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Small Group Discussions

Low-structure teaching methods can leave some learners behind and hinder participation. Adding structure to each lesson, each week, and the course, enables a more inclusive learning experience for all your students.

Adding structure to small groups/small classes

  • Take time to teach students how to participate in small groups
  • Assign and rotate roles
  • Provide clear instructions on a screen or worksheet

Student Spotlight

Charlie Fong, Class of 2026

Major: Arab Cross Roads; with minors in Arabic and Ancient World
Enrolled in: “Paradise Lost: Muslims, Christians and Jews in Al-Andalus” in fall 2023
Taught by: Justin Stearns

Professor Stearns gives insight into the readings that we couldn't have gleaned on our own. I really appreciate how he guides us through the complex history of al-Andalus and doesn't only feed us information but provokes us to think critically. The class discussions are always animated and insightful since we are a small group. 

A main theme of the class was tolerance, thinking about what it meant and if it could be applied to al-Andalus. This class and Professor Stearns invited students to think beyond the surface where tolerance is automatically labeled as something good and to evaluate if different religious groups in al-Andalus actually existed in harmony.

Three Examples of Activities for Small Groups

Note that these work well in online learning as well as in face-to-face formats.

1. Think-Pair-Share

  • Get comfortable with the silence so that all students have the time they need to think
  • “I’ll give you two minutes to think or write silently, and then I’ll prompt you to pair up with your classmates.”

Source: VIJI SATHY and KELLY A. HOGAN, Want to Reach All of Your Students? Here’s How to Make Your Teaching More Inclusive July 2019 https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/20190719_inclusive_teaching

2. Brainstorming

Answer a question in the full group. One person can record the answers. You can optionally arrange the list into two or more categories to get at higher order thinking.

Example Question: What does a plant need to survive?
Categories: abiotic vs. biotic factors.

Objectives

  • Elicits responses and aggregates them into a single list
  • Provides an overview of the group’s collective knowledge
  • By categorizing, students must evaluate how well they understand the role of each response in a specific context

Source: Jo Handelsman; Sarah Miller; Christine Pfund, Scientific Teaching, Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching, W.H. Freeman & Co, [2007]

3. Mini Mind Map

  • Get comfortable with the silence so that all students have the time they need to think
  • “I’ll give you two minutes to think or write silently, and then I’ll prompt you to pair up with your classmates.”

Source: VIJI SATHY and KELLY A. HOGAN, Want to Reach All of Your Students? Here’s How to Make Your Teaching More Inclusive July 2019 https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/20190719_inclusive_teaching

Arrange the following terms in a logical order. Explain (using arrows or words) how the terms relate to each other.

Example terms: tRNA, DNA, protein, mRNA, amino acid, translation, transcription, replication, and promoter.

Objectives: Mini-maps engage students in developing a non-verbal representation of a concept. The process of developing a visual arrangement requires students to evaluate different ways that terms can relate to each other and to appreciate that a biological process (or economic one, or historical one, or theatrical one) may not be unidirectional or linear.

Source: Jo Handelsman; Sarah Miller; Christine Pfund, Scientific Teaching, Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching, W.H. Freeman & Co, [2007]

Documenting and Measuring Your Inclusive Efforts

  1. Document your efforts
  2. Survey the students
  3. Ask a colleague to observe your class
  4. Collect data on student learning through the AART dashboard in Brightspace