Dr. Bruce Tuckman's group developemt model

Groups are common arrangements in social situations, especially in an attempt to foster development in rural areas. In agriculture, the formation of focus groups for evaluation as well as Farmer Based Organization or associations is vital in terms of augmenting agricultural production. It is essential for agricultural extension agents and other development agents to master the tenets of how groups are developed and the various stages involved in the entirety of their advancement in an attempt to improve and uplift the living standards of rural populace. Forming a Participatory Rural Appraisal Team, made up of participants of diverse fields is usually imperative in developing rural areas. Peradventure, the best known scheme for group development is one which was coined by Bruce Wayne Tuckman, who carried out research into group dynamics and published one of his theories in 1965 on the stage of group development, which he called Tuckman’s stages of group development. Tuckman identified four stages of group development which included forming, storming, norming and performing. However, he identified another stage in 1977 called adjourning. It is believed by most rural sociologists that these stages are universal to all teams despite the group members’ purpose, goal, culture, demographics and location.

According to Bruce Wayne Tuckman, forming initiates the process of developing a group. The forming stage occurs when members come together in an attempt to initiate a group formation process.  During this stage members meet to learn about opportunities and challenges in order to set goals so as to start tackling problems. This is probably the most challenging stage of group development since participants may be new to each other. Therefore, there is a need for strong dependence on the leader, discussion of simple and not sophisticated ideas, avoidance of controversy and serious topics and expectation of minimum feedback. When each member finally relinquishes the comfort of non-threatening topics and the possibility of conflicts, the second stage of developing the group can be pursued.

During the storming stage, group members discover the difficulty of team work. This stage is characterised by strongly expressed views, challenging each others ideas, opposing leadership, authority and position, withdrawal by some team members, lack of collaboration, competition for control and high levels of defensiveness. The success of this stage then leads to the norming stage.

The norming stage begins as the group moves beyond the storming stage and begins to function as a team. This stage is characterized by active listening, shared leadership, systematic ways if working, readiness to change preconceived ideas, receptiveness to the ideas of others, active participation by all and conflicts being seen as mutual problems.

The next stage after norming is the performing stage. When a group reaches this stage, it is recognized as a high performance team. This stage is noted by high creativity, openness and trust, strong relationships and high achievement.

The last stage according to B. Tuckman is the adjourning stage, which entails breaking up after required tasks are complete. During this stage, it is important to recognize the sensitivity of people’s vulnerabilities.

Generally, developing groups is effectively feasible when stages of forming, storming, and norming, performing and adjourning are well practiced. Also, activities pertaining to informing and consulting the appropriate authorities, deciding and acting together, as well as helping individuals with peculiar issues will improve practices within the five stages of development.

Bibliography

Hartzell, S. (n.d.). group development. Retrieved September 2017, from study.com: http://study.com/academy/lesson/stages-of-group-development-forming-storming-forming-performing-adjourning.html

Wilson, C. (2010). BRUCE TUCKMAN’S .

Written by;
Alhassan Moses Joshua,
Programs Coordinator,
Podiumfolks International.