small group teaching

Centre for Educational DevelopmentORHEP Project

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www.orhep.brad.ac.uk

www.orhep.brad.ac.ukThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/



Small-Group Teaching

Centre for Educational Development

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/



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Session learning outcomesBy the end of this session, you will have:• identified and discussed characteristics of small

group teaching, within your own subject • identified some common problems associated

with small-group teaching and evaluated some potential tutor interventions



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Session overview• Introduction & Context• Disciplinary Contexts• Problems in small-group teaching• Teaching through discussion• Review



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What we are specifically not engaging with in this session…

• Issues of students working in groups together on assessed tasks, and theories of group formation, team roles etc.

• but see http://www.learnhighergroupwork.com/


http://www.learnhighergroupwork.com/


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Small Group Teaching - Context• Types/’genres’ include:

– ‘tutorials’, ‘seminars’, ‘labs’, ‘fieldwork’, ‘online discussion groups’, Problem-based learning (PBL) groups, action learning sets, workshops, syndicates…

• Sizes of ‘small’ groups can vary considerably

• Purpose and role may vary considerably



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What size of group would you consider not to be a “small” group ?

A. 10 – 15

B. 15 – 20

C. 20 – 25

D. 25 – 30

E. 30 - 35



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Context – educational role• In comparison to large-group teaching,

small group teaching offers more opportunity for interaction and engagement:– tutor-student interaction– student-student interaction

• Learning in a social context



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Context - educational role• Favoured for developing higher order attributes:

– Problem solving– Critical thinking– Self-Awareness– ‘Functioning’ rather than ‘Declarative’ knowledge (Biggs &

Tang, 2007)

• Particularly through:– Discussion– Practical application– Relation to real-world events & experiences



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Contextual factors• Size of group• Location, room, layout, furniture,

equipment• Characteristics and diversity of group

• Resource & staffing issues to address



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Disciplinary contextsWhat is the situation at your institution with

regard to small group teaching?

Here are a few questions to consider.



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Disciplinary contextsIndividual questions

– What types of small-group teaching are you involved in at your institution?

– Are there typical ‘ways of practicing’? If so, what are they?



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Disciplinary contexts

– Are you aware of any examples of what you would consider to be innovative small-group teaching practice at your institution?

– What are the typical issues or challenges associated with small-group teaching in your context?



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Problems in Small-Group Teaching (Ramsden, 2003: 149)

• teacher lectures rather than conducts discussion• teacher talks too much• difficult encouraging students to talk• discussion limited to responses to tutor questions• if preparation is required, student don’t do it• one student too dominant/ too quiet• student focus is on solutions/answers more than

complexity



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Teaching & Learning Through Critical Discussion (Garrison & Archer, 2000)

• Allows students to listen, integrate new ideas, critique.

• Discussion phases:– Early – identifying issues– Middle – searching for resolution– Late – evaluating conclusions



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Critical Discussion (Garrison & Archer, 2000)

• Discussion develops higher thinking skills, in an environment where students can relate to interests and experiences - links ‘cognitive’ and ‘affective’ learning outcomes

• “A distinct shift from the excessively teacher-centred approach often associated with the lecture.”



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Establishing group rulesOne way to help make small group work a success is to establish some

ground rules at the first session.

Which of the following rules do you think is the most important:

A. Rudeness is not acceptable

B. If you can’t attend, you should let your tutor know

C. The session should begin on time

D. Everyone is responsible for making the session a success

E. Everyone is expected to prepare and to have read the required texts beforehand



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Other process techniquese.g. Race, 2007: 151-154– Rounds– Buzz groups– Syndicates– Snowballing– Pyramiding

– Fishbowls– Brainstorming– Pair Dialogues– Leave the room



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Solutions to the problems? (Ramsden, 2003: 149-151)

“At this point it is usual to provide a list of recipes designed to overcome these familiar difficulties. There are many effective techniques…But none of them will succeed for long unless you clearly understand the reasons for the problems. Just for now, forget about detailed solutions: think about what effective teaching consists of and how you would try to implement its prescriptions…”



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ReviewBiggs and Tang (2007: 105):

“It helps to think of lectures and tutorials as situations, in which a range of teaching/learning activities can take place, rather than prescriptions for a manner of teaching.”



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Suggested readingIn preparation for the forthcoming seminar, you will find the following readings helpful:• Biggs & Tang - Chapter 8, pp. 140-143• Ramsden - Chapter 9, pp. 149-151• Race - Chapter 4• Learn Higher Group Work

http://www.learnhigher.ac.uk/learningareas/groupwork/home.htm

• English Subject Centre – Seminar Teaching:http://www.english.heacademy.ac.uk/explore/resources/seminars/index.php

• David Jaques (Oxford Brookes):http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/2_learntch/small-group/index.html

• Small Group Teaching (Nottingham University):http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pesl/resources/smallgroup/


http://www.learnhigher.ac.uk/learningareas/groupwork/home.htm

http://www.english.heacademy.ac.uk/explore/resources/seminars/index.php

http://www.english.heacademy.ac.uk/explore/resources/seminars/index.php

http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/2_learntch/small-group/index.html

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pesl/resources/smallgroup/

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pesl/resources/smallgroup/


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References• Biggs. J. and Tang, C (2007) Teaching for Quality

Learning at University, Third Edition, Maidenhead, Open University Press.

• Garrison, D.R. & Archer, W. (2000) A Transactional Perspective on Teaching and Learning, Oxford, Pergamon.

• Race, P. (2007) The Lecturer’s Toolkit, Third Edition, London & New York, Routledge.

• Ramsden, P. (2003) Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Second Edition, London & New York, Routledge Falmer.
