tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post4501491548685605279..comments2024-03-14T04:16:20.472-07:00Comments on In Socrates' Wake: 'On Course,' Part 6: Teaching with Small GroupsMichael Cholbihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02012523929044363216noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-72225709346958570052009-01-14T06:03:00.000-08:002009-01-14T06:03:00.000-08:00Thanks for the post, Mike. I also balked at Lang&#...Thanks for the post, Mike. I also balked at Lang's statement that we "construct knowledge together," though I appreciated his larger point in that passage: group work helps students see that we learn by figuring things out, not by hearing things from someone else.<BR/><BR/>In my experience, one of the most important things you can do to ensure that a group activity is successful is to ask the group to make a collective decision, judgment, or product at the end of the activity—and make it clear from the beginning what that product is and how it will be shared with the group. It helps students understand what they're supposed to be doing.<BR/><BR/>I've also found it useful to put basic directions for the activity on the board or overhead and leave them there throughout the activity, so that students can refer back to them.<BR/><BR/>BTW, there's <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/us/13physics.html" REL="nofollow">an article in the <I>New York Times</I> about MIT turning Intro to Physics into an entirely small group course</A>.david morrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17628941227584383772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-44159478436630641682009-01-09T11:23:00.000-08:002009-01-09T11:23:00.000-08:00Mike,Thanks for your post. There's certainly been...Mike,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your post. There's certainly been a vogue for small groups in higher ed in recent years, but as with any technique, it's far from foolproof. I think the main problem with group work is that very often students are not given a clear sense of the task being given them and how the task relates to the larger learning objectives of the course. There's a tendency to not give enough structure to group activities, in my estimation. It certainly won't do simply to assemble groups and tell them to "discuss"! So I've tried be conscientious about making small group activities have an objective that students can appreciate. This also helps them to see that group work isn't supposed to be just a diversion from other class activities ("busy work" as you say) but is supposed to be a worthwhile learning activity in its own right.<BR/><BR/>I think one of the great advantages is that small groups get students communicating who are otherwise reticent. If a student who is unwilling to speak in the full class is also unwilling to speak in a group with 3-4 other students, then the instructor is up against something that he or she can't be expected to tackle.Michael Cholbihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02012523929044363216noreply@blogger.com