Principles and technology of forming groups for joint educational work of schoolchildren in the classroom

Context and relevance. In modern school practice, there is a tendency to introduce group forms of work, but teachers are often not sufficiently aware of the scientific foundations of this activity. There is a need to investigate the mechanisms of children's joint activities, the principles of group formation and the influence of group work on the development of thinking, emotional state and sociometric status of students in order to increase the effectiveness of differentiated learning and avoid problems associated with complete individualization (for example, communication deficits). Purpose. Justify and develop an approach to organizing group work on the basis of the principle of "individual contributions," determining the psychological qualities of students who can compensate for each other's deficits in the process of joint activities. Hypothesis. On what principles (in addition to the level of intelligence) should groups be formed for effective collaboration? Methods and materials. Theoretical analysis of the scientific literature on psychedidactic systems, differentiation of learning and joint activities of children. Analysis of approaches to group work in the domestic (cultural and historical concept of L.S. Vygotsky) and foreign psychology (ideas of J. Piaget, J. Meade). Use of the author's trial experiments (Pitanova, 1993). Results. Three main principles of organizing joint activities are identified: the principle of "individual contributions," the "positional" principle and the principle of "meaningful distribution of actions." The concept of "individual contribution" was developed as a replenishment by one of the group members of the qualities necessary for the successful work of the group as a whole. The key psychological qualities of schoolchildren significant for joint activities were determined: the level of intellectual development, the level of competence in the subject, the level of cognitive activity and sociometric status in the class. An additional parameter is highlighted - emotional coloring of educational work (internal comfort/discomfort), including the influence of anxiety and anger. The concept of the "psychological address" of the student as a ratio of his capabilities and limitations is formulated, which allows the implementation of "targeted learning" through group interaction. Conclusion. For effective organization of group work as a form of differentiated learning, it is necessary to rely on the principle of "individual contributions," taking into account the totality of intellectual, subject, motivational and social characteristics of students. This makes it possible to create a system for mutual compensation of deficits within a group, thereby ensuring the development of a knowing subject.