Dividing students in small study groups, helps all students to participate in discussion ( including those who are shy to speak). I try to have at least one smart student in each group.
Some ways to organize students in work groups are:
-Let the students choose their partners
-Select the members of the groups according to certain criteria
-Randomly select the members of the student groups
i let my students know that working in the field they will need to learn team work. The goal is to give the patients quality care. As we know it gets pretty crazy sometimes and busy beyond our abilities, so we lean on each other to get that quality care to the patients. group teaches team work. It gives our students a diffrent view. Weather it be good, bad or indifferent, they are learning from every situations.
Hi Bruno!
How will students be able to use the group skills learned in the classroom in the work environment?
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Hi Carrie!
Probably one of the best group approaches that I have heard described. How did their projects turn out?
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
there are different ways we can give each group a topic to develop, we must balance the group with students of higher academic level and others with more difficulty, it is also important to maintain the dynamics of the course when we do these techniques
Groups are important for students because they will get new points of views from other students experiences.
Hi Bridget!
I like to do random grouping as well with a planned approach. The plan is that I manipulate the class a bit so that the placement works well for all concerned.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
I find this to be the case. For a recent group project, students were put together randomly in groups of 3. As an icebreaker, they were asked to divide 3 specific roles between them. Then, they were given instruction for each role, and advised how to bring each role together to form the final project. Finally, they were allowed to grade themselves and each other on their participation level. This protected students that performed, and did not artificially elevate those that did not.
i like to do very random groups, or, eventhough this may sound silly, putting students that i know have issues with ech other together. It always ends up that they end up talking and working as a team, and usually whatever they were arguing about is now over.
Forming groups in a clinical setting is a difficult task. In the past year, I sit with my instructors and we, all together, determine the strong and not so strong students in the class before the beginning of the semester. This way, we can have fair groups. For a while, I randomly picked name in order to form groups. This can be a disaster. I had a group of very weak students. I wanted to pull my hairs off. With a balance group, you can use the strong students as mentor. They usually like that and it is very helpful.
Because, I do not know the students on the first semester, I look at their grades in different courses and mix As with Cs students. This is how I start to form groups in the clinical setting.
Grettings Georgia!
The negative effects of grouping students based on academic achievement 1) labels those students who are less academically successful, 2) probably see less participation for those who struggle, 3) lowers self-esteem, and 4) doesn't provde that diverse interaction that students need for learning.
Found the following on the internet which wil further help to answer your question.
http://ctl.du.edu/index.php/teaching-resources/du-teaching-resources/213-diversity-in-the-classroom
Diversity in the Classroom
A resource for DU faculty members
Developed by the Center for Multicultural Excellence, University of Denver
One of the critical components of a successful classroom that maximizes the educational benefits to all students is safe space and a welcoming environment. A safe and welcoming classroom is defined as an environment in which all students feel comfortable in expressing themselves and participating fully in the educational process. A hostile and tense classroom can be very unproductive for the educational growth and development of all students.
Both students and faculty have a role and responsibility in creating a safe and welcoming classroom environment. The following are suggested guidelines specifically for faculty and teaching assistants who wish to 1) insure that the broadest range of opinions and ideas on topics are expressed in the classroom in a manner that generates constructive dialogue (rather than destructive discussions) and 2) maintain and protect the dignity of all students and the groups to which they belong. Instructors are not required to adopt the suggested rules. However, those wishing to do so can make them explicit by placing them in the course syllabus and/or reviewing them during the first day of class.
Hope this helps and provides further thought.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
I don't see a problem with putting friends or cliques together. The idea is still to create interaction among students. I think one strong personality or leader in each group is important.
Online classes have a wide diversity of students and instructors don't have access to student records or have an opportunity to discuss students with other instructors. To ease meeting (virtual) and communication, I arrange groups by time zone. I try to see how students are doing in a class and try to mix good performers with not so good performers. I hate when this rather random approach gets a group of poor performers together. It reduces the learning experience of everyone in the group.
From this course, I see that when forming student learning groups, I should strive for a balance of student diversity. What are the negative effects of grouping student based on grades they have earned in a course?
I will give students a post test and divide them into groups of three. They have to answer the questions on thier own, and then they have to discuss their answers with their group. I encourage them to discuss why they think their answer is correct and support their answer. When all the groups have finished we go over the answers as a class, and compare answers that each group came up with.If any group did not have the correct answer we discuss why their answer was incorrect.
When organizing student groups, I usually try to place one student who is a strong leader in each group with others who might need guidance. I also separate the ones that are friends in order for them to focus on the designated tasks.
Some ways of organizing students into groups would be one: Break up "clicks" in the class (that way everyone can get to know each other)
two: Mix your learning styles (ie. your visual, auditorial, and hands-on students) That way you create some sort of balance in the groups.
It is a good thing to organize students into groups for discussion but, I think it would inhance the group if they were a mixture of different ethinic backgrounds. Each student would have something different to bring to the table.
I think that most students enjoy being in groups for some assignments, because it gives them a chance to interact with other students.
