Module 2: Group Learning - Activities
Making Informed Decisions with Limited Possibilities.
After the students have completed their weekly readings, ask them a very complicated multiple-choice question about implications of what they have just read. This question does not have to have a right answer, it may have a best answer, but all the answers could be correct.
Example: In Robyn Metcalfe’s Food History class the students were studying malnutrition in Victorian England. They read 4 different articles, each explaining a policy that was trying to reduce malnutrition. When they came to class she asked them to work in groups and answer the question:
Many political issues changed the eating habits of the population in 19th century England. Which of these political acts had the greatest impact on food consumption for poor people at this time?
- The Corn Laws made wheat very expensive so potatoes became a better option, particularly for poor people.
- The Game Code prevented peasants in rural areas from collecting wood from private land to use as fuel to cook their food.
- A Parliamentary Act was passed to provide meals for needy children in schools.
- The Ten Hour Act of 1847 restricted working hours in the factories to a maximum of 10 hours a day, therefore giving mothers and families more time for food preparation and consumption.
The students discussed the problem and had to decide as a group which was the best answer and write a paragraph with evidence fro their choice. We had allocated five minutes for this problem, but the students were debating the concepts so deeply that we let them discuss for about 20 minutes. “So what do we mean by impact? Is a law that affects the rural areas have more impact than urban areas? If we impact children is that a longer term impact? ”When they had decided as a group, they had to fold the paper so it showed the letter they thought was the right answer.
Groups differed in their answers so we asked a group that thought the answer was A to persuade the group that thought the answer was D that their answer was correct.
This was also a great opportunity to talk about expertise and who were the best people to make this judgement call.
Jig Saw
The premise of the jig saw is that each student in the group becomes an “expert” on one particular part of the content. They then teach their group about their segment. Using all the information, students are then given an exercise to use and apply the information they have just learned.
Example: In Jakki Bailey’s Virtual Reality class she asked her students to find research articles about programs that had been assessed through different methodologies. When they came to class, they taught each other the methodologies that they were the "experts” in. She then gave them a virtual reality scenario where they had to discuss which would be the best method to assess it.
This activity gave students the opportunity to recall what they had read to reinforce the concepts, and answer any questions from the rest of the group. The group had to listen and learn, then apply the information.
Divide, Conquer and Populate.
Having 4-6 people in a group means that more can be done. This could be going out to collect surveys, reading articles for a literature review, or collecting resources. This is the divide and conquer part of it. The most important part is the “populate” where students share what they have done and do something with all of the information.
Example: Gian Claudia Sciara, in her urban transportation class asked her students to collect data on vehicles at different traffic junctions. Each student recorded one road in the intersection, then they amalgamated their data to build a traffic flow model.
This utilized having 4 students working together. One person could not have kept an accurate record on a busy street.