Facilitate Group Learning

1. Facilitate Group Learning

2. Introduction • Why do students enjoy working in small groups? • What kinds of small-group exercises can you using in your teaching?

3. Objectives • Select, plan, and facilitate group learning activities • Create and facilitate a role play • Create and facilitate a case study • Create and facilitate a clinical simulation • Facilitate a brainstorming session • Facilitate a discussion

4. Group Learning Examples • Prepare a role play • React to a case study • Respond to a clinical simulation • Brainstorm • Discuss

5. Advantages of Group Learning Activities #1 • Involve all students • Allow students to interact, ask questions, and learn from one another • Give students opportunities to identify, analyze, and solve problems

6. Advantages of Group Learning Activities #2 • Permit students to express their thoughts, opinions, and concerns • Provide opportunities for practice in presenting information to a large group • Help students explore and change attitudes

7. Plan Group Learning Activities • Activities should be challenging, interesting and relevant • Make sure the activities support the objectives • Describe the activity on paper, list the supplies you will need and consider the number of students and the space available

8. Facilitating Group Learning Activities #1 • Describe the activity before dividing the students into small groups • Explain how the group should record its decisions • Suggest how each group will report back to the larger group

9. Facilitating Group Learning Activities #2 • Instructions to the group (orally and on a flipchart, handout or transparency) usually include: • The activity description • What the students will do • Time limit

10. Facilitating Group Learning Activities #3 • Reporting options include: • Oral reports from each group • Responses to questions about the activity • Role plays developed and presented by students in the small groups • Recommendations from each group

11. Role Play A role play is a learning activity in which students play out roles in a simulated situation that relates to one or more learning objectives.

12. Role Play Advantages #1 • Role plays encourage student participation and stimulate thinking. • They motivate students by involving them in a realistic situation. • Role plays help students understand another person’s perspective or situation.

13. Role Play Advantages #2 • Role plays can inform, assess, and improve a variety of students’ skills and attitudes (communication and interpersonal skills needed to interview, counsel, and treat patients) • Role plays give students opportunities to receive feedback on their performance in a safe setting

14. Create a Role Play #1 • Decide what the students should learn (the objective) • Select an appropriate situation • Identify the roles

15. Create a Role Play #2 • Determine if the role play will be: • Informal – acting it out with little or preparation time • Formal – planned in advance with instructions • Clinical demonstration – working with anatomic models and simulated patients

16. Create a Role Play #3 • Determine if the students will report the results of their discussion of the role play in writing or orally to the entire group. • In some cases, the role plays are done only in small groups. Then one or more groups may present theirs to the large group and/or the teacher will facilitate a discussion focusing on the role plays.

17. Facilitate a Role Play #1 • Explain the nature and purpose of the exercise (the objectives). • Define the setting and situation of the role play. • Brief the participants on their roles.

18. Facilitate a Role Play #2 • Explain what the other students should observe and what kind of feedback they should give. • Provide the students with questions or activities that will help them to focus on the main concepts being presented. • Keep the role play brief and to the point.

19. Facilitate a Role Play #3 • Engage students in a followup discussion. • Provide feedback, both positive and suggestions for improvement. • Summarize what happened in the session, what was learned, and how it applies to the skill being learned.

20. Sample Role Play Let’s look at Sample 7-1.

21. Case Study • A case study is a learning activity that uses realistic scenarios focusing on a specific issue, topic, or problem. • Students typically read, study, and react to the case study individually or in small groups.

22. Possible Case Study Activities #1 • Define the problem in the case study and develop suggestions for solutions. • Respond to a clinical situation by suggesting appropriate interventions and discussing them. • Evaluate clinical decisions and the process used to make the decision in the case study.

23. Possible Case Study Activities #2 • Identify the possible impact of choices or decisions made in the case study. • Analyze the causes of a problem. • Identify attitudes that may influence the healthcare providers’ behaviors described in the case study.

24. Why Case Studies? • Focus on real-life problems or situations • Develop problem-solving and decision-making skills • Strengthen students’ ability to apply information • Clarify and expand students’ knowledge • Explore and change attitudes

25. Case Study Advantages • Actively involves students and encourages interaction. • React to realistic and relevant cases that relate directly to the course and often to future work. • Reactions often provide different perspectives and different solutions to problems.

26. Create a Case Study #1 • Decide which objective the case study will help address, and decide what the students should learn from the case study. • Identify the topic, issue, or problem on which the students will focus. • Ensure that the case study presents a real situation.

27. Create a Case Study #2 • Determine whether the case study will be completed by individuals or in small groups. • Provide students with reaction activities that will guide them in completing the case study. • Decide whether students will report the results of their work on the case study in writing or orally to the entire group.

28. Facilitating a Case Study • Provide clear directions, including how to complete the case study, how to present the answers, and the time limit or due date. • If the students are working in groups, suggest that each group select someone to act as the recorder.

29. Typical Reaction Exercises • Analysis of the problem • Responses to case study questions • Problem solutions • Discussion of the responses • Summary of the key points

30. Sample Case Study Let’s look at Sample 7-2 on Page 7-11.

31. Clinical Simulation A clinical simulation presents the learner with a carefully planned, simulated patient management situation.

32. Types of Simulations • Written simulations • Role play simulations • Mediated simulations • Physical simulators • Live simulated patients

33. Why Clinical Simulations? • Help students practice responding to emergency situations. • Help students develop critical thinking skills. • Assess students’ ability to integrate knowledge, skills, and attitudes into providing healthcare in a simulated setting.

34. Clinical Simulation Advantages • The same clinical simulation can be used repeatedly until the students master the situation it presents. • Time can be shortened or lengthened in a clinical simulation. • Clinical simulations can be tailored to specific instructional objectives.

35. Creating a Clinical Simulation • Define the objective of the clinical simulation and the expected outcome. • Based on your objectives, prepare a case from your past experience that relates to the learning objectives. • Create a patient scenario that includes the problem, the related lab and diagnostic results, and possible outcomes for different interventions.

36. Present the Case #1 • Ask two or three students to prepare a case for presentation from their clinical experience. • When it is time to present, have the students share the presenting complaint. • Stop them, ask other students what they think the problem or diagnosis could be, and tell them to explain their answers.

37. Present the Case #2 • Allow students to present additional relevant data. • Stop, ask if they have changed their views, or what their next steps would be, and why. • Continue this process of allowing information to be revealed in steps, and asking and responding to students’ answers.

38. Conduct a Simulation with Models #1 • Set up the area as realistically as possible. • Present the initial information about the patient or the situation. • A student then responds to that information and identifies what other information is needed.

39. Conduct a Simulation with Models #2 • Continue to provide pieces of information and ask questions of the students. “What would you do next?” “What information would you need now?” “Why did you make that decision?” • Provide the student or students with feedback on their responses.

40. Sample Clinical Simulation Let’s look at the Sample 7-4 on Page 7-22.

41. Brainstorming Brainstorming is generating a list of ideas, thoughts, or alternative solutions that focus on a specific topic or problem.

42. Why Brainstorming? • Stimulate interest in a topic • Encourage broad or creative thinking

43. Advantages of Brainstorming • Allows students to share their ideas without criticism • Allows for creative thinking • Generates ideas • Allows for expressing opinions

44. Facilitating Brainstorming #1 • Share the objective of the brainstorming session. • Explain the ground rules before beginning the session. • All ideas will be accepted • Discussions of suggestions are delayed until after the activity • No criticism of suggestions is allowed.

45. Facilitating Brainstorming #2 • State the topic or problem. Clearly state the focus of the brainstorming session. • Maintain a written record on a flipchart or writing board of the ideas and suggestions. • Provide opportunities for anonymous brainstorming by giving the students cards on which they can write their comments or questions.

46. Facilitating Brainstorming #3 • Involve all of the students and provide positive feedback in order to encourage more input. • Review written ideas and suggestions periodically to stimulate additional ideas. • Conclude brainstorming by summarizing and reviewing all of the suggestions.

47. Discussion • A discussion is an opportunity for students to share their ideas, thoughts, questions, and answers in a group setting with a facilitator.

48. Discussions Support Other Methods • Conclude a presentation • Summarize the main points of a videotape • Check students’ understanding of a clinical demonstration • Examine alternative solutions to a case study • Explore attitudes exhibited during a role play • Analyze the results of a brainstorming session

49. Discussion Advantages • Provide a forum to discuss attitudes • Emphasize key points • Create interest and stimulate thinking about a topic • Encourage active participation

50. Types of Discussions • Group discussion that focuses on the learning objectives (planned in advance). • General discussion that addresses students’ questions about a learning topic. • Panel discussion.