Using Small Groups and Student Teams can be effective in both small- and large-class settings to encourage student participation and critical engagement with course materials. Group assignments can be as simple as a 15-minute in-class activity or as involved as a quarter-long research project.
Successful group assignments are well-structured, have clearly stated goals that are relevant to the course, and incorporate opportunities for students to receive feedback. Students won't necessarily enter your class with the skills needed to engage productively in groups, so providing guidance about students' roles and group dynamics can also increase the effectiveness of group assignments.
CIDR Resources
Group Work Resources
including exercises and templates for team-building activities, charters, and team review -
University of Technology Sydney
Meeting Strategies to Help Prepare Students for Group Work (pdf)
University of Waterloo, Canada
Small Group Teaching Checklist
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Teamwork
Skills for Sustainable Engineering, RMIT
Turning Student Groups Into Effective Teams (pdf)
Journal of Student Centered Learning, 2(1), 9-34 (2004)
Cooperative Learning: Students Working in Small Groups
Speaking of Teaching, 10(2), the newsletter of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Stanford University
Collaborative Learning
from the National Institute for Science Education - College Level One: Innovations in Science, Math, Engineering, and Technology Education
- "Stories from teachers from many disciplines describing the CL implemented in their classrooms, divided into Large and Small Class stories.
- Doing CL: A section devoted to group dynamics and CL techniques.
- Resources: an Annotated Bibliography on small group instruction, a list of experts in CL willing to answer your questions or act as a sounding board, ... web sites devoted to CL, other CL resources, and more.
- More information on CL such as what is CL, does CL really work (it does!), how to set up groups, and comments by students on CL.
- FAQs: Some thoughts addressing colleagues' real concerns about CL and whether it's right for them."
Effective Strategies for Cooperative Learning
by Richard Felder and Rebecca Brent. Journal of Cooperation & Collaboration in College Teaching, 10(2), 69-75 (2001). Tips on forming teams, dealing with dysfunctional teams, grading team assignments, and using cooperative learning in a distance learning environment.
Frequently Asked Questions on Cooperative Learning
National Teaching and Learning Forum
Novice Instructors and Student-Centered Instruction: Identifying and Addressing Obstacles to Learning in the College Science Laboratory
"We identify and analyze some widespread problems with the implementation of student-centered instruction in introductory college science and mathematics laboratory classes..." The Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning , 2(1)
Building Learning Teams: The Key to Harnessing the Power of Small Groups in Higher Education
written by Larry K. Michaelsen, The University of Oklahoma, made available by the National Teaching and Learning Forum Supplemental Materials Archive, Volume 8(6). Also included in that volume:
- "Annotated Bibliography of Key Resources for Understanding Team Learning
- Three Keys to Using Learning Groups Effectively
- Designing Effective Group Activities: Lessons for Classroom Teaching and Faculty
- Development Problems with Learning Groups: An Ounce of Prevention
- Team Learning vs. Prevailing Advice and Practice: A Comparison of Prescriptions for Dealing with Three Common Faculty Concerns"
Team Based Learning
"Two features distinguish Team-Based Learning from other forms of teaching with small groups and make it an especially powerful form of teaching and learning"
