Working in small groups gives students a chance to:

• Explain things in their own words.
• Try out their views on others, receive feedback, and refine their ideas.
• Pool their knowledge.
• Teach others.
• Work independently, but with the teacher available for guidance.
• Solve problems without the teacher, to test understanding.

Pointers for successful small group work

• Early in the term, explain to students why they will be doing group activities.
• Use ice-breaker activities to help students get to know one another.
• Have an objective for each group activity.
• Give groups a specific outcome or set of questions to answer.
• Be available to help groups, without taking over or providing answers.
• Assign roles (recorder, reporter, 2nd reporter), or let groups assign roles themselves.
• Use full-class discussion afterward to debrief, as well as give groups a chance to teach one another.
• If participation is a problem, start a group activity with a “round-robin”: each group member must put a contribution on the table before discussion begins.

Examples of small group activities

• Break a complex problem into parts: each group tackles one part, teaches rest of class.
• Jigsaw: each member of a group is responsible for a separate part of the assignment. Put all pieces together as a group.
• Prepare evidence for a class debate.
• Solve a problem the whole class is having trouble with.
• Send-a-question: Each group creates and writes down a question or problem, along with an answer (written on the back). Groups trade questions and try to solve. (Good for pre-exam review sessions.)
• Variation on send-a-question: Each member of the group creates a question. Group discusses and comes up with answers for all members’ questions.
• Peer response to writing: Critically review and provide feedback on peers’ writing assignments, using a rubric or set of criteria for the assignment.
• Individually generate ideas and write on card or sticky-note. Group pools ideas and organizes according to theme, hierarchy, etc.

Resources

Books
Collaborative Learning: Underlying Processes and Effective Techniques, Kris Bosworth and Sharon J. Hamilton, eds. (New Directions for Teaching and Learning #59, Jossey-Bass, 1994).   LB 1032 .C586 1994

Using Student Teams in the Classroom: a Faculty Guide, Ruth Federman Stein and Sandra Hurd (Anker, 2000).   LB 1032 .F34 2000

Engaging Ideas: the Professor's Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom, John C. Bean (Jossey-Bass, 2001). PE 1404  .B35  1996

Collaborative Learning Techniques, Elizabeth F. Barkley, et al. (Jossey-Bass, 2005). Available at CTE.

Web resources
http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/archive/cl1/CL/default.asp (Excellent web site on collaborative learning, with theory, examples, and further resources.)

http://www.oic.id.ucsb.edu/Resources/Collab-L/CL_Index.html (Another good online resource, from UCSB.)