The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture
As I called off each group, hands would go up. “Did anybody
notice anything about this?” I’d ask. No one had an answer. So I’d call
off the groups again. “Group One?…Group Two?…Group Three?…” All
around the room, hands shot up again.
Sometimes, you have to resort to cheesy theatrics to break
through to students, especially on issues where they think they know
everything. So here’s what I did:
I kept going with my attendance drill until finally my voice was
raised. “Why on earth are all of you still sitting with your friends?” I’d
ask. “Why aren’t you sitting with the people in your group?”
Some knew my irritation was for effect, but everyone took me
seriously. “I’m going to walk out of this room,” I said, “and I’ll be back
in sixty seconds. When I return, I expect you to be sitting with your
groups! Does everyone understand?” I’d waltz out and I’d hear the
panic in the room, as students gathered up their book bags and
reshuffled themselves into groups.
When I returned, I explained that my tips for working in groups
were not meant to insult their intelligence or maturity. I just wanted to
show them that they had missed something simple—the fact that they
needed to sit with their partners—and so they could certainly benefit
from reviewing the rest of the basics.
At the next class, and for the rest of the semester, my students (no
dummies), always sat with their groups.
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