LEARNING RESOURCES
· Toseland, R. W., & Rivas, R. F. (2017).
An introduction to group work practice (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
· Chapter 14, “Evaluation” (pp. 417–443)
Post the following:
· Describe what characteristics you would look for in group participants to determine the effectiveness of the group’s termination. How will you measure those characteristics?
· Explain how you evaluate the effectiveness of the group process.
Respond to two colleagues who selected a different form of evaluation.
· Compare the effectiveness of your method of evaluation to your colleague’s.
RESPONSE1
Characteristics of group participants that determine the effectiveness of the group’s termination:
Characteristics that can determine whether members will have an effective group termination are their motivation, capabilities, attendance, empowerment, increased independence, satisfaction, and confidence to move forward outside of the group (Toseland & Rivas, 2017).
How to measure the effectiveness:
According to Toseland & Rivas (2017), stated that effectiveness of a group’s work and termination can be measured by comparing the benefits and costs. One way to measure effectiveness is to use goal attainment scaling, which would require gathering information from each member regarding achievements regarding the group’s goals (Toseland & Rivas, 2017). Another way to measure effectiveness is through experimental designs (Toseland & Rivas, 2017). The experimental designs require a control group and an experimental group to provide the data needed for an experimental comparison (Toseland & Rivas, 2017). Between these two methods, I would use the goal attainment scale for the adult ESL group.
How to evaluate the effectiveness of the group process:
Several different kinds of evaluation measures can be used to assess the effectiveness of the group. Choosing which measure to use is dependent on the objective of the group as well as if and how the evaluation will determine future group work (Toseland & Rivas, 2017). Two principles that can help determine which method to use are reliability and validity (Toseland & Rivas, 2017). The measures that can be used are self-report, observational, or products of group interaction (Toseland & Rivas, 2017).
RESPONSE2
Describe what characteristics you would look for in group participants to determine the effectiveness of the group’s termination. How will you measure those characteristics?
I would look at how well or how bad the group members did in all of our sessions as a whole. If the members have done very well, I don’t see them having an issue with the group terminating. They can continue doing specific tasks outside of the group that works for them and continue meeting their goals. If they require my feedback, I am happy to give it. Those members that are having a hard time with the termination of the group I would give them other resources that I hope they are willing to try. I would also give them feedback to encourage (Toseland & Rivas, 2017) them about how well they have done and where they could improve.
Explain how you evaluate the effectiveness of the group process.
Having the group fill out a survey about how the group performed together doing tasks. They can rate how they feel the interaction was with each other. Did they feel goals were met timely? We could discuss their own self-assessments (Henry, 1995). These could give me an idea about the effectiveness of the group and adjust future groups or pass it along to my colleagues.
References
Henry, R. A. (1995). Using Relative Confidence Judgments to Evaluate Group Effectiveness. .
Basic & Applied Social Psychology.
Toseland, R. W., & Rivas, R. F. (2017).
An Introduction to Group Work Practice 8th Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson.
