Why is this assignment useful?
This assignment will provide opportunities for you to integrate group work theory and concepts presented in lectures and readings with the practice of group work. Experiential learning is a feature of this assignment.
Assessment timeline and requirements:
1. In week 1, you will need to identify a community group that you are a member of or a community group that you can observe/join for the purposes of this assignment. It could be, for example, a refugee advocacy group, a church group, a book club, an environmental group, a community health group, an exercise group, a sporting team, a school council, a work team, a student group, a parent group, a local government council meeting, a community presentation, or an organisation's board of management.
2. Then, attend up to 3 meetings of the community group throughout March and April. Bear in mind that assignment 1 is due on April 24th so you will need to choose a community group that meets regularly in order to gather enough information for this assignment.
3. When you attend the community group, your task is to observe and gather information about three features of the group:
- Group purposes/aims: What was the community group's purpose/aims? What theory or group work model does the purpose/aim most closely link to? How is the purpose reflected in the group's activities?
- Leadership of the group: What does the leader do in the community group? What style of leadership was there? How effective do you think the leader was? What knowledge/theory did you use to help you decide how effective the leader was?
- Dynamics and interactions within the group: What do you understand by the concept "dynamics"? How would you describe the dynamics within the community group? What group work knowledge/concepts did you use to help you in identifying these dynamics?
Please collect enough information about these three factors to be able to discuss the questions in your student group:
4. Bring this information back to your student group to share with the other members of your group, whether this is face-face or online. All students need to contribute to information-sharing. Part of your task is to negotiate with each other about how and when you will share this information. How will you communicate? Make clear plans and set meeting
In your individual assignment, you will answer these questions:
(a) What are the similarities in the purposes, OR leadership styles OR dynamics of the community groups?
(b) How do the community groups differ from one another in relation to their purposes, OR leadership OR dynamics? Why do you think there are differences?
(c) What group work concepts and/or theories were helpful for you in understanding the group purposes OR leadership OR dynamics of the community groups? Why were they helpful?
(d) Use references, accurate grammar and spelling, and clear presentation. Include references to group work literature.