective leadership skills, such as active listening and non-defensiveness, is also an appropriate self-evaluation exercise. These considerations may prepare college professors for a more thorough assessment of effective classroom practices. The group and classroom settings are more similar than they are different. Therefore, it can only benefit students to demonstrate the qualities and skills of effective group leaders as active facilitators of learning and critical thinking in the college classroom.
Gina Cicco
Education Department
ENDNOTES
Hanna, Fred J., and Francesca G. Giordano. “Theory And Experience: Teaching Dialectical Thinking In Counselor Education.” Counselor Education & Supervision 36.1 (Sept. 1996): 14-24.
Corey, Marianne Schneider, and Gerald Corey. Groups: Process and Practice. 7th ed. Pacific Grove: Thomson Brooks/Cole, 2006.
Corey and Corey.
Corey and Corey.
Corey, Gerald, and Marianne Schneider Corey, Patrick Callanan and J. Michael Russell.
Group Techniques. 3rd Ed. Pacific Grove: Thomson Brooks/Cole, 2004.
Corey and Corey.
Corey and Corey.
Corey and Corey.
Corey and Corey.
Adrian, C. Mitchell, and G. Dean Palmer. “Toward A Model For Understanding And Improving Educational Quality In The Principles Of A Marketing Course.” Journal of Marketing Education 21.1 (1999): 25-33
Grasha, Anthony F. “The Dynamics Of One-On-One Teaching.” Social Studies 94.4 (July/ Aug. 2003): 179-187.