Students Learning in Groups
Chapter 1
Staff involved in this study
Name / Job Title- One of the main benefits of learning in groups is that it is student-centred. There is communication between all present, not just teacher to students. It is more interactive because each person is affecting each other in a dynamic process and feedback is more immediate.
- The freedom of learning in groups allows: backtracking; revising ;clarifying ;enlarging ;enriching.
- Responsibility for their learning lies more obviously with the students. It can be more informal, friendly and personal and thus helps the students to feel more comfortable with each other. Learners are supported by their fellow students which builds confidence.
- Learning in groups is organic and creative – it draws out what is within each person, and creates something new. Learning in groups allows space for expression and often brings out things the students do know but which might otherwise not be expressed. It may also highlight things the students are worried or confused about, which might otherwise remain hidden.
· Group work encourages a greater number of contributions from students and if managed well, allows more equal participation by students. More reasoned arguments are likely to be presented because participants are conscious of explaining them to the whole group. The interactive discussion of ideas helps students digest new concepts and make sense of them. It allows space for constructive criticism by the peer group.
· Group learning may introduce variety through more choice of learning activities and can liven up the delivery of information which hopefully makes learning more enjoyable.
- The tutor can cover more ground e.g. if different (but related) tasks are assigned to each group, thus maximising use of limited equipment and resources.
- Lessons in which the students are so actively involved make the subject matter more relevant to students, because the process of learning involves their experiences. The group learning situation develops communication skills in students and helps the students in other public situations involving presentation or participation. In fact, group learning maximises the whole learning experience because ideas can be shared.
- The work in the group allows knowledge to be tested "in the open". There will be a certain amount of self-checking between members of the group which helps to assess how much the students have taken in. At the end of the session, everybody takes away something new, which they have contributed to.
Chapter 2
Points of good practice
Utilise large, clear OHTs and make good use of colour. Consider breaking the class down into small groups then walking around, talking to each group individually, before summarising the whole class's experience. Don’t forget practical details like the arrangement of chairs. It gives a better impression if the person teaching stands or sits nearer the class, not behind the table. Set objectives for each teaching session and measure these against the achievements afterwards.
Barriers to Communication/Listening Skills
You cannot communicate well without space for you both to speak and listen. If you ignore a person completely they will quickly give up trying to talk.
Teaching from Others Materials
Communication problems may arise when teaching from materials prepared by someone else. This demonstrates how carefully and clearly one needs to prepare materials that might be used by someone else.
Planning the Course
Bear in mind the sequencing of your delivery. Start with a good ice breaker. You will stand or fall by your level of organisation and preparation prior to the course. A successful session may be a matter of teamwork which relies on good communication, trust and the principles of assertiveness in both tutor and students.
Essentials
Bear in mind the length of time taken by each activity. Get off to a good start with a compelling introduction. Be aware that the content of the course may need to be matched to a taught syllabus. Have clear objectives and aims. Plan suitable resources and match your aims to the methods used to deliver and your activities.
Think about how and when to assess students and schedule assessment times. How many students will the course involve? Consider the level of students and in some cases their age group may affect your choice of activities.
Keep a summary of important points and key dates. At the end of the course you may wish to hand out a questionnaire to find out how the students found the course. (You may also keep a record of your own feedback by including a section at the left margin of your lesson plans to annotate with your feelings about how things went).
Use of a pre-printed course outline form
This was found to be restrictive in both language and layout and there were many areas which could be improved by redesign. The general feeling was that the form lacked imagination. Describing the course was a case of filling boxes.
On the positive side, this form made it easy for another tutor to cover the topic because it provided focus.
It is easy to misread things and make assumptions when you are under stress or pressure. Logic may be clouded under these conditions.
One view of learning sees the central and key point as the student WANTING to learn, then actively DOING the learning activity, being given time for DIGESTING the new knowledge and experiences, and finally having the chance to give and receive FEEDBACK.
The Buzz Group Session
In this session the students begin by looking inwards into their own experiences, then draw that knowledge out, weave it together with the experiences of the others, then end up with something complete, which had grown out of everybody present there. It is quite surprising then to look back at this process and what they end up with. In some subject areas the tutor must be creative in giving opportunities to bring in students' subjective experiences.
Open/Closed Questions
Closed questions are used to check if a learner knows a specific piece of information. Open questions encourage people to think. They open up the discussion and show people's interpretation of facts. They involves the whole group and bring in a range of relevant points. The tutor might employ the phrase "tell me about" to encourage a further response following a closed answer.
Difficulties Planning Sessions
Timing may be tricky with new courses. The tutor must deal not only with the content but with the reaction of different learners to content. The sequence of the material may be important and the tutor should think about starting points and lead-ins to new ideas. If the material is open ended part of the skill is knowing where to end. Perhaps the tutor may have to conform to the structure that is already in place whilst also trying to create variety within the session.
It cannot be emphasised too much how important it is to focus on clear objectives. The tutor must get the level of teaching right (especially if unsure what learners know already). As far as possible the tutor need to meet individuals' interests and aptitudes half way. This might be done by coming up with interesting activities and relevant examples and illustrations. Analogies often help adults to learn.
What do you do when it goes wrong? (Plan B) How to get a positive response from the students? Build into teaching ways of checking students' understanding and knowledge. From time to time look around the group and assess body language. Be aware of pace & level of difficulty - how much further to advance in order to make it challenging and interesting enough, but not impossible. Build into the session a chance for learners to assess their own progress (feedback). Think how to consciously monitor the degree to which people are learning.
Finding relevant illustrations
Know the students' background. Ask yourself how did I learn this? Is that still relevant? (anecdotal) Perhaps get one of the students (who understands it) to explain it.
Chapter 3
Practical activities - how to assess them
Always check afterwards by having a feedback session. You can do more formal testing with questions and answers.
Sequence
Breaking the topic down into chunks. Decide on your priorities. To find out what they already know - question before teaching.
Levels of knowledge
Establishing what is known and work towards the unknown. Motivation of students is important – there is room to be more challenging to motivated students
Timings
Do dummy runs. Have flexibility. Use improvisation. The plan helps you to be flexible. If it goes on too long, decide what are the core things and what are the extras. Have a range of strategies to fill up time, which are still good learning activities.
Teaching styles may be summarised as below:
Pupils feel intimidated / Enthusiasm by tutor & students
Tutor does not like teaching / Comfortable
Restrictive / Relaxed
Pupils do not feel focused / Interactive
Oppressive / Constant learning
Unrelaxed / Easier to understand
Does not encourage interest / More approachable
Better concentration
Recall easier
User friendly
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Why do we assess learning?
To establish what is known and therefore where to start. To test for aptitude
To test knowledge and therefore whether learning has taken place. To test the application of knowledge. To test memory. To predict results. To give guidance on how best to use the time that is left. To give an opportunity for skills to be demonstrated. To assess the level of competence (summative assessment). As a stepping stone to further learning - readiness to start the next stage. Compares students to a pre-set standard which may be a mandatory requirement e.g. national accepted level of competence
Assesses the teacher. Tests what results a course produced which can then contribute to future planning. Shows that objectives and criteria have been met. An encouragement to learners because it shows them what they have achieved. Feedback to inform learning (formative assessment). Gives a rank order for sets.
An assessment is good when it:
Tests understanding rather than remembering. Is as relevant to real life as possible – validity. Provides constructive feedback. When it tests the whole picture, not just one narrow bit. Is professional and fair. Is judged by clear, meaningful criteria. Success in the assessment is motivating. Is hard enough to be worth doing, but not impossible
To establish what is known and therefore where to start. To test for aptitude
To test knowledge and therefore whether learning has taken place. To test the application of knowledge. To test memory. To predict results. To give guidance on how best to use the time that is left. To give an opportunity for skills to be demonstrated. To assess the level of competence (summative assessment). As a stepping stone to further learning - readiness to start the next stage. Compares students to a pre-set standard which may be a mandatory requirement e.g. national accepted level of competence.
Assesses the teacher. Tests what results a course produced which can then contribute to future planning. Shows that objectives and criteria have been met. An encouragement to learners because it shows them what they have achieved. Feedback to inform learning (formative assessment). Gives a rank order for sets.
An assessment is good when it:
Tests understanding rather than remembering. Is as relevant to real life as possible – validity. Provides constructive feedback. When it tests the whole picture, not just one narrow bit. Is professional and fair. Is judged by clear, meaningful criteria. Success in the assessment is motivating. Is hard enough to be worth doing, but not impossible
To establish what is known and therefore where to start. To test for aptitude
To test knowledge and therefore whether learning has taken place. To test the application of knowledge. To test memory. To predict results. To give guidance on how best to use the time that is left. To give an opportunity for skills to be demonstrated. To assess the level of competence (summative assessment). As a stepping stone to further learning - readiness to start the next stage. Compares students to a pre-set standard which may be a mandatory requirement e.g. national accepted level of competence.
Assesses the teacher. Tests what results a course produced which can then contribute to future planning. Shows that objectives and criteria have been met. An encouragement to learners because it shows them what they have achieved. Feedback to inform learning (formative assessment). Gives a rank order for sets.
An assessment is good when it:
Tests understanding rather than remembering. Is as relevant to real life as possible – validity. Provides constructive feedback. When it tests the whole picture, not just one narrow bit. Is professional and fair. Is judged by clear, meaningful criteria. Success in the assessment is motivating. Is hard enough to be worth doing, but not impossible.
Chapter 6
Resources
Hardware
¨ OHP (remember to switch it off whilst you are talking)
¨ Flip chart
¨ Video
¨ Whiteboard
¨ Tape recorder
¨ Slides/projector
¨ Lightboard
¨ Computers
¨ Easels
¨ Equipment e.g. ovens, massage couch
N.B. When using OHP or chart, stand to one side of it and point.
Show OHTs section by section.
Set up everything beforehand.
16-20 pt for OHTs.
Software
¨ Handout
¨ Posters
¨ Charts
¨ Graphs
¨ Books
¨ Slides
¨ Videos
¨ Tapes
¨ Photographs
¨ Prints
¨ Pens
For this type of material, think carefully about the content.
¨ Is it up to date?
¨ Is it pitched at the right level?
¨ Make sure you are familiar with the material.
¨ Think about appropriate classroom layout.
¨ What condition is the material in?
¨ Does it take account of equal opportunities/is it biased?