Aria asks, “What happens when your teacher puts you in groups, but then you're the only one talking and participating. How do you motivate your other group members?”
Aria asks, “What happens when your teacher puts you in groups, but then you're the only one talking and participating. How do you motivate your other group members?”
* If there’s a question you’d like to ask, or if you have advice to share, you can reach us at listen@akidscot.com.
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It’s OK To Ask: A Kids Advice Podcast
S1 EP09, Group Work Perils
[INTRODUCTION]
Nina: This is It’s Okay To Ask: A Kids Advice Podcast.
I’m your host, Nina Purewal.
We know that you confront really big questions all the time about what you should do, how to respond to certain people. What to even say at certain times, asking for advice from friends, people in your class, is a great way to help inform your own decision-making choices.
And it's okay to ask. That's why we're making this show.
We want to provide a very safe space for you to ask any kind of question and also get some advice. But, you know, sometimes you've got to ask a few people for advice before you're ready to know just what to do. And that's why we've created an entirely different kind of podcast, a dynamically created podcast.
This means that no two listens are the same. You can listen to the episode, then delete it and download it again for a totally new outfit. Just like asking a second or third person for advice. How awesome is that?
Today's question comes from Aria.
Aria asks, “What happens when your teacher puts you in groups, but then you're the only one talking and participating. How do you motivate your other group members”
Wow, Aria. That is a fantastic question.
And I'm really curious to hear what you all have to say about it. What do you think, have you ever been put into a group where you're the only one talking and participating? How have you gotten other kids to help join you and motivate them? What have you done?
Let's hear some advice.
[ADVICE FROM KIDS]
Choice 1
Aria: Hi, my name is Arian. I'm eight years old and I'm from Ontario, Canada.
I motivate other group members is I give them parts to do and ask them more questions so they're participating.
Choice 2
Bianca: My name's Bianca I'm seven years old. I live in Ontario, Canada.
You can say to them, you're doing a great job! Let's go! You can do this!
Choice 3
Cyla: Hi, my name is Cyla. I'm eight. I'm not eight anymore. Hi, my name is Cyla I'm nine years old and I live in Atlanta, Georgia. What I normally do when a teacher puts me in groups and I'm the only one on task or I'm the only one talking or participating. Um, I normally first I get frustrated and a little annoyed because other people aren't participating when everyone should be.
And then I think, “Well, sometimes that actually could be me - not participating while other people are participating.” And so then I realized maybe, maybe they, maybe they just need like a reminder or maybe they need help or maybe they're just shy.
And then I kind of like ask them small questions about what we're doing. so maybe help them realize that they're actually supposed to be participating or make them feel included. You can sometimes like give them a smile or maybe words of encouragement that normally helps my friends get more motivated to be participants.
Choice 4
Jonah: Hi, my name is Jonah. I'm 11 years old and I live in Maryland.
I'm not used to groups because I haven't been in personal school because of the pandemic and other reasons, but you can motivate your members by like asking them the question and seeing if they answer or saying a positive thought to them.
Choice 5
Leo: Hi, my name is Leo. I am nine years old and I live in California.
So my advice on when your teacher puts you in groups and you're the only one who's participating really is look at who your group is and what are you working on and think about, like, how many people are in your group and like how many people can do the jobs that you guys need to do. Like if you're building a marshmallow tower with spaghetti six, like I would have four people and I would make someone building the base and then someone building the top and someone helping me with the middle. So it would be everybody's working on the same thing, just different spots.
So I think maybe when you're in groups, the person who you're with is like, “Why participate in this if they're not going to give me a chance to participate in this, because some people are just like, we don't need your help because we already have it aside, but everybody, when you're in a group, that's the whole point: everybody has a job.
So the advice is when you're in a group that your teacher picked and you're the only one, you ask them if they want to help.
[SIMILAR EXPERIENCES]
Nina: You know, often when you give advice, it comes from a place of experience. Which means that you've been through it before. And you've learned from that experience and that sometimes helps us to figure out how to respond when new situations come our way, or when friends are asking us for some advice about their experiences.
Let's listen to a similar experience from one of your peers.
I wonder what they have to say about Aria's question around being put in a group and being the only one who was participating in talking.
How have these other kids helped motivate the people in their group to participate as well?
Choice 1
Aria: My name is Aria. And an example of when this happened to me was when my teacher put us into groups and assigned us a project to do, but I was the only one talking and everybody else wanted to get my ideas, so I felt like I was the only one doing the work.
I gave them parts to do and ask them more questions and. They started participating more.
Choice 2
Bianca: Yes, my name's Bianca and I'm seven years old.
Well, when my teacher puts me in groups with somebody else, it's hard for me to concentrate and I do my work by myself instead of, instead of encouraging other people.
I am going to say, “Come on. You can do it. You're doing amazing. Let's go.
We're gonna do the work together.
Choice 3
Cyla: Hi, my name is Cyla. I'm nine years old and I live in Atlanta, Georgia.
Just earlier this week, when the PBL teacher put us in small groups, which are normally like three or four people to do a online teams project, me and someone else were like answering and like giving ideas and trying to get it moving so we could turn it in on time. And there was just this one person who just wasn't really paying attention. And just listening and then writing down whatever we said.
And it made me kind of frustrated because they weren't participating and it felt like me and my friend were doing all of the work. So what I did was I asked the other person that wasn't really participating to maybe answer this question. Like, “Do you know what the answer is to this question?”
And then she answered and it was actually a really good answer. And then from that she started spotting me and then started actually participating and it made me and my friend feel really good. And I bet it made her feel good too, to feel like she was included.
So that was one time that I encouraged someone in our group.
Choice 4
Jonah: Hi, my name is Jonah and an experience when I went through something similar to that was when I was back in like fifth grade and we were doing reading groups and I wasn't caught up on the book and I was feeling a little down, so I skimmed through the book and answered the question and that got me motivated.
And my classmates? Said nice things to me and helped me.
Choice 5
Leo: Hi, my name is Leo, and this is an experience when I went through something similar. Yeah. Kind of similar.
I have an experience like that. And so I was hanging out with two friends and we were like making a poster for this thing that we call the jog-a-thon it at school. And like, we were all supposed to make it together. But then I just started like coloring and doing all the work and doing all the writing.
And I was like, “Come on guys. Like, are you going to help me with this?” Cause it's annoying when you take all of the work and your friends aren't helping you.
Nina: I hope it's comforting for you to know that we all go through these experiences, even grownups.
I bet if you ask a grown-up near you, if they've ever been in a group where they're the only one working or participating, they've surely experienced that. Cause this happens at work too. We're always working as adults with other people. And oftentimes we have to motivate them.
So I guarantee you, if you ask an adult they've experienced this before. But you know, that doesn't make it any easier for you to go through it necessarily, but it can serve as reassurance that you're not going through this alone.
And even though it might be hard, I promise that you're going to be okay when you come out the other side.
We're going to take a quick break. And when we return, we're looking for your advice. Seriously, stick around my friend.
[PAUSE AND BREAK]
Nina: Welcome back to It’s Okay to Ask: A Kids Advice Podcast.
Before the break, we heard advice based on a question sent in by Aria. Her question was, “What happens when your teacher puts you in a group, but you're the only one talking and participating. How do you motivate other members in your group?”
Now it's our turn to come to you.
Each of your peers brought a question and you'll hear from one of them in just a moment after you do, it's your opportunity to share some advice with us on what you have done in this situation, or if you have any thoughts.
Here we go.
[ASKING FOR YOUR ADVICE]
Choice 1
Aria: I am Aria. And my question is what happens if your room is messy because you keep, um, little trinkets and stuff? How do you keep your room clean and organized so you don't have to throw those little things away?
Choice 2
Bianca: Hi, my name's Bianca and I'm seven years old.
Yes, I do have a question.
What if somebody's mean to you and you tell them to stop and they just keep on being mean to you. What do you do?
Choice 3
Cyla: Hi, my name is Cyla. I'm nine years old and I live in Atlanta, Georgia. And I have a question.
What do you do if you see someone and you see someone else and one of them is bullying the other one. What do you do? Do you stand up for them or do you walk away and pretend like it never happened? Or do you tell someone like an adult?
What do you do?
Choice 4
Jonah: Hi, my name is Jonah and do you have any ideas what to do when you eat the same food over and over every day and you don't know what to eat and you're getting tired of the foods.
Do you have any suggestions for new food to try?
Choice 5
Leo: Hi, my name is Leo and I want to ask you a question, listeners. And my question for you is that what do you do when you're in a group that your teacher puts you in, but you're the only one who's working?
[WRAP-UP]
Nina: Remember it's okay to ask for advice on whatever you have going on in your life and in your world. You are not alone. I promise you that.
Until next time. I'm Nina. Thanks for listening.
[CLOSING]
Nina: Thank you Aria for your wonderful question around what to do when you're put in a group and you're the only one talking or participating, how do you motivate others and to all of our peers for your fantastic advice.
If there’s a question you’d like to ask, or if you have advice to share, you can reach us at listen@akidspodcastabout.com.
It’s Okay To Ask is written by me, Nina Purewal. You can learn more about me and my work at NinaPurewal.com.
Our show is edited and produced by Matthew Winner with help from Chad Michael Snavely and the team at Sound On Studios. Our executive producer is Jelani Memory. And this show was brought to you by A Kids Podcast About.
Follow the show on Apple Podcasts or wherever podcasts are found and check out other podcasts made for kids just like you by visiting akidsco.com.