Lab Work
Since I have larger classes 20-40 students, I always break them up into teams when working on their recipes or lab projects. I have found that this does wonders for their individual contribution to the project. They master the concept a lot faster.
I agree with using groups of 2-3 students per team. With the types of projects that we perform, there is enough work and room for all team members to actively participate. Quite often with larger groups there will be someone who will sit back and let everyone else do the work.
Labwork is great hands on experince that will prepe student on what to look for when they go out on extenrnship.
Paul,
Great point. Sometimes just a quick pull aside conversation with these students can be a great way to remind them to stay engaged.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I agree. It is also beneficial to put guidelines in the work to make sure that everyone is accountable for their own portion of a project. There are too many students that are just too good at skating by and having other people in the group do their work for them. I always have to keep an eye on that and let those students know that I'M WATCHING. Not to the extent of hovering, but keeping them doing something.
Jim,
I agree with you. While I don't teach automotive labs, for small groups in my field (communication & leadership) I have found that 3-5 is the ideal number. Enough to spread the work, but small enough that everyone has to participate.
Ryan
Dr. Ryan Meers
I have a maximum of 4 students per lab group when the students are working on diagnosing automotive faults. Any more than 4 students can inhibit the learning process.
Thank you for this information. Last term I had 20 students in a class...I found it very overwhelming with attempting lab assignments. Each student had a different skill level and it was difficult monitoring them. Next term, I will use the TEAM method. I appreciate your comments.
Paula
In larger classes, it helps to have students work at least in pairs. Each student remains on task with the help of their fellow student and not be left behind. Also beneficial to be aware of the diversity of students to be able to pair them together according to individual needs.
i also like smaller groups,it seems to give each student more responsibility on the task.
I feel that small groups allows students to maybe pick up some pointers from other students.
I always have my students work in groups of 2-3 people. It definitly gets everyone involved
Yes I recently had a large class too, and found breaking studendts into small groups increased participation and accountability.
