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Small Group Teaching

Linda Carey

Centre for Educational Development

Queen’s University Belfast

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Learning outcomes for this session

By the end of the session you will have: Discussed some of the strengths of and

difficulties with small group teaching Considered some of the aims, facilitation

issues and methods for small group teaching, with reference to your own teaching context

Discussed some ways to deal with difficult students in a small group

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Task 1: Discuss in pairs or threes

What is kind of small group teaching takes place in your department?

In your experience, what are the strengths of and difficulties with small group teaching?

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Some possible problems

Teacher gives a lecture rather than conducting a dialogue

Teacher talks too much Students won’t talk to each other or the tutor Students don’t prepare One student dominates Students want to be given solutions to

problems rather than discuss them

Jaques (2003)

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Aims of small group teachingadapted from Brown and Atkins, 1987

to develop intellectual and professional abilities,

e.g. analysing, logical reasoning, evaluating evidence/data, appraising and judging perceptively, thinking critically, seeing new relationships, synthesising, speculating creatively, designing, arguing rationally, transferring skills to new context, problem-solving

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to develop students’ communications skills:with peers, tutor, in “real world”

to develop values, language and perspective of the discipline

to foster students’ personal development:e.g. confidence, managing own learning

to develop group working skills to challenge and stimulate students and tutor

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Roles of the lecturer in small group teaching

Facilitator – leading discussion, questioning, guiding process and task, enabling participation and engagement with ideas

Instructor – imparting information Neutral Chair Consultant Commentator Other.....?

( based on McCrorie, 2006)

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Conditions for successful small group teaching

Effective planning and preparation Breaking the ice -- starting out with the group Keeping the group on track Dealing with possible problems and conflicts

adapted from Exley and Dennick, 2004

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Preparation What is the likely level, knowledge and

experience of the students? What am I teaching – topic, type of expected

learning (knowledge, skills, behaviours)? How will I teach it? – methods, time, venue,

resources How will I know if students understand? –

informal or formal assessment, questioning, feedback from learners.

Adapted from: Spencer (2003, p25)

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Step 1Consider what you want the students to learn

or achieve: the learning outcomes

Step 2Choose a suitable set of group tasks to deliver

the selected outcomes

Step 3Decide how to organise the small group:

Your tasks are to:• prepare materials

• explain and check agreement on task• monitor development of task

• control time boundaries

From: Jaques, 2003, p.19

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Starting out with a group

Arranging group environment (see handout) seating to maximize interaction, facilitator position

Introductions/warm-ups:e.g. names, rounds, paired introductions

Establishing ground rules: Expectations How will the group operate? Developing a “learning contract”?

Adapted from Exley and Dennick, 2004

Task 2:

What ground rules would you suggest for your small groups?

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Starting out (continued)

Fostering a sense of “safety” Explaining aims /outcomes and tasks to

students Activating students’ prior learning: What do they

already know on this topic? Questioning Stimuli – e.g. texts, pictures, artefacts, models,

newspaper clippings, cartoons, video clips

Adapted from Exley and Dennick, 2004

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Keeping the group on track

Time management Keeping focus to discussion Building in time for reflections and summaries Managing the discussion:

Involving all students Dealing with diverse students

Recording achievements and progress – e.g. notes, flipchart, post-its

Adapted from Exley and Dennick, 2004

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Questioning skills: some common pitfalls asking too many questions at once asking ambiguous or confusing questions asking irrelevant questions and losing focus answering your own questions and launching

into a mini-lecture asking questions of only a subset of students asking closed rather than open questions questioning too aggressively

adapted from Brown and Atkins, 1988

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Types of questions to stimulate thinking(see handout for details)

Questions to elicit from the students: Evidence Clarification Explanation Linking and extending Hypothetical thinking Cause and effect Summary and synthesis

Adapted from Brookfield, 2006

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Methods to encourage participation(adapted from Race, 2006)

Rounds useful at beginning or end of session

Pairs Buzz groups (3, 4, 5 people)

discussion-based or task-based time-limited clear remit explained to students different ways of assigning groups

Syndicates: groups working in teams on different aspects of a problem / case

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Methods (continued)

Snowballing or pyramids ones, then twos, fours, eights etc builds confidence; encourages participation

Crossovers Mix and matching of sub groups

“Brainstorming” Idea generation; unstructured; creative

Debates Student-led seminars Problem-based learning groups

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Taking feedback from students

Instant posters (flipcharts) Post-it notes – succinct, easy to use Students prepare overhead transparencies

(or use technology if available) Spokesperson – how nominated? Formal presentation with PowerPoint, etc

Sometimes no feedback needed

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Task 3:

How could you apply these methods in your own teaching? (Choose one or two to discuss in detail.)