Teaching Resources
Chapter 9
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Discussion Questions
1) What kind of emotional behavior do you see in groups you are part of?
- How do you, and other group members, respond to emotional behavior?
- To what extent are these responses non-conscious?
2) Are some emotions more helpful for groups than others? Why? How can the concepts explained in this chapter address the difference between “good” and “bad” emotional behavior in groups?
3) What do you think about the author’s statement that some kinds of game playing can be a form of “cultural resistance” (see page 162)?
- What are some examples of groups that you know of that could potentially fit this description?
- How do you think the rise of online multiplayer games influences this?
4) Given your own experiences in groups, what kind of group assignments and interactions do you think improve your own learning? How well do the statements about collaborative learning (pages 164-166) fit with your experiences?
Classroom Activities
1) Looking at Supportive Communication
During class, pull up an example of an online support group where members offer social support to each other. The website “Daily Strength” has a directory of online support groups at http://www.dailystrength.org/support-groups. It can be instructive for students just to see how many different online support groups are active, as well as the range of topics.
Instructors and students could follow links to find examples of support groups with active discussion forums. Depending on how much time you have to devote to it, you could look at several different groups that focus on different topics (mental health, weight loss, autism, eating disorders, elder care, stress, etc.) to see whether/how the communication varies among these different groups.
- What are people saying in their contributions to this forum?
- What is supportive about this communication?
- How does the context of the group influence what is seen as supportive?
- Is supportive communication different online than it is face-to-face?
2) Facilitating A Support Group
This can be done as an in-class activity with students working alone, in pairs, or in groups. Ask students to imagine that they have been asked to design and facilitate a support group session for people who have recently been diagnosed with cancer. Students should provide a lesson plan for the workshop that takes into account what they know about emotional expression, social support, personal growth, and collaborative learning.
Students should be able to provide:
- An agenda or outline for the session (the order of events, logistics, etc.)
- A list of questions or topics they would provide to the members of the support group
- Some tips for group members about how to communicate in this group
- A rationale for their design, using the language of the chapter
Debrief questions:
- How did you go about deciding what to do? What were the most important considerations as you put together your agenda?
- What features of the group make this a difficult task?
- How useful were the techniques/models described in the chapter in helping you think about what to do for this group?
- How did you craft the communication tips for this group? What were you thinking about?
- What kind of insights can we take from this activity to apply to other groups you might lead or be a member of?
3) Games, Groups, and Personal Growth
In class, show an episode of “The Guild,” which is an online show about a small group of people who make up one guild in an online role-playing game. Each episode of the show is approximately six minutes long, and they are all available online at http://www.watchtheguild.com/ . It is a comedy that provides a good demonstration of many aspects of group life. Although the episodes sometimes contain adult humor, most could be used to illustrate aspects of personal growth, emotional expression in groups, and gaming communities. Each show begins with the lead character speaking into her web-camera, typically seeking some insight related to her own personal growth.
The final episode of Season 1, “Boss Fight,” begins with the guild having a face-to-face meeting, which is quite rare for this group since they typically interact online. The group has just had a conflict that led one of their members (Bladezz) to walk out on them. However, when the group is faced with an adversary (the overprotective mother of one of the guild members), they pull together and enact their game roles to triumph over the adversary’s attempt to break up their group. This episode could be used to talk about the “magic circle,” social support and personal growth, and emotional expression and emotional management in groups.
4) Mini-ethnography of a “gaming” group
Students should work in groups to develop brief presentations on a gaming community of their choice (examples can include: a group of people who gather regularly for card games, a group involved in LARP, children’s play group, a group of friends who meet regularly for pick-up sports games, a group of people involved in video gaming such as Halo, WoW, etc.). This works best as a homework assignment where groups can do research (internet research or direct observation) on a gaming group and present a description and brief analysis to the rest of the class.
- Group presentations should address the following questions:
- What game is this group playing?
- Who plays, for how long, and how often?
- What does the play involve?
- What does it mean to be in the “magic circle” for this group?
- What kind of emotional behavior is expressed in this gaming group?
How does this group differ from other types of groups? - What can this gaming group help us see about group life that might be important for other types of groups?
5) Group Development
Ask students to get into their work groups for the class and discuss how their group has developed during the course. They should discuss the three models of group development that are described in the chapter (Tuckman’s stage model, Gersick’s punctuated equilibrium model, and Arrow’s addition of context) and apply them to their group. Which model seems to be the best fit for their experience as a group during this course? Why?
Groups should then use Table 9.1 to refine their description of their own group’s development.
- How does their developmental level influence their own group norms, power, communication, and attitudes?
- How would they know if their group was developing in a positive way?
- What could they do to improve their group’s development?