Bruce Tuckman Theoy

Bruce W Tuckman is a respected educational psychologist who first described the four stages of group development in 1965. While looking at the behavior of small groups in a variety of environments, he recognized the distinct phases they go through. He also suggested that they need to experience all four stages before they achieve maximum effectiveness. He refined and developed the model in 1977 with the addition of a fifth stage. Since then, others have attempted to adapt and extend the model although sometimes with more of an eye on rhyme than reason (Chimera Consulting 2001). His Five Stages of Group Development and Interaction provided us with what became a stable group of dynamics. During his research he determined that there are four phases of group development. These stages are forming, storming, norming, and performing. They are not sequential because groups can be messy and cycle through the phases. The leadership, relationships, and responsibilities also emerge as part of the group process. Forming is when the group first comes together. The interaction between members is typically polite and dull. During this forming stage conflict is rarely voiced directly. The individuals will be guarded in their own opinions and generally reserved because the group is new. This also may be in terms of the more subordinate and/or nervous members who may never recover. The group tends to adjourn to a large extent to those who appear as leaders. The storming stage is usually when things go bad and the leaders are lynched. Leaders typically appear from this stage automatically. The most important thing is some are unwilling to talk and typically there is very little communication since no one is listening. At the Norming stage the groups typically begins to recognize the advantages of working together and the group fighting subsides. Every member begins to feel comfortable in expressing their own ideas and they are discussed openly within