Top 10 reasons students dislike working in small groups … and why i do it anyway

Abstract

It is hard to focus during small group exercises. We are always rushed. Puts the work on us instead of on you. It is over the same material I didn't understand in the reading. We can form study groups outside of class on our own; we would rather hear someone who understands the material explain it. We are all confused, so getting in groups merely compounds the confusion. I don't like the people in my small group. Where is Morgan? Where is Chris? (Names changed to protect the guilty). We would cover more material if you lectured. I cannot sleep during a small group exercise. Some of these reasons are exactly why I use small group work in class—it does put the work on the students (Complaint 3) and it is hard to sleep during a small group exercise (Complaint 10). Furthermore, their concerns can be categorized into three main areas: group dynamics, learning process, and preparation and participation. And in a way, what they dislike shows that working in small groups is doing exactly what it is supposed to. Working in small groups is hard. For a group to work effectively, they must cooperate, communicate, delegate, and trust each other. For introverts or dominating personalities, this is often a challenging task. Consequently, group assignment is important, and numerous publications have supported instructor-selected groups, with the goal of forming teams of three to four students that are diverse in both academic skills and demographic properties [1, 2]. As a result, students are often grouped with peers other than their usual cohort, leading to Complaint 7. However, after graduation, they will not necessarily always be working with their best friend or fraternity brother. They can always form out of class study groups with their friends (Complaint 5). To ensure students neither shirk their responsibilities nor dominate the discussion, specific roles such as manager, technician, reporter, and recorder are assigned on a rotating basis [1] and students are given the opportunity to grade their small group members. It is true that it is hard for a group to work well when students are missing (Complaint 8). This can be addressed in course grading by assigning a portion of the course points to group work and peer evaluations [1]. The second challenge in small group work is the learning process itself. As knowledge is constructed, not transferred [3, 4], learning is like any building project, and it is a messy process that requires work. Lectures are much “neater” and can cover more material (Complaints 5 and 9), but do the students learn more? The learning literature says no [5, 6]. By struggling with the material (Complaints 4 and 6), students not only grasp its complexity but also learn how to learn [7]. Biochemistry is a big field; there is no way I can cover all there is to know about the field in a semester (or even two), so it is even more important that they learn to learn for themselves. This process does take time (Complaint 2), and it forces them to come to class prepared and ready to work (Complaint 1). “Sign posting” (providing reasons for the mode of learning), acknowledging that it is hard work, assisting with time management and praising both effort and accomplishment are ways that we can help students to cope with the messiness of learning [8]. So, why do I continue to use small groups in my classroom? Because it works. By the end of the semester, there are improvements in their performance, teamwork, and ability to solve problems [9, 10]. And this is what education is about: students' growth and learning. Our role as educators is not as a performer or entertainer, but as a facilitator who guides students through the challenges of the learning process, whether they like it or not.