Mark Freeman, Fiona Skillen and Valerie Wright Small-group teaching

Preparing for seminars Question 1 What are your main concerns about undertaking small-group teaching? Question 2 How would you prepare for a small-group seminar/tutorial?

What makes an effective seminar/tutorial? What methods have worked well for you – either as a tutor or as a student? And why have they worked well?

When things go wrong….. Why small-group sessions can go wrong: –tutor/students not being prepared –goals/discussion unclear –tutor turns into lecturer tutor asking question and then answering it –talk is dominated by one or two students –focus on memory rather than higher-level cognitive skills –tutor is too critical of student responses –questions are not asked clearly enough –students do not participate

How to engage students…. range of different tutorial/seminar types –whole class discussion –workshop – students divide into small groups and given tasks to complete and feed back on –debate – students divide into two groups and take opposing positions –student-led – students decide focus of discussion, and tutor is an observer –buzz-groups/brain-storming – brief intensive discussions to identify main topics/questions, which are then returned to for deeper discussion

….continued –mini-projects/presentations – can be used to ensure that everyone contributes – also an important transferable skill –self-help group/action-learning set – students use the tutorial/seminar to discuss all aspects of the topic using tutor as resource –problem-solving – students divide into small groups but focus on a particular aspect of the topic –snowball – individuals, then pairs, then fours discuss together, building up a broad range of points –role-play – students are given a particular point of view, and argue from it

Summary Check out the room and facilities beforehand! Make a rough lesson plan –allocate time for housekeeping issues, ice- breaker (?), topic discussion, and general summary/question session at the end –decide what outcomes you want to achieve and which questions/methods of discussion will aid that process