HSCO 511 Group Dynamics

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Conducting counseling in group settings is a popular practice in the human services professions. Additionally, most vocations require involvement in groups or teams. Thus, understanding group development, dynamics, therapeutic principles, and leadership is essential for group members as well as leaders. This course equips students through interactive and experiential learning to effectively use different interventions and techniques to meet various group goals; attend to both content and process; and to understand group leader roles, behaviors, and responsibilities.

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

(CLO: A, B)

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (5)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will complete five Discussions in this course. The student will post one thread that is between 300 and 350 words addressing a specific topic. The student will then post two replies of between 200 and 250 words. Threads and replies must demonstrate course-related knowledge and be supported by references to the course literature. The thread should incorporate at least two of the required course texts. Each reply should reference at least one of the required course texts. (CLO: A, B, C, D)

Support Group Assignments (3)

The student will participate in four open support groups or self-help groups in his/her community. After attending these meetings, the student will then write a paper describing his/her observations and experiences. This assignment consists of three parts:

Quiz: Support Group Selection

The student will complete a quiz to identify and describe which open support/self-help group in his/her community he/she has selected and committed to attend four times. (CLO: A)

Quiz: Support Group Attendance

The student will bring a supplied attendance form to each of the four support/self-help group meetings attended. The group leader/facilitator/chairperson must sign the form, thus verifying the student’s attendance. The student will scan and submit the completed form. (CLO: A, B)

Support Group Paper Assignment

After attending the support/self-help group meetings, the student will describe and evaluate his/her experiences and observations of the group’s dynamics, leadership, meeting content, and processes in a 7–8 page paper. The paper will include personal reflections and applications. Relevant ideas from all required course texts and 2 scholarly research articles must be integrated as part of the analysis. The paper must be submitted as a Word document in current APA format. (CLO: B, C)

Group Analysis Paper Assignment

The student will watch an excerpt from an anger management therapy group and articulate his/her observations and analysis in a 3–4-page paper. The paper must be submitted as a Word document in current APA format. (CLO: B, C)

Group Leading Project Assignments (2)

The student will develop a proposal for a 1–2-hour group meeting in his/her community, and will then lead the meeting. After the meeting, the student will report on his/her experience. This assignment will consist of two parts:

Group Leading Proposal Assignment

The student will develop a meeting proposal that describes the group context, setting, goal, etc. and outlines a plan for the session. The proposal must be submitted as a Word document in current APA format with one reference. (CLO: A, B, D)

Group Leading Report Assignment

The student will report on his/her experience leading a group meeting by producing a 6–7-minute video describing and evaluating the meeting and his/her performance leading it. (CLO: A, B, C, D)

Quizzes (3)

The student will complete three quizzes consisting of 40 multiple-choice questions based on the Forsyth and Jacobs et al. texts. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes and have a time limit of two hours. (CLO: A, B)