Júlia Muntal Sabaté

Reflection on the article: Groups processes in classroom.

My reflection is based on the reading of the article “Group processes in

classroom” which provides different techniques to create healthy group
classroom work. The chapter has 58 pages and it has been complicated to
extract the key points of the article due to the length of it. Reading it carefully
and taking notes while doing so, helped me to abstract the important issues of
the text. After the whole reading, I can say that the text has unveiled sound
information for future teachers like me, who would like their students to feel at
ease in the classroom.

The introduction of the article deals with topics that need to be understood
before going in depth into the reading. The author states “a positive classroom
environment doesn’t happen – it has to be developed”, this sentence made me
stop the reading and think about what I would do as a teacher to create a
positive classroom environment. Immediately I thought about having a good
relation with the student, although the text clarified that my idea was not the
most important one. The article conveys that a good climate arises when there
is group work in the classroom; teachers should work with group development
because it is proved that grouping ensures learners’ achievement. Hence, the
idea of creating individual lines in class is not possible anymore; students need
to be gathered in groups to increase the learning. This is a clear statement that
is really useful for our future.

However, creating a group is not as easy as it seems. When I was a student, I

remember that I liked to work with some of my friends but with others I was not
that happy. Working with others can create conflicts; sometimes the other
participants might make you anxious or they won’t do anything. Otherwise,
working with someone who is familiar to you makes an improvement on the
performance; trust between the teamwork is a key factor. Therefore, the first
class of the year is highly important. Teachers have to work with the
relationships in class; they have to help them to know each other, help to create
their self-concept. From my point of view, I agree that the moment of paring
students involves a lot of responsibility; it is better to gather students who are
friends. However, in my opinion, sometimes it can be also good to pair students
 Júlia Muntal Sabaté

with some difficulties with other who are more advanced, thus they can help one
another and the student with difficulties would improve. So, the process of
creating group can be really complex and I should read more about it to decide
which could be the best option.

Another issue that I took into consideration was the section of the article
devoted to expectations. Teachers must be careful with how their own opinions
about the students can influence their teaching. Impartiality is an essential
characteristic of teachers if they want to maintain the good environment in
class. Eventually, teachers have a bias for some particular student and thereby
they convey to the class the message that the other students are less desirable
and less worthy. This fact is highly dangerous because it leads to a change in
motivation, self-concept and anxiety. It is clear that teachers expect more of
some students than of others, but in spite of this fact, preferences should not be
visible during class hours. I strongly believe that it is impossible not to have a
favourite student in class, although I am convinced that I won’t let the students
know about it, because subjective perceptions should always remain a secret.

The text also treats the topic of leadership in class, which nowadays is difficult
to achieve. When you get in front of a classroom for the first time, the students
would decide which would be their attitude towards you for the rest of the year;
therefore the first day impression is definitive. The author presents five different
types of leadership: expert power, referent power, legitimate power, reward
power and coercive power. The most effective one is the expert power, where
the teacher shows great expertise on his/her field and he/she explains things
well. Nevertheless, this kind of leadership is related with professionals who
have huge experience. As beginners, we should look for referent power, where
we find warm teachers but also competent. This kind of leadership is the most
appealing for me, I would like to have a good relation with the students but also
I would like them to respect me. Building leadership in a classroom can be one
of the most complicated parts because as a new teacher my confidence won’t
be at its optimum time.

In a nutshell, becoming a competent teacher would be a complicated path;

some students would help you in the process and other would chose to boycott
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it. However, I will learn what takes to be a competent teacher through practice
and experiences. Undoubtedly, all the information extracted from this article
would be extremely useful to create a healthy working environment in class. I
remembered than when I was a student I really enjoyed working in groups when
as a group we all cooperated and worked equally. Therefore, I have decided
that in my learning unit and my future teaching job I will foster cooperative work
among my students.