This concise guide covers all the practical skills that students need to work effectively in a group in higher and further education. Using a variety of interactive teaming activities, students can practice the main principles. A number of case-study and real-life examples are also included.
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Yes, you can access Successful Group Work by Tim O'Sullivan,Jenny Rice,Simon Rogerson,Carol Saunders in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Education & Education General. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
The context of higher education is changing as a greater proportion of the population is able to benefit from a university experience. As a consequence, the methods of teaching, learning and assessment are being adapted to accommodate a larger and more diverse student population.
As a student you may be full- or part-time, study during the day or evening, be on the university premises or study through distance-learning packages. You are likely to experience learning in a wide range of contexts, including large lectures, seminars, workshops and laboratory work. While these may be familiar, the scale may be different; for example, lectures with over two hundred students are now common. Likewise, group work is becoming more popular as a teaching technique as it has many recognised benefits to the learner which tend not to be found in more traditional methods. The impact of new technologies is also likely to change your experience as a learner. For instance, you may come across video conferencing and interactive computer programmes as these become more widespread.
In addition there is now a recognition that traditional unseen examinations are only one form of assessment, and that you will benefit by being assessed in a range of ways which will develop more skills and abilities. This might include assessed course work or research projects, your contribution to a group project, multiple-choice questions, presentation skills and seen examination papers. This growing range of assessment formats may require more strategic organisation on your part.
As a learner you need to recognise and play to your strengths and improve your weaknesses. You will be able to do this more effectively if you recognise your preferred learning style and capitalise upon it. This part of the book has been designed to help you do this.
Objectives
At the end of this part you should be able to:
a
identify the different contexts in which learning may take place;
b
analyse your strengths and weaknesses as a learner;
c
develop strategies to make you a more effective learner in different contexts.
9 Contexts of teaching and learning
Introduction to the range of teaching and learning opportunities
As a student you will be taught and you will learn in a variety of different contexts. Some of these will be necessary to achieve specific learning outcomes, eg laboratories to carry out practical experiments; others are more useful for meeting the needs of your personal development, eg tutorials.
The range of teaching and learning contexts is wide. You may experience only a few of them and you may spend more time in one context than another.
Activity 9.1
From the list below tick those that you regularly participate in:
lecture
seminar (groups of more than twelve)
tutorial (groups of under five)
individual tutorial
workshop
laboratory
supervised project work
open-learning materials
computer-aided studying
library research
group work
other
Make a note of those that you are unfamiliar with and read on to learn more about them.
Teaching and learning contexts
Lecture
A lecture is recognised traditionally as an address to a large number of students which takes place in a lecture theatre, often with raked seating. Usually the lecturer speaks directly to the students for a large percentage of the time while they take notes. The lecturer may use the lecture to raise students’ awareness of conceptual issues rather than to transmit information that can be conveyed through handouts and reference material. There may be some interaction if the lecturer encourages questions or organises mini activities that can be carried out without much movement.
Seminar
A seminar gives you the opportunity to meet in smaller groups, usually with 12 to 20 participants. The focus of the seminar can be the topic of a recent lecture, the subject of previous reading or research, or an activity devised by the tutor to develop knowledge and skills that you may not be introduced to in another context. It should be participative; you may be asked to present a topic, join a group discussion, work through practical problems or take part in a more interactive session such as role play.
Tutorial
Tutorials with about five students are less common now in higher education. They do give you the opportunity, however, to be part of a small, cohesive group that is likely to offer mutual support to each member. The topic of the tutorial may be similar to that of the seminar, but there is more opportunity for deeper discussion and interaction with the lecturer.
Individual tutorial
This is often used to discuss pieces of work such as essays or to monitor the progress of a dissertation or project. You should take this opportunity to discuss your academic interests or problems.
Workshop
A workshop is an interactive learning context with a much greater emphasis on activity than in a seminar. It may take the place of a lecture/seminar because it offers more time to discuss topics and enables students to explore concepts more fully with a lecturer.
Laboratory
When working in a laboratory the emphasis will be on practical work. Often you will be asked to watch a demonstration and then to replicate the procedure. You may work alone or in pairs or small groups, however the total number of students...
