I have found that when students are put into learning groups the feel more relaxed and are willing to open up with their peers where as they may have opposite effects when being approached by a instructor.
Some of the positive outcomes of group learning are as follows:
it helps the student learn from his/her peers and have a different perspectives when answering the same question or when approaching a task/project.
Learning groups help shy, soft spoken students to interact with everyone else.
I enjoyed learning groups when I was a student I was able to increase my knowledge of subjects and learned many different approaches to tasks/projects.
One positive is that the students hear your lecture on a topic/topics and then have a group assignment on these same topics. Going over it again and finding answers together and sharing opinions and explaining concepts to each other helps them to understand the topic better and to retain it.
I believe the interaction allows them to become more cohesive as a unit and realize that they may have some of the same questions or struggles relative to the material.
By putting students in learning groups, they can see things from different perspectives and can relate to someone more their age. It can also help the instructor gain insight as to how each one is thinking and how they migh incorporate that idea into their own teaching style.
I agree with you, I think that group work helps to prepare students for the workforce.
At the beginning o fmy electronics course I give a 20 question quiz. This helps me determine who the advanced students are and I make sure they are in different groups. This way they vcan assist those who may need help.
It creates an environment where all students can participate.
William,
exactly, thank you for pointing this out. While our students may not "like" the groups, for most careers these skills are a must & we do them a disservice if we don't help prepare them for this.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
William,
exactly, thank you for pointing this out. While our students may not "like" the groups, for most careers these skills are a must & we do them a disservice if we don't help prepare them for this.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
absolutly, they exchange ideas, and help each other to get the concept, and absorb it in better way.
It also helps students to get together and get out of their confort zoon.
Students can learn how to work with people they would not necessarily chose to associate with. They may learn how to resolve conflict and become better communicators.
I have and always will be a big fan of student learning groups. Being part of a learning group is one of the best ways to prepare students for the real world. Learning groups give students the opportunity to both be part of a team and learn how to network with other people in a formal setting. As students prepare for their future as entrepreneurs and employees of large organizations, learning groups assist them with improving their communication skills, and networking with different individuals from very diverse backgrounds.
Positive outcomes? My students will be working on teams wherever they end up, and it's to their best interest that they develop not only career skills but soft skills like getting along with and working together with their fellow professionals. They will not control which coworkers they end up with, and learning how to be a positive part of a wide variety of personalities and skill sets will put them on the path to success.
They will learn to deal with different personality types, have others to help motivate, help quiet people to be more comfortable and talk, learn from the experiences of the people around them and learn what it means to be successful as a team or unsuccessful.
Stan,
these are great reasons; and they learn to utilize the ideas & strengths of others in the problem solving process.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I have noticed in my classes that I will have students that have just graduated and students who are searching for a new career during the middle ages of life. It help to put them together in learning groups because the experience that the older students can offer the younger students has really helped in my classes. The younger students help out with the computer skills and knowledge of electronic world for the middle aged students.... I love to see that the students young and older have to offer each other knowledge and experience...
When students are in these groups, many times they feel more comfortable asking questions of teammates then raising their hand in front of the entire class. It also reinforces the neccessity of learning how to work with others since most often they will all be entering a field where they need to have the people skills to be effective.
In my feld of Information Technology, by putting students into groups helps to condition the student by getting used to working with others to solve a technical problem. Usually in this field tasks are group-oriented and you can build your knowledge off from one another.
