STUDY GROUP OUTLINE

1. "Teamwork is a principle of adult learning as well as an effective practice." (pg 149) Is teamwork a regular part of your adult education classroom?
2. The author says that a "consultant has a consultative voice... the members of the ministry team have a deliberative voice ...." (pg 150) In your classroom, is your voice consultative (a suggestion maker) or is it deliberative (a decision maker)?
3. Oliver and Gershman (1989) explain that "reality always includes the observer." (pg 151) In other words, just by being present with students, the teacher alters the decisions of the students. Can you recall an example from your classroom where your presence changed the decision made ... or not made ... by your students?
4. In the literacy program in Zimbabwe materials development was separated from training in how to use the materials by deliberate government planning. Ms. Vella says, "It seemed to violate every principle of integrated program development." (pg 152) Although this was definitely not the way Ms. Vella believed training should occur it is a normal process in many adult education programs where curriculum and materials are specified by administrators who are not in close contact with students and the students' expressed and unexpressed needs. In your program, who decides what should be taught and who actually uses the specified materials? Are classroom teachers allowed, even encouraged, to select appropriate materials from an approved collection? How do you personally select, acquire, produce, distribute or create materials for your individual classroom?
5. Failure to prepare adequately for implementation of team learning in your classroom will lead to an inability for the teams to develop an integrated focus. (pg 153) Do you allow teams in your classroom to work together long enough that they become a functioning unit, that they form a single group consensus? How much time do you feel is appropriate for allowing a group to form a single identity before you as the teacher should rearrange the groups in hopes of creating a better functioning group?
6. "When setting team tasks using open questions, it is important to realize that the trainer does not know the answer to the question. The facilitator has no control over what the team will say or how it will respond." (pg 156) Is this a frightening statement to you as a teacher/facilitator? Describe your reaction.
7. In Zimbabwe, the workshop members created proverbs at the end of each day to summarize or question what they had learned that day. (pg 156) Do you have some ritual or format that you use regularly to allow your students, both individually and in teams or groups, to summarize what they have learned? Share both your successful and non-successful ideas with the study group members.
8. "What happens in the small groups is not vicarious: it is real life! There is no "getting back to reality" but, rather, a getting down to reality in doing a learning task as a team. This puts the burden on us to compose teams wisely and well. Teams may be composed by the adult learners themselves; they may be composed of homogeneous or heterogeneous folks by the teacher; they may be composed by chance. In any case, the composition is intentional." (pg 158) How are groups formed in your classroom? Have you tried some silly ideas like common height, shoe size, birthdate, etc? If so, do students react differently to silly ideas than they do to ones like sitting at the same table, similar/different ability levels etc?
9. How do you react to this statement: "The team is a group of adults, and the responsibility to learn is theirs. Your responsibility is to compose teams and prepare a well-formed educational design. You cannot learn for others." (pg 158)

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