On a recent trip to our Table Rock campus, I joined three classes that used a small group activity to enrich the class. If implemented well, small group work can keep our students’ energy level high and make the material more meaningful. Charlotte Choate, a nursing instructor, used small group work to introduce the topic of infection control. She assigned students to six groups related to the six components of the cycle of infection. Their task was to define the key features of their assigned stage and find ways to break the cycle of infection at that stage through nursing interventions. Students wrote their conclusions on a large sheet of paper and presented their ideas to the class. Charlotte followed each presentation with a short lecture to complete the picture for the class. The group work took about ten minutes but it stimulated the students’ interest and built a connection with the topic.
Matthew Grindstaff used small groups in his public speaking class to help the students work through the process of developing and presenting a speech. He divided the class into six groups and gave them a few minutes to develop an introduction to a speech that would gain the audience’s attention. They were encouraged to use their phone or laptop to find a startling statistic, a quote, or a story related to the topic. For the deliverable, a representative from the group gave a 30 second introduction using one of the three techniques. This short small group activity was an effective way to ease student’s fear of public speaking and walk them through the process of building an effective speech.
Sam Woelk used a small group activity in his English class to reinforce the lesson. He presented different types of claims that could be used to persuade an audience in argumentation such as fact, preference, value, moral, causation, and policy type claims. There are nuanced differences between these types of claims that could make them hard to distinguish. In the small group activity, students tried their hand at identifying the type of claim being used in several writing samples taken from literature, editorials, or other sources. It was interesting to watch his students challenge each other’s thinking to determine the correct classification of each persuasive argument. The group work also helped his students think of ways to frame their own argument when writing a persuasive paper.
If you shy away from small group work because it does not seem effective, I recommend teaching effective teamwork by assigning students to specific roles. I assign four roles in each group: the big cheese, the social director, the devil’s advocate, and the social media reporter. Each role has a specific task to help avoid the pitfalls common with small group work. The role of the big cheese is to keep the group on task. Small groups can be dominated by one or two people while the others never open their mouths. The role of the social director is to make sure everyone in the group contributes. If a student does not seem to be involved, the social director is to draw that student out and ask for their input and opinion. A third pitfall in group work is everyone going along with the first and easiest response to the activity without giving it deeper thought. The role of the devil’s advocate is the challenge the group’s thinking and get them to consider potentially conflicting aspects of the topic. A specific deliverable at the end of the time leads to accountability for the group. The role of the social media reporter is to summarize this deliverable via a verbal report or post to a common social media platform. This week give your students a chance to work together on a meaningful task to make your class more interactive.
Bad pun to start the week
I had a dream that I was a muffler last night and I woke up exhausted.
Last thought
“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. Growth demands a temporary surrender of security.” Gail Sheehy
Wishing you an interactive week,
Steve