Managing the adult classroom: Cliques
Cliques occur in the classroom and can embody a power in numbers effect if not managed properly. Here are some tips.
1. Allow the cliques to work together in groups. Keeping a group together creates a section which can be managed easier than if spread across the classroom.
2. Encourage them to work amongst themselves. This approach is a win win, learning is enforced and distractions are reduced.
3. If a problem is presented from the group, walk over and calmly address the problem to the entire group. Making a huddle creates a team feeling, and since you are talking, it makes you the leader of that team. Everyone will get on board.
The cliques is a hard one to overcome unless the goals of the group are focus on learning. If the focus of the group is on something other than the task at hand, you may have to resort to other avenues to refocus the group or break the group apart. The focus must be on student learning.
Shannda, great technique. This also helps students to understand that when they get into their careers they may not have total control who they work with so building their social skills and abilities to collaborate with new work colleagues is part of your lesson plan. Thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
I like to discourage cliques in my classroom. I can sometimes have up to 40 students in my classroom at one time, when we have a project that requires them to group up i like to draw names so that it is very random. It is nice for the students to get a chance to work with someone that they might not have teamed up with otherwise. They usually end up learning something new about their peer, and it is usually always a good outcome.
in my situation there has to be an ever revolving change of cliques, otherwise you can never really get a lesson across. One person will do all the work for everyone else and they will all succeed.
I try to discourage cliques in my classroom. In a program that is primarily female, cliques can cause a lot of issues if not dealt with properly. I don't believe that complete avoidence of cliques is possible but management of them is. One way I manage cliques is during my labs. Each week new lab partners are chosen through a random drawing. This way, I can make sure every student works with each other at one time or another. By using a random drawing, the students cannot imply that I am making assignments according to my own wants or needs. Changing partners each week not only encourages team work but also adaptibility in areas they wouldn't normally push themselves to deal with. Each student gets to experience the different personality types they may work with in their chosen field. Occasionally it forces them to learn to deal with working with someone they don't particularly like, which also prepares them for real life in the work force. At best they learn to give others who are different than themseles the benefit of the doubt before passing judgment and deciding they don't want to be around that person.
chris, I agree with your comments to a point. If the clique is able to accomplish the desired outcomes being in the same group then by all means keep them together. If however the outcomes are not what you expect then some time a disruption of the clique is needed to move them forward in their learning. You can also use the characters within the clique to move your own agenda forward if they can be made to see the advantages of using their personalities to assist other students. The bottom line is to be open minded and realize that one size rarely fits all.
James Jackson
I try to break up cliques from the start. I try and get one leader, a worker and a student in between. I encourage that they all contribute there own personal thoughts and ideas. This seems to break down the cliques from the start.
