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Stages of group development

Group development
A four stage model of group development

Group development

Effective work groups don’t just happen; their members develop that effectiveness. It follows, then, that you have to take charge of the way your group works. Accepting this means you need ways to understand and to evaluate the group's social dynamics and the progress towards becoming a productive team. One way to do this is by having a model of how groups develop; below we have provided one (there are two or three others in the literature).

A four stage model of group development

The aim of this model is to help you think about and deal with the functioning of your group as it pursues academic goals.

Stages	Questions	Skills
Stage 1 Finding Common Ground - a social knowing	Will they accept me, my 'difference'? Can I get close to/ trust them? Will they like me? Who are they? Will they listen? Can I express my concerns, ideas?	Initiatives for inclusion. Giving information. Listening/ receiving. Sharing of self. Interaction skills. Acceptance of others.
Stage 2 Roles and Goals - developing modes of shared influence	Are we, the group, really in control? Can I have influence? Do I count? Can we assess us? Are all skills being used? Are conflicts out in the open?	Negotiating skill. Learning to take responsibility. Handling autonomy. Understanding power relations. Expressing contrary views. Resolving conflict. Paraphrasing.
Stage 3 Getting the job done - pursuing academic goals	Can this group really do any academic work? Can we set our own goals? Do we have or can we set long-term goals? What do we want to accomplish - goals, tasks, deadlines? Can we specify and solve our problems? Can conflict be used creatively?	Discerning content from process. Setting academic goals. Identifying and solving problems. Identifying and assigning academic tasks. Intellectual/ conceptual, factual, research, writing, etc., skills in group context.
Stage 4 Reflecting - and under-standing the experience, self-renewal	Did we/can we solve our own problems? How does our work compare to our goals - academic, interpersonal? Where to from here? Can individual/group set new goals? Can we evaluate our work, how we functioned?	Self-evaluation. Recognising and using group maturity. Accepting consequences of previous actions.

(Developed from: Schmuck and Schmuck 1992)

This model is designed specifically for higher level learning groups, especially because it aims to help members understand how groups and the individuals in them actually function. This understanding then becomes the key to affecting change. The model is prescriptive in the use of reflection as essential to understanding current personal and group effectiveness, and in initiating ideas for change and improvement.

This model should be applied at the micro level (ie group meeting level) and the macro level (ie whole of group life). Try applying it to one of your meetings to further understand what was happening.

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Document creation: August 10, 2004
HTML last modified: September 30, 2004
HTML author: Bonnie McBride, Teaching and Learning Centre
Authorised by: Kate Lowe, Teaching and Learning Centre