During the #edcampuvic2020 zoom sessions, I was able to hear some really great conversations about group work in a classroom setting, and it has really allowed myself to learn more about what my personal opinions are regarding group work.

Interestingly enough, from a teacher perspective, I love group work. However, from a student perspective, I tend to like to accomplish tasks on my own. From the teacher-in-me point of view, the importance of socialization is a huge part of my pedagogy as a teacher. I think valuing teamwork and socializing in general, which is something that can be practiced during group work, will be a very important part of my future classrooms. During the edcamp zoom session on group work in the classroom, there was discussion regarding the importance of valuing teamwork. Students were talking about how a focus on teamwork can contribute to the creation of new leadership skills. I learned that for myself, the creation of leadership skills is not why I value group work, but rather I simply want to see a classroom where students feel comfortable and are being heard. Since group work can facilitate new, positive relationships and experiences, I think group work can contribute to a classroom that has an atmosphere of community and inclusion, especially if students are not always choosing who they work with. I think that meeting new people is a great way to help build community, and this thought comes from personal experience, which I will further explain a bit below.

Since I do not always enjoy group work as a student, I have had to begin to think this through- why is it that I like group work as a teacher, but don’t always like group work as a student? I think I like to accomplish tasks on my own because this means I can get the job done as fast or as slow as I wish, and even if I am taking things slow, I fully trust myself that I will get the job done. However, when I have been involved with group work even when I didn’t want to be in the past, I found that group work truly did create new, wonderful relationships and new experiences that I otherwise would not have had. During my undergrad, I started to become comfortable with almost every student in the classes that had group work. The classrooms that had group work started to feel like the class was bringing the students together, and I could see new bonds beginning to form. As a student, I can therefore still see the beauty in group work, even though at times I may not want to do it.

I’ve learned that creating a balance of both independent work and group work is therefore a great way to incorporate the needs and wants of all students. I do not think it is fair to favour one over the other. I can value group work and socialization and still create independent projects that will be just as deeply enlightening. The edcamp therefore facilitated a lot of personal reflection within myself and allowed me to explore new opinions regarding different teacher and student perspectives. I think that these kind of discussions are great for creating self-awareness and perceive something like group work in a whole new light. Thank you, Uvic, for allowing us to join in on the conversation.