Becoming A More Critical, Autonomous, Reflective Learner

PRILHE Project - Lecturer’s Toolkit
Groups are also the context in which experiences are expressed, some teachers see this as problematic,
When students start any discussions, these discussions will be at a very low level, it will be exchanging the observations
of the type: „I once met such a person, who did that and this’’ won’t it …….And for me it is a waste of time, because
– let’s say, generally I do not consider it a waste of time, because sharing my practice or sharing the experiences and
the analysis of that is for me a very important thing. But this can be done when one has some basic knowledge about
precisely some processes, methodology or something else, can’t it, then we can share these practical experiences,
refer them to this knowledge, can’t we. However, if it is to be restricted to sharing an experience – then it is simply a
waste of time.
(Lecturer, Poland)
This Polish lecturer’s main concern is not the learning process but the teaching task. This encompasses a traditional view of the
hierarchy of teaching and learning which does not take account of the fact that learning is always a social process even in a period
of teacher’s instruction.. CARL is critical of such non-reflective traditionalism. In fact, the production of knowledge in the process of
group discussion allows us to realise what ‘we do not know’ and to learn about the cultural and social background of other
participants of the group discussion and to disclose own life experience and the knowledge which arises on this basis. Other
participants of the discussion are not only the source of knowledge about the world, but also about the people, participants of the
discussion. Apart from knowledge of content, ‘a group discussion’ also teaches the skills of listening and argumentation as well as
the attitudes towards oneself, others and the world. ‘A group discussion’ also creates a network of likes and dislikes and the
feeling of community through the ideas, values and experiences shared with others.
The following example from an asylum seeker in Finland shows how group work can contribute to a greater understanding of
diversity and can contribute to greater social inclusion:
Once I had to make a seminar presentation and I was the last to go. I became worried that the other students might
be too tired to listen to my story so I said in the beginning that I hope that you still feel up to it. Then I started to tell
about the asylum process in Finland and they listened very intensely and at the end of the presentation they applauded
very hard. It felt very good!
(Student, Finland)
In higher education, ‘group work’ can take different forms, for example, informal learning groups (ad hoc groups for discussing a
problem or a question given by a teacher), formal learning groups (forming a group for performing a particular task, project or an
experiment, etc.) and study teams (a long-term group of students, who work for a specified period of time, e.g. one term during
which they gain specific knowledge carrying out teacher’s specific requirements (Johnson, Johnson, and Smith 1991). They can
also involve immediate and longer term learning processes.
Sometimes, groups can be allowed to develop organically.
I do not plan work diversification (workshop or lecture or group work), because this is simply an issue of intuitive feeling
of how the group will want to work (…) this depends on how many leaders the group has, whether the group wants
to talk, whether it should be more my utterances, sometimes I provoke them on purpose with some rather irrational
ideas (……)to recognize them, the group
(Lecturer, Poland)
But at other times, more formal structures are appropriate. One example of a formal group that involves both immediate and long
term learning processes is “the competence group” used in Sweden. In one Swedish educational programme, they divide the
students into small competence groups which last the whole study period. The basic structure of the groups is to promote social
learning, to build a framework for different tasks during their studies but also to become the basis for the individual to grow (see
Wenger & Snyder, 2000, Davenport & Hall 2002). In the beginning it can be difficult when the students get to know each other.
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