I was recently asked, “How do you judge what your group is ready for?” It seems like a very basic question. Making the right decision about what your group is ready for can have a huge effect on your day. For example, if my group is having trouble with a trust lean, should their next activity be the climbing tower? I would say no. I use one tool in particular to make these decisions, and that is the stages of group interaction.
Bruce Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development:
Bruce Tuckman (1965) developed a 4-stage model of group development. It is important to remember that a group can be in any of these stages at any time. Also, individual members of the group could be in a different stage than the rest of the group.
1. Forming: This is the time when the group first meets or returns from an extended break. Generally, everyone is trying to establish the person that they are going to be in the group, as well as whom they will interact with and in what way.
2. Storming: As you can tell by the name, this stage is very chaotic. This is where alliances are formed, leadership is vied for, and group positions begin to be established.
3. Norming: The group begins to set rules for behavior (this is often the best time to create the full value contract). The group will also begin to operate within these norms that are being set.
4. Performing: While operating inside set norms, the group begins to accomplish the tasks. These tasks are either presented to the group from an external source or created internally.
Tuckman later added a fifth stage:
5. Adjourning: When a group adjourns, its members generally celebrate accomplishments, and forget about unpleasantness. This stage can look very similar to the forming stage.
What I have found is that continually assessing which of these four stages my group, and it’s individual members are in, help me plan a more effective day for the team.
For more information on Tuckman or the stages of group development, click here.
If anyone from Project Adventure is reading, could you please comment on the GRABBSS Assessment Model? Thank you.
Any other readers – Please comment on what has worked well when you assess your groups.
March 27, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Hi Josh,
Peter Aubry, Director of Training and Consulting here at Project Adventure. I see from your article that you are looking for a little background on the GRABBSS assessment model. This model was first published in the book Islands of Healing by Prouty, Radcliffe and Schoel. The main intention was to be able to quickly assess a group on the run to be sure that your program design and actvity selection was appropriate for your client group. Obviously it is an acronym so here is what each letter stands for and the intention :
G – Goals: program goals, individual goals, group or team goals; Is the activity or program design meeting these goals?
R – Readiness: Does the group have the skills necessary for the task and are they ready to apply or try them?
A – Affect: What is the affect of the group and the individuals in it? Wil the activity I select impact the groups affect in a way that is positive, healthy and help them meet stated goals?
B – Body: What kind of physical shape is this group in? Is the activity to stenuous for this group?
B – Behavior: How is the group acting? What are the behaviors that are dominating the group? Given these behaviors is the next activity I select to run appropriate?
S – Stage: What stage of development is the group in? If you apply Tuckman’s model here what activites will help the group Form, Strom or create Norms?
S – Setting: Where will I be running the program? Indoors or outdoors and what restrictions are there in those settings? This also includes weather. Some activities don’t work in the rain and some are too exhausting in the full summer sun.
Overall the idea behind this model is to be able to run down the GRABBSS check list to see if your planned activities or your program design is on target. Intentional programming is a term I like to use to highlight how critical it is to match up Goals and program design. The GRABBS Model helps you do this in a clear and manageable fashion. It also helps you with your risk assessment of your group in relation to your activity selection.
If you want to know more about this model pick up a copy of Islands of Healing or get the revised edition of this book called Exploring Islands of Healing: New Perspectives on Adventure Based Counseling by Schoel and Maizell. these resources are available on our website at http://www.PA.org
Thanks for the opportunity to join the dialogue!
Safe Adventures
Peter Aubry
March 27, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Thanks for the information on the GRABBSS Model. Both tools work well on their own, but I think that Tuckman’s stages and this model working together create a great way to assess a group. Of course, practice makes perfect. The more you have the chance to make these assessments with a group, the better.