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Group Purposes: task and maintenance
Groups in their wider contexts (see Chapter 2) form for many purposes including:
- learning from each other,
- pooling resources,
- making decisions,
- mutual support,
- sharing ideas,
- creating something.
Learning groups embody all these activities and functions and more. Their two major areas of aims are concerned with task and with maintenance. In the academic context task aims will usually be intellectual, such as:
- the exercise of critical judgement,
- the ability to analyse statements and cases,
- questioning underlying assumptions and values.
Many people belong to social, political, interest or hobby groups on the Internet: online teaching and learning groups are more purposeful and require more focused behaviours and attention.
Task aims for tutors and e-moderators include those of a pastoral or remedial nature such as:
- recognising when students are in difficulties,
- checking for misunderstandings in reading or lectures,
- reassuring and encouraging slower or less vocal learners.
Group maintenance includes aims like:
- creating a sense of belonging,
- generating a sense of trust and openness,
- handling conflict in a constructive way,
- establishing a spirit of cooperation,
- creating interest in, commitment to and enthusiasm for the subject and learning more about it, all of which contribute to a student's engagement and willingness to learn.
Maintenance aims facilitate or underpin task aims. However, maintenance also implies repeated attention and adjustment to the running of the group if the task is going to be achieved. Maintenance aims become increasingly more relevant as the size of the group increases (see large groups). Small groups of three and four to may work on a task without concern about who is doing what, or any formal leadership role being needed; where a class is divided into small sub-groups the maintenance problem is very much subsumed to the task. However, in a larger group to achieve task aims, either members must be aware of the dynamic groups processes within it and be skilled in handling these, or the tutor must take on a firm leadership role. Online, structure is simply essential for success.
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