Confronting Student Misconceptions
in a Large Class - by Dan Udovic
Some advice and reflections on this activity
One of the things that happens when you use small-group activities is that you see things about your classroom that you would not have otherwise seen--both good and bad things. You may suddenly recognize that your students don't know as much as you thought they did which can be frightening and at the same time liberating. You will also see that given the opportunity some students are going to goof off, but you just need to compare that to which ones are reading newspapers or falling asleep or thinking about things other than your lecture while you are lecturing. The difference is that with small-group work you are more closely monitoring what the students are doing. You are going to learn a lot, both good and bad, by knowing more about what students are doing and thinking.
Forming groups
We use this activity in a large lecture hall with fixed chairs. While this is obviously not the optimal setting for small-group work we have found that it doesn't really preclude us from using these teaching approaches along with lecture.
When we ask students to form groups there is a lot of shuffling around as they get organized. They are allowed to choose their own partners and while some get up and move around the room, most usually end up forming a group with a few people nearby. A few students always require a little cajoling from a TA to join a group but we use small-group activities frequently enough that the students are pretty used to finding others to work with. If students are really resistant we let them work alone--we don't want to push them too hard.
As they start and time issues
As everyone gets started on the activity the classroom is a buzz of noise. Initially, much of the discussion focuses on things like figuring out what the group needs to do. Even when most groups are on task there is still a lot of noise in the room because the activity requires a lot of discussion. It always seems to take more time than I expect for students to work their way through all of the possible explanations that they need to consider.
It is important to give them enough time to make real progress on the assignment. If they don't have time to do the work it doesn't look like you value the group work that you have assigned.
During the activity...
While the groups are working I am generally preparing for the rest of the discussion or walking around making sure that groups are on track. I tend not to get very involved in student group discussions because I don't want to be guiding them toward "the answer". Other faculty that I teach with work very closely with groups to get a real sense of how much they understand. I think much of what one does while students are working together is a matter of personal style and also depends on the nature of the activity. In this course the TAs work closely with groups while I try to keep myself available to answer questions. When I do interact with a group it is often to encourage them to consider something more deeply than they have. Sometimes they reach consensus too easily, which means that they may not have addressed the substantial issues in the problem.
Ending the activity
I probably pull the class back together too early because I'm anxious to get done with other things. One of my main concerns is that there needs to be plenty of time for the large group discussion so they can hear what others have to say. So I usually have them work in small-groups for 15 or 20 minutes and then bring it back to a large group format even if they haven't finished critiquing all 6 possible answers.
Most of the groups choose the same answer as the one which is the most correct. When I call on groups to identify specific problems with the other answers they usually don't have trouble coming up with something that was wrong. I always call on more than one group because there can be quite a range in the ways that groups critique the answers. Even if a group uses a different way to restate essentially the same critique, it still adds to the discussion.
More reflections
A potential pitfall to avoid is making the activity too simplistic. If you want students to work in groups the problems that you give them need to be challenging enough that they see the value of working in a group.
Be patient. Group work takes more time, you will have less time to "cover" material. There will be students who are not on task, and others who will roll their eyes when you tell them to work in groups. The main thing is to not give up the first time you try something and it doesn't work the way you planned it.
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A general description
Some advice and reflections on this activity
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Small group evolution handout
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