Adult learners value the exchange of experiences with fellow learners. In course feedback participants often express gratification over new contacts, exchanges of ideas and ideas from peers. It is rare that when studying together for a long time it is not possible to communicate with each other at the end of the training.

However, the opposite has certainly happened as well. In a group there may be those who enjoy the attention, often take the floor, and fill the time talking about their own experiences. Such monopolists can be tiring, and more modest group members often become passive bystanders. There are also those who, by nature, learn best by asking critical questions thus wanting to make the core of the issue as clear as possible. Unfortunately, people of more lenient nature may perceive them as troublesome opponents and violators of the harmony of coexistence.

It is true that the group amplifies both positive and negative. The educator’s focus is mostly on planning and managing the learning process. However, when conducting group trainings the facilitator is also responsible for creating a supportive social environment for learning. For this, it is important that the educator knows and understands the dynamics of group development, is able to react appropriately to its phenomena, consciously prevents the impact of less productive group development stages to learning, and promotes the development of norms that support productivity in the group.

Knowing and noticing the regularities of group development

The best-known views on group processes come from Bruce Tuckman (Forming, storming, norming, performing team-development model, 1965). His approach has been widely cited and further developed. According to Tuckman, the group goes through several less productive phases before working in collaboration: the dependency phase, the conflict phase, the separation phase. Only after passing these, will the cooperation phase be reached. It is not possible to skip the less productive phases, on the contrary, they have their own role to play in developing a satisfactory and synergistic cooperation for group members.

In order for the group to start developing towards cooperation, several preconditions must be met, the most important of which are the possibility of joint activities and communication with each other. Since reaching the cooperation phase is time-consuming and courses are usually limited in time, reaching this phase requires the assistance on the part of the educator through a conscious choice of activities and methods.

The aim of this article is to provide a few practical guidelines for adult educators to move the group's developmental dynamics towards more productive phases so that a social atmosphere that supports learning could develop within the learning group.

1. The Dependency Phase

In the first meetings the group members initially feel insecure. As they do not have the opportunity to control the environment, they instinctively try to perceive what other people are like and what the rules of the game are in this situation. Group members may take the first steps to get to know others in order to determine their place and the positions of others. The sense of unity of the group is still low - it is still being sought to find out what we have in common or how we, seemingly different on the outside, could be similar. In most cases, the group is satisfied but there is lack of cooperation, little initiative and dependence on guidance from the educator. The main task of the educator in the dependency phase is to promote safety and purposeful group activities.

The facilitator can help reduce group insecurity and dependency if he or she:

• encourages mutual acquaintance of group members, plans time for this in the course plan;

• initiates the agreement of common rules of procedure to encourage the development of norms that support active participation and cooperation in the group. It is important to make sure that everyone understands the content of the agreements and agrees to comply with them;

• encourages everyone to express their (learning) goals and see the common ground in them;

• Explains goals, operating principles and provides other important information related to learning;

• the first meeting of the group is a model of what kind of action and contribution is expected from the learner. It is therefore advisable to apply methods that activate learners from the first hour onwards and to ensure that all learners can be involved and active.

2. The Conflict Phase

After the fairly simple perception of one's own and others’ positions based on first hand communication (who I like - don’t like, who likes me – who does not, etc), group members gradually take the initiative to stand up for their needs and no longer trust this to the educator alone. Discrepancies, disagreements as well as competition for recognition, attention and influence is perceived.

Doubts and disappointments can be expressed about the goal, the ways in which to move towards it, and more generally about the competence of the educator. Energy is used to bring out and stand up for individual needs. This may occur in non-compliance with the previously agreed arrangements. Sometimes this is accompanied by the development of a so-called scapegoat, which is a member of the group who is perceived as different due to a certain character and for whom responsibility for what is happening in the group is projected.

At this stage, a public conflict may arise, where positions that have already emerged change, goals are renegotiated, and the educator is challenged. The conflict may also be barely noticeable with changes in group activity and uneven stakes. In a group that has reached the conflict stage, participants perceive tension and dissatisfaction that needs to be eased. Herein the educator may notice active whispering, frequent laughter or even abundant, but not always relevant, questions.

The group in the conflict phase is a challenge for an educator. It may seem to him that the activity is not purposeful, and he has lost control of what is happening in the group. However, there is no reason to panic. The educator should not take what is happening in the group as a personal attack and take a defensive position. On the contrary, the role of the educator in the conflict phase is to normalise what is happening in the group, to support the expression of disagreements and to give everyone the opportunity to express their thoughts while being an example of how to do so in a respectful and constructive way. A lot of help in going through the conflict phase is in the agreements reached during the dependency phase.

The educator can help the group get through the conflict phase faster if he or she:

• encourages the expression of questions and views using methods that involve learners.

• Refers to the groups agreements and, if necessary, initiates discussion on concluding additional agreements.

• directs criticism from people to behaviour.

• remains calm and maintains a supportive attitude

3. The Separation Phase

The sign that the group has moved beyond the conflict phase is indicated by the emergence of a working, constructive atmosphere. The learners’ attention and energy is more focused on their main goal – learning. Group members have found their place in the group, they may become more open, listen to each other more actively, and accept the fact that others can have different understandings and values. An increasing number of group members feel responsible for the smooth functioning of the group. Nevertheless, at this stage it is not yet possible to talk about synergistic cooperation in which they know how to apply each other’s best qualities to work for the whole group. In particular, the separation phase is characterised by everyone doing what is important to them, but in case of common tasks they simply do their part and share the necessary information with other group members.

The educator can encourage the group to move towards greater cooperation during the separation phase if he or she:

• chooses training methods that facilitate cooperation (e.g. group-work instead of individual tasks);

• shares responsibility with group members, does not interfere too much;

• keeps the focus on the goal, renews group agreements if necessary;

• supports group members’ initiative and the expression of their views.

4. The Cooperation Phase

If the training lasts longer and/or the educator has the skills to support the development of cooperation, the group can reach a stage of mutual acceptance and a high sense of belonging, where they are ready to put personal interests aside in order to achieve a common goal. The educator can notice that the cooperation phase has been reached by the relaxed and pleasant atmosphere of the group and the active contribution of everyone. There is trust, support and deeper contacts between group members. Energy is geared towards achieving goals. Care is taken to ensure that everyone can contribute according to their abilities and talents. Tasks are shared, members are flexible in finding solutions and are able to learn from criticism. Synergy emerges, which indicates that more can be achieved as a result of cooperation than as the sum of the individual results of all team members.

An educator can support cooperation if he or she:

• trusts the group, keeps a little to the sidelines and does not try to do everything himself;

• offers new challenges and opportunities to work together in different assemblies;

• allows group members to gain new experiences by varying tasks

• takes care of the necessary resources and conditions

• is itself a resource from which one can seek advice without fear of setback;

• supports openness and recognizes the initiatives and contributions of group members

Several authors describe a so-called farewell or mourning phase in the case of groups that have reached a synergistic collaboration but whose time for joint activities is beginning to come to an end. Sadness is perceived and initiatives are being taken to continue communication with each other. The role of the educator in noticing such phenomena is:

• to normalise the emergence of these feelings and encourage them to express all their feelings;

• to direct them to think about what is happening outside the group - how they will apply what they have learnt, what kind of support will be found outside the training group;

• encourage continuous self-development and learning.

Changes Affect Cooperation

It is important to understand that group development is a dynamic process that is affected by any major change, which means that the group that has reached the collaborative phase may not stay there forever. More significant changes in the composition of the group, ie the addition of new members or the departure of old ones, as well as the change of educator as a leader, take the group back, even if for a short time, to lower productivity phases when the members, once again, start looking for their position in the group. Therefore, the educator (or team of educators) could think through how to introduce new people to make it easier for the group to adapt to the change.

To do this, it is good to give the group preliminary information about the addition of potential new people (including new educators), to take time to get acquainted with new people and to link them to the group's previous agreements. Of course, joining a group of new people takes time, and due to tight course programmes sometimes educators ignore it, but at some point begin to notice changes in activity and openness in the group. There are training methodologies where the emergence of a trustworthy and cooperative relationship is directly related to the achievement of learning objectives, and subsequent group joining is not allowed or is done in very exceptional cases. It is important that the educator understands the impact of the changes on the group’s (learning) productivity and consciously plans activities to restore it.