In my experience, learning groups get better with more practice. The first time that an instructor puts students in groups to accomplish a task, students can be unsure of what they're supposed to accomplish. Many of them may never have had to work with groups before, particularly in a learning situation. It's easy for them to get off task and head in their own direction or to try to accomplish the task as individuals rather than as a whole. It's vital that the instructor set the pace for the group learning right from the beginning.
The more students are in learning groups, the easier it becomes for them to make the most of the experience. New instructors shouldn't give up on learning groups, if they have had a few bad experiences. Yes, it takes more effort than traditional lectures, but the effort is more than worth it in the end.
Vickie
Hi Steve! The points were just for the competition. I considered including it in the grading, but on second thought considered it would be too "sticky" of a situation and would potentially take some of the fun out of it as well.
When the learning groups did the consensus activity with the blank test though, I did calculate the 60/40 split, however there was no disadvantage to individual grades, only a plus if the team score was higher.
Back in touch, thanks!
Hi Jay,
I like the way you built the team to compete internally. I am probably using the wrong terminology but that is a great example of using peer pressure to benefit the class. Did you use the points in the grading of the course or just to determine the winner of the competition?
Hi Steve! Thanks for your response. Groups progressively teaching groups...what a relevant workplace, critical skill beyond acquiring the proficiency of the competency itself!
A few years ago I taught a required Business Communications course (mostly grammar)from 6:00pm to 10:00pm twice per week. Can you imagine? The learning groups that we created in that class remained in formation until the end of the course (same teams). Each night, some of the in-class assignments were given to the teams as contests with points awarded for correct work. The more difficult the assignment, the more points awarded. The team with the most correct answers received the most points, then some points for the next team, etc. Sometimes to vary, only the winning team received points. We would total the points for class standings at the end of each night. It got very competitive and festive as each team tried to unseat the others. At the end of the course, we had a celebration dinner. "Contest Completion" Certificates were given to all students and the top three teams received small prizes.
We look forward to the participation of your faculty as they proceed through the courses and forums!
Hi Jay,
We encourage instructors to help our students succeed by keeping the learners engaged as much as possible. I am the first one from our school to get to this forum and do not want to take any of their successful practices away from them to discuss. I will want them to participate and share their own best practices. I can however share a couple things I have done in the past that have worked well for me.
One thing I have done with success is a game. I assign a group to complete a task and show the next group how to complete it and verify it is done properly. A group is not considered done until they have done it properly and been signed off, taught the next group and been signed off, and lastly verified it was done properly and been signed off. I oversee the activity and ask random questions to verify everyone is participating. I found when I left the field that you never know any subjects as well as you do when you have to teach them. And this is just another take on "A learner learns only what they create".
Same idea, different method, I assign groups to present/teach a lesson. I split the lesson into pieces and assign the groups accordingly based on the group's track record of successes. (More skilled groups get harder parts, less skilled not as hard. I always want the learners to maintain confidence while learning, not have them fail in front of their peers and have something else to worry about.) I oversee the process of the development of their presentations making sure they can answer key items and "spark" their thought process about what the class will ask. They do the presentation the rest of the class asks questions and then as a group we review the information and I add content as necessary.
Hi Steve! Thanks for your on-target comments. I really like the random question approach with learning groups to keep individual members on their toes. You're right, with limited resources and group sizes, there always seems to be the onlookers, and yet, even though each student may need to master a technique or process, the onlookers can play an important role too. I have had onlookers take on the "observer" role and write down comments as to how others are completing a task or procedure, (ie. exceptional, correct, incorrect, almost there, etc.) and then provide feedback.
I agree that clarification of roles, outcomes and/or expectations is crucial at the start of a learning group. That way, as you referenced, success is not just passing the mark, but acquiring the skill and being able to perform it professionally.
Just curious...have your instructors engaged learning groups in any out of the ordinary activities (in addition to the traditional discussion of topics, cases, or demonstrations of a technique or procedure)?
Some of the good outcomes I have experienced from using learning groups are that some learning's, tasks & manipulations within tasks are learned more effectively from individuals within the group. Students learn well from other students. This works most effectively when it is clear to the group members that all are accountable for the information, task or lab. I am in the habit of telling the groups to let me know when they are ready and then I will question at random the members. If they all are not involved it is usually noticeable and I can direct them back to the exercise.
One of the not so good outcomes from groups is when it comes to limited resources such as lab equipment and training aids. It has been my experience that 2 to 3 members is the perfect size group in that type of environment. 4 or more in the group and there always seems to be at least one watcher with just a couple doers. Unfortunately this is a necessity in our teaching environment, few training providers can offer separate equipment and aids in such mass quantities. The best way I have found to help the participants succeed is to make sure they understand the true objectives and how they are accountable for them. I say true objectives because some learners may feel that the objective is to complete the course with a certain grade when the true objective is to learn the skill needed to complete the task in the field in a professional manner. By having practical exercises where either all learners have to demonstrate a skill or the learner randomly pulls skills to demonstrate, I can better evaluate the skill and their group participation.
Hi Maricelly! This is true. Sometimes the value of a learning group is that students learn more from each other's point of view.
One of the major challenges I have noticed with learning groups is making sure that the objectives or expected outcomes of the group are clearly identified and communicated as well as the roles group members will perfrom.
In addition to reviewing content and engaging in the normal activities, I've had learning groups take and review together certain exams, discuss relevant examples in relationship to the topic, develop a case, write a skit, conduct an expert proess conference on the information, and assign roles on "teaching" a part of the course content.
What has worked for you in facilitating student learning groups?
