Group Work Informative Paper

Group Work Article Critique In this informative paper, Group work: Pleasure or pain? An effective guidance activity or a poor substitute for one-to-one interactions with young people?, written by Jane Westergaard of , the population is addressing to the young people who needs guidance and counseling, and this particular group aims towards the youth support group. Westergaard develops the FAAST model as the process for personal learning and developing (PLD) group work. This model stands for Focus, Aim, Activities, Structure, and Techniques, and the way it works is each PLD group session uses the five stages to create planning, preparation, and delivery skills. The goal is to keep the group sessions “relevant, engaging, purposeful, and lead

Starting with the first stage, which is focus, it is the group facilitator’s role to determine the needs of each participant and identify their relevant topic. It can be found through many factors, such as their age and the stage in education and development; comments from professionals in education; and the issues they have tried dealing with. According to Westergaard, “[y]oung people are much more likely to engage in PLD sessions which they perceive relate directly to the specific issues they are facing” (Westergaard 179). In other words, the participants would be more comfortable with sharing their problem they want to work on. Because it would be the first time meeting in groups, it is important for the young people to get to know each other before getting ready to be open. Once everybody got to know each other for who they are, they begin to gain confidence to participate actively and getting ready to talk, especially when all participants are meeting

Westergaard had noted about the three concepts to be considered for this activity stage: “[f]irst, activities selected should ensure that the session aim and objectives are met[;] [s]econd, facilitators should be mindful of learning theory and learning styles… in order to select activities that will provide a social, experiential and student-centred learning experiences[;] [t]hird, when planning activities, the concept of differentiation should be attended to[,]” which means “ensuring that activities can be adapted – extended or simplified – to meet the individual learning needs and diversity within the group” (Westergaard 179). The important thing about this stage is the activity itself should help them fulfill their needs with their session aim and objectives. Once they have better understanding about themselves and come up with different actions, then they get an idea on how to achieve their goals in the