Group Mentality
I have encountered my first "group" of three inseparable students; they walk in at the same time, talk together, answer together, rarely discuss during class together. I haven't had this yet during my time at this college, and it is frustrating for 2 reasons: a) they are very intelligent when they do comment, but b) they rarely speak to the class, only to one another.
Any suggestions to get them to talk or engage with other students? (My course is almost entirely group discussion).
Lewis,
I would think that you would need to bring your administration into this situation since the school requires that the syllabus be adhered to yet these students are not following the syllabus. Maybe a change in policy needs to occur or the students be required to buy the text. This is a larger issue than just your class and so you shouldn't have to get caught up in it.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have a couple of students who take my classes at the same time but never buy the textbook but heavily research course related material to answer assignment questions. I stress in the syllabus course expectations and in class that the text is required to pass the the course. I suspect the students are using their financial aid to pay their bills, etc. There are no exams or quizes since the course is about developing citical analytical skills. The school requires the syllabus to be strictly adhered to.
Judy,
I experience the "entitlement" generation a lot in my classes. I work hard to convince them that they must "earn" their knowledge and expertise it cannot be bought or gifted. This is a tough lesson to learn for many of them. No matter what they pay in tuition they still are students and they must put forth the effort required to be successful in the field. You and your fellow instructors have a vast wealth of knowledge and experience so keep on sharing it and enjoying those students that appreciate what you are teaching them.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Judy I am dealing with the same issue. they seem to have a sense of we owe them and they dont seem to want to read or work through anything. I get the questions are you going to give us the exact questions on the test, I dont know this generation is different. I am getting through a little each day. is there some sort of strategy to get them to that place of wanting to learn?
I am a new instructor, and the generation I am dealing with are very critical of instructors. They feel (and express frequently) that because they are paying alot of money for their education that their expectations of instructors is very specific. It is a "me" focused attitude.
This is a school of nursing, and alot of us have been in the field for thirty years, but were not trained as instructors, even though we are top quality group of nurses.
Kelly,
I would create learning groups composed of 3-4 students each and assign them case studies and/or problems. This way you can control the cohort aspect somewhat by creating a new group identity which is the small group to which they are assigned. With just 20 students together for that long of time it will be tough to do so that is why you need to try to create a new dynamic in which they operate and those are their small groups.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Any advice on how to break up a cohort group? We are starting term 2 and we were considering completely rearranging classroom and assigning seats just to break up the dynamic. In our class, the 20 students are together 8 hours a day 5 days a week and I know from their comments towards finals, they all are a little burnt out with sharing ideas with the same peers.
Kelly
Shawn,
Thanks for the follow up and I am glad to see this method worked for you. As for the eye rolling and teenage angst from the group I guess if they act like teens even though they are adults they can expect to be handled like teens and be broken up into other work groups. You have control of the class and I commend you for this. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
So, a follow-up: I tried the separation of their group that evening, and I got some eye-rolling! It worked, but I got some good ol' teenage angst along with it. Fine with me, though! Ha!
Put them in different groups for sure. This should solve the problem.
Shawn,
I would put the class into learning groups of 3-4 each. I would make sure each of these students are in different groups. Then assign the groups case studies or problems that they work together on and then report out. This strategy will really help with getting the three students involved with talking to and interacting with other students in the class. Be interesting to see what their behavior is when separated.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I would discuss the impact of their triad on the rest of the class....how much you value their input and how the rest of the class would benefit from that in input. I would then ask that they address the class when answering or contributing so that the class would feel included. If that fails I would ask them to sit separately.
