Small-Group Teaching

1. Small-Group Teaching Centre for Educational Development

2. Session learning outcomes By the end of this session, you will have: identified and discussed characteristics of small group teaching, within your own subject identified some common problems associated with small-group teaching and evaluated some potential tutor interventions

3. Session overview Introduction & Context Disciplinary Contexts Problems in small-group teaching Teaching through discussion Review

4. What we are specifically not engaging with in this session… Issues of students working in groups together on assessed tasks, and theories of group formation, team roles etc. but see http://www.learnhighergroupwork.com/

5. Small Group Teaching - Context • Types/’genres’ include: • ‘tutorials’, ‘seminars’, ‘labs’, ‘fieldwork’, ‘online discussion groups’, Problem-based learning (PBL) groups, action learning sets, workshops, syndicates… • Sizes of ‘small’ groups can vary considerably • Purpose and role may vary considerably

6. What size of group would you consider not to be a “small” group ? 10 – 15 15 – 20 20 – 25 25 – 30 30 - 35

7. Context – educational role • In comparison to large-group teaching, small group teaching offers more opportunity for interaction and engagement: • tutor-student interaction • student-student interaction • Learning in a social context

8. Context - educational role • Favoured for developing higher order attributes: • Problem solving • Critical thinking • Self-Awareness • ‘Functioning’ rather than ‘Declarative’ knowledge (Biggs & Tang, 2007) • Particularly through: • Discussion • Practical application • Relation to real-world events & experiences

9. Contextual factors Size of group Location, room, layout, furniture, equipment Characteristics and diversity of group Resource & staffing issues to address

10. Disciplinary contexts What is the situation at your institution with regard to small group teaching? Here are a few questions to consider.

11. Disciplinary contexts Individual questions • What types of small-group teaching are you involved in at your institution? • Are there typical ‘ways of practicing’? If so, what are they?

12. Disciplinary contexts • Are you aware of any examples of what you would consider to be innovative small-group teaching practice at your institution? • What are the typical issues or challenges associated with small-group teaching in your context?

13. Problems in Small-Group Teaching (Ramsden, 2003: 149) teacher lectures rather than conducts discussion teacher talks too much difficult encouraging students to talk discussion limited to responses to tutor questions if preparation is required, student don’t do it one student too dominant/ too quiet student focus is on solutions/answers more than complexity

14. Teaching & Learning Through Critical Discussion (Garrison & Archer, 2000) • Allows students to listen, integrate new ideas, critique. • Discussion phases: • Early – identifying issues • Middle – searching for resolution • Late – evaluating conclusions

15. Critical Discussion (Garrison & Archer, 2000) Discussion develops higher thinking skills, in an environment where students can relate to interests and experiences - links ‘cognitive’ and ‘affective’ learning outcomes “A distinct shift from the excessively teacher-centred approach often associated with the lecture.”

16. Establishing group rules One way to help make small group work a success is to establish some ground rules at the first session. Which of the following rules do you think is the most important: Rudeness is not acceptable If you can’t attend, you should let your tutor know The session should begin on time Everyone is responsible for making the session a success Everyone is expected to prepare and to have read the required texts beforehand

17. Fishbowls Brainstorming Pair Dialogues Leave the room Other process techniques e.g. Race, 2007: 151-154 • Rounds • Buzz groups • Syndicates • Snowballing • Pyramiding

18. Solutions to the problems? (Ramsden, 2003: 149-151) “At this point it is usual to provide a list of recipes designed to overcome these familiar difficulties. There are many effective techniques…But none of them will succeed for long unless you clearly understand the reasons for the problems. Just for now, forget about detailed solutions: think about what effective teaching consists of and how you would try to implement its prescriptions…”

19. Review Biggs and Tang (2007: 105): “It helps to think of lectures and tutorials as situations, in which a range of teaching/learning activities can take place, rather than prescriptions for a manner of teaching.”

20. Suggested reading • Biggs & Tang - Chapter 8, pp. 140-143 • Ramsden - Chapter 9, pp. 149-151 • Race - Chapter 4 • Learn Higher Group Work http://www.learnhigher.ac.uk/learningareas/groupwork/home.htm • English Subject Centre – Seminar Teaching: http://www.english.heacademy.ac.uk/explore/resources/seminars/index.php • David Jaques (Oxford Brookes): http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/2_learntch/small-group/index.html • Small Group Teaching (Nottingham University): http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pesl/resources/smallgroup/

21. References Biggs. J. and Tang, C (2007) Teaching for Quality Learning at University, Third Edition, Maidenhead, Open University Press. Garrison, D.R. & Archer, W. (2000) A Transactional Perspective on Teaching and Learning, Oxford, Pergamon. Race, P. (2007) The Lecturer’s Toolkit, Third Edition, London & New York, Routledge. Ramsden, P. (2003) Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Second Edition, London & New York, Routledge Falmer.