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York St John University | yorksj.ac.uk

Engaging small groups. or ‘Are small groups engaging?. Jacqui Akhurst, PhD J.Akhurst@yorksj.ac.uk. York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk. OUTLINE The challenges of small groups Some educational theory Small groups that work The dynamics of small groups Ideas 1 More ideas.

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York St John University | yorksj.ac.uk

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  1. Engaging small groups or ‘Are small groups engaging? Jacqui Akhurst, PhD J.Akhurst@yorksj.ac.uk York St John University | www.yorksj.ac.uk

  2. OUTLINE • The challenges of small groups • Some educational theory • Small groups that work • The dynamics of small groups • Ideas 1 • More ideas York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

  3. 1. The challenges of small groups … York St John University |www.yorksj.ac.uk

  4. WHAT SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES SAID … • I was very worried that they would ask me lots of questions I didn’t know the answers to, and that they would think I was stupid for not knowing the answers! • When I first started teaching (as a Masters student only a few months out of my undergrad degree) my biggest worry was that a student would ask me a question I couldn’t answer. • Getting asked a question I couldn’t answer! • My biggest worry was being found out in terms of my knowledge, but I soon discovered that the best policy was to copy Socrates and admit my own ignorance, when I didn’t know the answer. • Probably, how to mark work – at what level. How would I know what a piece of work was ‘worth’?

  5. 2. Some thoughts from the theorists • HE students prefer to be taught in an enquiry-based way … • Any form of academic enquiry presents a tension / dialectic between • COMPLIANCE & CONTESTATION • Socrates and Isocrates (& rhetoric) • Disciplinary orthodoxies v. critique & openendedness • Didactics v. Exploration • Control v. Facilitating learning • The work of Ausubel cf. Bruner

  6. + CONTESTATION How can we bring together these dichotomous ideas? • Bruner cf. Ausubel • Proposal of an orthogonal solution: High compliance Low contestation Low contestation Low compliance + COMPLIANCE High contestation Low compliance High compliance High contestation

  7. Work in triads … • What’s been your experience? What have you thought about as I’ve been talking?

  8. 3. Small groups that ‘work’ • An exercise with a ball of string … • What assists students engagement?

  9. 4. The dynamics of small groups

  10. Ideas 1 • Problem: Students don’t read / prepare beforehand • A solution: Set reading and students to hand in one page summary identified by student number – randomly distributed, and assessed by peers according to a checklist. • The students’ response … • Possibility of some ‘marks’ for ‘good faith’ submission?

  11. More ideas … • 53 Interesting Things to Do in Seminars and Tutorials Sue Habeshaw, Trevor Habeshaw, Graham Gibbs • Student-led seminars … • http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/firstwords/fw18.html • From Jane Halonen: • The data page → ‘research’ activities • ‘Two truths and a tale’ • ‘Think and do’ page • What’s wrong with ‘Emily’?

  12. Finally … • An article about active learning at university … • http://www.groups.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/19(2)_07_Hess.pdf

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