Collaborative Learning in Informal Groups Throughout the QuarterInformal groups
for learning throughout the quarter – groups of 4-5
A. Debate in twos,
fours, eights on
topics related to the reading. Set up
really controversial topics!! See Mini-Debates
B. Documentation
groups – teach aspects of documentation to each other and compete together in a
documentation game.
C. Quiz or in-class
assignment groups. Make the
questions difficult and either analytical or critical thinking so that a great
deal of give-and-take is involved. Examples of Quiz Questions for Small Groups
D. Divide and
conquer: For a particularly difficult
reading, divide into groups and then ask each group to analyze one small
section (1-3 pages) mostly using questions which are common to all but possibly
including questions focused on one group’s section of the reading. Then each group reports out, possibly using a
diagram or poster to enhance the presentation. - Example:
Conquer “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by asking groups to analyze a 2-page
section, looking for ethos, pathos,
logos, attention to the audience of 8 white clergymen, anaphora,
etc. You may have them report back
with all their findings at once OR when you ask for examples of, for
example, ethos, each group can
give its best example.
- Example:
For EWRT 200 or 100B students, ask each group (2-3 students) to teach a
grammar chapter such as Fragments, Run-Ons, Sexist Language, Pronoun
Agreement, etc. complete with rules and examples.
- Example:
for a Shakespeare play, take 3 pages and ask students to highlight themes
with different colors, as well as examples of Great Chain of Being,
elements of tragedy or comedy, etc.
E. Provocative Questions.
F. Peer Response
Workshops. First, see Peer Response - Alternatives If everybody is writing
on somewhat the same topic, I count off and make groups of five or six, so that
students will avoid the problem of offending their friends with critiques. If students have selected from a pool of
topics, I put students working on the same topic into the same group.
How do I set up informal, short-term groups? During
the quarter, using a variety of different ways of forming informal
groups will help you as an instructor to avoid biases, to develop the
class into a large community, and to help students to develop different
skills and new friendships. - Count off
- Numbered slips of paper
- Playing cards (all aces form a group, all tens, etc.)
- Text match-ups (people with the same line of a poem go together)
- Alphabetical
(first four in the alphabet either by first or last name go into the
same group, next four go into the next group, and so on)
Sometimes
it's wise to let students select themselves into groups, usually by the
fact that the people in the group are working on the same topic or
assignment.
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