A tutor's guide to teaching and learning at UQ - TEDI - University of ...

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28 A Tutor’s Guide to Teaching and Learning at UQPyramiding or “Think, Pair, Share” – to start, askstudents to think about (and write down) their ideasor response to a question, topic, or problem on theirown, then after a couple of minutes, turn to theirpartner and share their response. Then after acouple of minutes, each pair joins with another pairand this group of 4 shares their responses, thinksabout the issue further, and negotiates a common setof ideas. After a few minutes (say 5 – 10 minutes),ask one member of each group to report back to thewhole class (group generated points can besummarised by you or the students on an OHT orwhiteboard).Buzz Groups – this is a great technique for getting students to discuss a particularissue, problem or topic for a very short period of time (say 5 minutes). Students formpairs of small groups of 3 or 4, and one student acts as reporter and/or scribe.Depending on the size of the class, all or some groups are called upon to report ontheir discussion. Group generated points can be summarised by students or teacher onan OHT or whiteboard or the teacher can provide his or her own solution or summaryof important points.Jigsaw Method – for this strategy, each student works onone part of a learning task and then works collaborativelywith a group of other students to combine the variousparts and complete the activity. The learningtask/problem is broken into parts and students are askedto work on a response to that part-task individually. Thenstudents working on the same part work in a grouptogether to come up with a response and check theirunderstandings against those of other students. Studentsthen form into different groups in which each of thedifferent parts of the task is represented, and eachstudent explains to the others their response to theirpart of the problem.Debate – The division of a class or individuals into groups to represent particularpoints of view (most commonly 'for and against') on a controversial topic. Each groupworks to develop an argument to support its allocated point of view. Students could beinvited to argue a view they don't endorse, engage in the debate in character orthrough role-plays.
Section 3: Effective Small Group Teaching and Learning 29Fishbowl – this is a great method for introducing a bit of funand energy to a focussed class discussion. Some students startoff the discussion by sitting in a small circle of chairs, with therest of the class in a surrounding circle of chairs, listening tothe discussion. Students in the outer circle can join in thediscussion by swapping seats with someone in the small innercircle.There are many other small group strategies you can use – see the Referencesand Web Resources section in this book.Dealing with difficult situationsDon’t panic!! Many tutors may neverencounter a really difficulty, tricky oruncomfortable situation in class. Thosewho do may at first feel like just runningaway from it, but like all the skills youneed as a tutor, you will develop skills inmanaging difficult situations withexperience. However, while this may bethe result of good luck, it’s probably wortherring on the side of caution and putting inplace good management strategies in orderto minimise or avoid such situations.Here are three important tips for good classroom management:1. Ground rules help the group work better – especially if the ‘rules’ aregenerated by the students themselves (see Section 1 for details).2. Structure is just as important in small groups as it is in lectures – studentswill work better if the purpose of the class and/or activity is clear to them (e.g.,a statement of aims and objectives for the session works well). Just rememberto be explicit about what you expect from your students, and avoid giving thema task to complete without a rationale – this may help reduce some problems inclass like students being distracted, off track, disinterested, or noncommunicative.3. Pay attention to the ‘tone’ of the group – interaction in a small group isgreatly influenced by the tone or atmosphere, and whether students feel able totake a risk in front of you and their peers. You can actively work towardschanging the tone of the group through your own actions and non-verbals.
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