offten times students seem more engaged in classroom activities when in small groups.
Yes, I do have the students work in groups. I believe it is very important that students work together properly and share their ideas in a professional manner. I tell the groups to not judge other group members ideas or comments. Sometimes the groups have a tendency to socialize more than necessary and drift of topic. I make sure that I visit each group often to offer suggestions to help them stay on topic.
Kris, another good trick is to have students perform silent evaluations of their group members. This can also let you know more then you may notice my simple observations. I tend to have the silent ratings become part of the student scores. As I find the "silent partners" I will meet with them individually and find out if their lack of participation as some root issue or if they just need to know I am aware of their lack of participation.
James Jackson
david, great questions and I look forward to reading all the responses. For me there has always been a distinct and direct relationship between knowing my students and the grouping process I have used. For groups that know each other well I tend to allow partners to self select but if the outcomes are not being achieved then I will change things up. If the classroom is totally new to each other then I use a more random method such as counting by 2 or 3 depending on how many are in each group. Since friends tend to sit close to each other this will split them up so this is why it is important to know as much about your students as possible. For me it is really about the outcomes and if I have groupings that are successful then I may not switch things out for a long time.
James Jackson
how do you select your small groups?
is it better to randomize or have a systematic way of selecting your small groups, and do you change small groups weekly or maintain the same small groups to develop teamwork?
Exactly! If you ignore and use that group activity as a break from the students thats when the challenges start to occure. But if you are involved and helping, and asking questions, they will learn and you will continue to have control over the class.
I use small groups in several lessons and find some students will become “silent partnersâ€, as I move from group to group I engage the group as a whole and pull the “silent partners†into the discussion.
I also think that smaller groups allow the instructor to reach out to individual students that need more of a one on one learning experience.
I like to use the small group setting because the challenging students get to see engaged students in action and are good role models. Its easier for the challenging student to open up and offer feedback on the activity.
Mathias, what lessons have you taken away from the group discussions that could be used to gain more participation? Thanks for anything you can share.
James Jackson
Colleen, what are some of the reasons students have provided as to why they do not want to participate? Are they just there to continue earning a stipend as part of their financial aid or do they provide good feedback that has allowed you to make changes in your presentations and group projects that have lessened the number of rejections over time? Thanks for anything you can provide.
James Jackson
Deborah, working among the groups is the key element in your comments here. If students know you are part of their conversations and not just the recipient of a summary they are much more likely to perform in the manner you intended.
James Jackson
I frequently use small group activities in the classroom. This might be working on a challenging "practice" quiz together, reading a scenario and determining the best course of action etc. Usually there are 1 - 2 groups that are working quietly and efficiently and another 1-2 groups that are loud and frequently off topic. I will walk around the room interacting with the students, redirecting when needed. I do find it challenging when there is such a difference in group personalities!
When I have a small group projecst, I explain the components and expectations. I give a time limit. At the end, I have a representative from each group give a class wide presentation on what their group talked about or concluded.
Usually there are 1-2 students who don't want to participate or don't understand the project. I encourage everybody to participate. The groups that have these unwilling students get my extra attention as I encourage the learning and discussion in this group.
I very often have the students work in small groups. Upon completion of their tasks, I require all of the group members to share the groups thoughts. Often found that not all the group members will participate.
I incorporate small groups into my speech course in giving them tasks of understanding a concept and presenting it to the class, and working on an informative speech together for one of the speech requirements. Some of the challenges I face in groups comprised of 3-4 people is getting them to work on the task and not waste their time - since I give them classroom time.
One way I try to manage these groups especially as they work on their group speech, is to give them a form that they will need to complete and hand in by the end of the group time. That seems to give them the specifics of what needs to be done and stay committed to filling it in as they make decisions on their group speech.
Terence, group dynamics are critical and the more you can get to know your students the better you can guide the groups and the group dynamics. Keep up the great work.
James Jackson
Teams need a strong leader. Sometimes, when students choose their own group mates, they end up in a group that has no leader. I prefer to let students choose their own groups, but occasionally I have to choose their groups.
i do agree with you, being active with each small group does help to keep them on track and i believe absorb more of the topic at hand.
Peer review is a good technique, but students need practice learning how to respond constructively. I've found that leading a "practice" session really helps. I make copies of two or three student papers (usually from a prior class, with the writers' permission, of course) and give the same papers to everyone. They are asked to read them individually, decide which is strongest, and rate them on a 1 to 5 scale. Next they break into their small groups and must come up with a consensus on the scores, after discussing their perceptions of each paper's strengths and weaknesses. (We use 4 basic aspects: focus, organization, support, conventions.) Then we reconvene and I write all the groups' scores on the board, asking each group to explain why they rated each paper as they did. We especially spend time on any papers with score differences of 2 or more points. This way we've modeled a helpful way to respond to peer papers; students really enjoy criticizing an anonymous student's work! This strategy always seems to encourage students to come to class better prepared with their own drafts to exchange for peer review.
