Let's say today's agenda is learning about microbes.

We know it's exciting, but settle down.

Now, single out all your introverts and put them on one side of the room at individual desks to do a worksheet about different bacteria. Circle up the desks for your extroverts and have them fill out the worksheet together.

Easy as that, right?

Um. If that's what the distinction between individual work and group work were like, it would be a lot easier to set up—and a lot harder to get any benefits from.

Some classes may benefit from a larger emphasis on one of these tactics or the other, but we're guessing some sort of blend is going to be the best bet in most cases. Chances are your students will need some skills both working in a team and solving problems independently—whether that's now in fourth grade or a decade or two down the line in the professional world. So figuring out how and when to use each of these strategies can end up a great tool for your classroom.

Whether you think of it as collaborating with us as you read along or silently and solely reading a dead assemblage of words, power on along.

Group Work

One is the loneliest number…but we're still going to talk group work first.

Group work can be a good idea when you want to get your students to think harder and dig deeper, and when some variety in skill levels and ways of thinking about things can be a benefit to all. Say a big math problem with lots of different steps; or a scene in Ulysses that could be interpreted in three or 300 different ways; or you're doing a unit on Ancient Egypt and you need your students to combine their knowledge of history with an ability to analyze and critique other civilizations. Things like that (and a million others) can be great places to institute some group work.

Let's throw out some bullet points. Group work can help hone your students' skills in

• listening to and respecting others' ideas;
• thinking about one problem in a variety of ways;
• getting to a deeper level understanding through having to explain a perspective and discuss it with folks with different perspectives;
• dividing up tasks and delegating responsibilities;
• sharing knowledge and abilities to get a better hold on a problem than they could individually;
• holding group members accountable—and being held accountable back.

Along with some of those and a whole bunch of other pros listed on Carnegie Mellon's page on group work, there's the possibility of assigning bigger, harder problems to work on, and an added element of unpredictability that can make for greater learning possibilities overall.

Sure, whatever the project may be, it'll have to be "designed, supervised, and assessed in a way that promotes meaningful teamwork and deep collaboration," as the Carnegie Mellon site says (source) . And all that can make for a fair amount more work for the teacher. But if you establish the exact goals of the project in advance, and have a sense of how your students should pursue it in a team, the benefits are worth it.

Individual work isn't just for those introverts out there. Sure, it is great for them to get a chance to think things through on their own, which is a comfier way to process new info for many introverts (which you can read a lot more about in this entire article about the needs of introverts and extroverts).

Still, it can be just as helpful for those who prefer group work to learn how to cope with the prospect of sitting still, keeping that noisy mouth shut, and puzzling out some answers without giving in to any and every distraction that comes along.

Individual work can help students

Individual Work

Individual work isn't just for those introverts out there. Sure, it is great for them to get a chance to think things through on their own, which is a comfier way to process new info for many introverts (which you can read a lot more about in this entire article about the needs of introverts and extroverts).

Still, it can be just as helpful for those who prefer group work to learn how to cope with the prospect of sitting still, keeping that noisy mouth shut, and puzzling out some answers without giving in to any and every distraction that comes along.

Individual work can help students

Individual work isn't just for those introverts out there. Sure, it is great for them to get a chance to think things through on their own, which is a comfier way to process new info for many introverts (which you can read a lot more about in this entire article about the needs of introverts and extroverts).

Still, it can be just as helpful for those who prefer group work to learn how to cope with the prospect of sitting still, keeping that noisy mouth shut, and puzzling out some answers without giving in to any and every distraction that comes along.

Individual work can help students

• gain independence to think things through on their own;
• improve confidence in working through a problem, even when they don't feel certain about every step;
• work at their own level, rather than having to adapt to suit their group members;
• practice self-control—both in staying focused on the task at hand, and in having the willpower to avoid turning to a neighbor or asking the teacher for the answer;
• get more comfortable taking actions on their own;
• gain creativity and effective thinking processes that can apply to problem solving across a range of subjects and types of issues;

Plus, it can be easier for the teacher to assess an individual's work—at least, easier in a traditional sense, if you have an idea of the "norm" for the type of work you're looking for. Sure, it can be tough to assess an individual's skills and motivation all while being aware of inevitable comparisons with others (as this psychology article on group and individual performance describes). But be aware of those issues, and you'll be fine.

As for when to use it, individual work can be a good filler for a chunk of time when there's a set of problems or a big, hovering question that it would behoove everyone to ponder on their own. Plus, it can be a good way to re-focus or re-center a class, or get everyone on the same page (or at least, on their own personal parts of the same-ish page) before diving into a bigger project or discussion.

The Balance

In individual work, some students—especially those extroverts we talked about—may feel a bit isolated. For some kids, when the lonely monster bites, it bites hard. Plus, if some students finish an activity before the rest, you should be prepared with an add-on task or two.

And when students are doing individual work on a topic they might feel more comfortable tackling in a group or with you guiding the way, make sure you don't help too much—try to ask some questions that will start them off in the right direction and give them a sense of additional resources.

As for group work, every teacher knows the headache of a classroom that gets too loud or the fury of checking on groups only to find they're off task. It's always a gamble, but if you come up with very specific guidelines and a time frame for accomplishing some concrete tasks, that'll be a big help in keeping those groups focused.

Finally, when it comes to deciding whether to make a certain activity individual- or group-based, don't just think of the two tactics as diametric opposites. Maybe have some individual "think time" before setting them up in groups. This can help each student clarify the problem to himself or herself, which can lead to more successful collaboration once they're tackling the problem together. Not sure how to do it? Check out this video from the Teaching Channel about how to make it happen.

In most classes, it'll make sense to divide up your time between group work and individual work. Sure, and there are also those times when you'll need to talk for a while, or an all-class discussion will be in order. There are lots of iterations of individual-pair-group-teacher only-student only-everyone together, and so on, that you can use to fill your day. And for the most part, shaking it up keeps things interesting—and effective—for the students and for the teacher.