Small Group Work Research Articles

Exploring pupils’ and teachers’ perspectives on face-to-face promotive interaction in cooperative learning

ABSTRACT This study reports on pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions of face-to-face promotive interaction (FtFPI) in cooperative learning (CL) at two primary schools in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Using mixed methods, the study asks (1) ‘To what extent are the aspects of FtFPI most likely to influence pupils’ CL group work?’ (2) ‘What are the challenges in applying pupils’ FtFPI in small CL groups?’ The findings reveal mostly positive beliefs of FtFPI influence on small CL group work. However, when it comes to pupils’ and teachers’ experiences, several challenges have been identified: (1) organisation of FtFPI, (2) planning and balancing between working on a group task and supporting peers, (3) interpersonal behaviours, and (4) supportive communication. The findings suggest that more classroom research related to peers’ promotive interpersonal behaviour and supportive communication is needed.

Moving between home and school, the experiences of children of separated parents; discussions with education professionals

ABSTRACT Parental separation not only impacts on family relationships, it also has implications for a child’s school life and opportunity to learn. However, there is little understanding of how children of separated parents navigate the relationship between home and school. This paper reports findings from discussions with education professionals in English schools about their experience of issues children of separated parents face as they move between home and school. Schools are seen as safe spaces where children who ‘have less supportive home lives’ can access support to promote their emotional wellbeing (DfE, 2018, p13). This study found staff in primary school tended to be knowledgeable about children’s situations, whereas in secondary school, issues came to attention only when parent(s) contacted the school, or through achild’s behaviour. Good parental communication was seen as significant in enabling children to move between home and school with ease. Where parental conflict ‘spilled over’ into schools, staff became aware of the child’s situation but did not always feel able to provide appropriate support. If children wanted to talk about their family situation with someone in school, professionals thought they should have this opportunity but questioned whether staff had appropriate knowledge and skills. The paper considers ways in which staff might support these children through the introduction of awhole school approach, the new Relationships Education curriculum, small group work and work with parents. The framework for understanding children’s accommodation of parental separation was considered auseful tool that could support this work (Kay-Flowers, 2019a).

CDC Addresses Non-Occupational Noise-Induced Hearing Loss.

CDC Addresses Non-Occupational Noise-Induced Hearing Loss.

Development of Higher-Level Intellectual Skills through Interactive Group Work: Perspectives between Students and Educators

Nursing education nurtures students to have adequate competence in managing current patient care with complex and sophisticated technology in healthcare service. Interdisciplinary collaboration is important for maintaining high quality and safe patient care. Small group work is effective for enhancing students’ theoretical knowledge and training in various skills. However, there is inadequate knowledge on how students develop higher-level intellectual skills to benefit their sense of collaboration through small group work. The aim of this study was to understand how undergraduate nurse students develop higher-level intellectual skills through small group work based on nurse students and educators’ learning and teaching experiences, respectively. This study was the secondary analysis of a qualitative study with 13 students and 10 educators using semi-structured group interviews with digital audio recording at a professional educational institution. Four skills were derived as main themes, including interpersonal communication, critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity, which enhance collaborative abilities. All skills were developed through interactive learning while working in a group. A theoretical framework was developed to illustrate the relationships among these skills through interactive group work. Interpersonal communication is the most important skill to be closely linked with other identified skills to enhance students’ interdisciplinary collaboration for a higher quality and more cost-effective care. The results will increase educators’ awareness in facilitating the development of these skills through interactive group activities.

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Training the next generation in transdisciplinarity

Abstract Background Transdisciplinarity is ideally suited to investigating the determinants of health, as it requires the understanding of multiple, interlinking factors such as poverty, culture, education, environment, and public policy. In this study, we set out to understand how others have taught transdisciplinary research methods to identify common teaching methods and best practices. Methods We conducted two separate literature reviews using OVID Medline. The first identified articles that conducted transdisciplinary research and the second focused on teaching transdisciplinary research. Studies from both searches were included if they described the methods used to teach transdisciplinary research. Data were extracted on teaching strategies, student assessment, and the cited benefits of both. Results Our search of transdisciplinary research papers provided 528 papers whilst our search on teaching transdisciplinary research methods identified 100. After screening, we included 23 papers. Forms of teaching transdisciplinary research were diverse, and included mentoring and multi-mentoring to learn from the experiences of others, small group work to develop interpersonal transdisciplinary skills, immersion in real-life experiences to develop research skills and peer discussion groups to facilitate peer-peer learning. Assessment methods included critical evaluations of past projects and group coursework. Conclusions Our review highlighted that a combination of interactive, problem-based discussion and hands-on learning experiences (assessed and non-assessed) were used for transdisciplinary learning and skills acquisition, which needs to be combined with an assortment of exposures to different disciplines in the forms of lectures, readings and learning material. Key messages Training the next generation in transdisciplinarity involves a diverse range of methods including immersion in real-life experiences. Transdisciplinary teaching involves an assortment of exposures to different disciplines in the forms of lectures, readings and learning material.

Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine.

Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.

Penn State College of Medicine.

Penn State College of Medicine.

Multicourse Comparative Study of the Core Aspects for Flipped Learning: Investigating In-Class Structure and Student Use of Video Resources

Since 2013, the number of publications on flipped learning within chemistry have steadily increased. However, most of these studies focus on flipped course reforms within individual institutions, while the outcomes of any learning environment are dependent on how the environment is structured and the degree to which students interact with its elements. In this study, we apply a coordinated set of assessment practices to investigate similarities among flipped chemistry courses at five institutions in the United States. All courses in the study followed the two basic tenets of flipped learning: (1) foundational information was delivered through preclass materials (PCMs), and (2) the face-to-face (F2F) environment applied or extended the content through active learning. Each F2F environment was characterized using video recordings analyzed with the Classroom Observation Protocol in Undergraduate STEM (COPUS) tool. Each individual course showed consistent use of F2F time across each session recording; however, there were significant differences in the predominant student behaviors between courses. Student behavior in two of the courses (Courses Four and Five) was dominated by work in small-groups on problem-solving worksheets, in contrast to another course (Course One) where responding to whole-class questioning posed by the instructor dominated students’ behaviors. While behaviors in the two remaining courses (Courses Two and Three) included a mix of responding to clicker and whole-class questions, one of them (Course Three) also included large episodes of students simply listening during instructor presentation of material. A midsemester survey was administered in each course to characterize students’ interactions with, and perceptions of, the PCMs. Of particular note, student self-reports of the number of videos viewed and the timing of viewing trended with the amount of peer-to-peer interaction during F2F sessions. That is, students in courses with more consistent groupwork reported watching more of the video content and doing so before the F2F session. These results demonstrate that flipped classrooms can take many forms and suggest that F2F structure may create non-grade-based incentives for PCM utilization.

Project-based learning of advanced CAD/CAE tools in engineering education

The use of integrated Computer Aided Design/Engineering (CAD/CAE) software capable of analyzing mechanical devices in a single parametric environment is becoming an industrial standard. Potential advantages over traditional enduring multi-software design routines can be outlined into time/cost reduction and easier modeling procedures. To meet industrial requirements, the engineering education is constantly revising the courses programs to include the training of modern advanced virtual prototyping technologies. Within this scenario, the present work describes the CAD/CAE project-based learning (PjBL) activity developed at the University of Genova as a part of course named Design of Automatic Machines, taught at the second level degree in mechanical engineering. The PjBL activity provides a detailed overview of an integrated design environment (i.e. PTC Creo). The students, divided into small work groups, interactively gain experience with the tool via the solution of an industrial design problem, provided by an engineer from industry. The considered case study consists of an automatic pushing device implemented in a commercial machine. Starting from a sub-optimal solution, the students, supervised by the lecturers, solve a series of sequential design steps involving both motion and structural analysis. The paper describes each design phase and summarizes the numerical outputs. At last, the results of the PjBL activity are presented and commented by considering the opinions of all the parties involved.

Training global surgery advocates: Strengthening the global surgery voice

Objective: To strengthen medical trainees around the world on global surgery and advocacy and help develop future generations of global surgeons, anaesthesiologists, and obstetricians.Design: Training Global Surgery Advocates (TGSA), a standardized three-day advocacy workshop developed by the International Student Surgical Network (InciSioN), was built on traditional didactic lectures, role-play exercises, small working group activities, and advocacy and diplomacy training. Assessment was done using a 5-point Likert scale for 18 components regarding the perceived familiarity, knowledge, and motivation for global surgery.Setting: The training was given in the context of the pre-general assembly of the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) at Université Laval, in Quebec City, Canada.Participants: Twenty-five participants were selected to attend the workshop from a pool of 52 applicants, of which 14 medical students from 7 high-income countries and 7 low- and middle-income countries.Results: An average increase of 1.73 points across all 18 workshop components was observed among participants. After the workshop, all participants agreed or strongly agreed (4.64 average) on their motivation to train other medical students in their respective countries to become global surgery advocates.Conclusion: TGSA significantly improved participants’ knowledge and advocacy skills underlying global surgery. A mixed didactic and hands-on workshop appears to be feasible, enjoyable for participants, and effective in improving medical students involvement in the emerging field of global surgery.

Developing critical thinking, collective creativity skills and problem solving through playful design jams

Collaborative problem-solving skills are paramount within the context of 21st-century learning skills development. These skills include critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication (4Cs). This research examines the elements of motivation, play and collaborative practice within a design activity, called Design Jam. Design Jams, such as Global Service Jams and Global Sustainability Jams, utilise design thinking to explore possible solutions to complex problems through interdisciplinary working in small groups. This paper presents a three-phase mapped process for Playful Design Jams (PDJ) that incorporates playful elements and supports the development of positive interdependence within team-based activities. The experiences of participants within nine separate PDJs were gathered to explore whether they engaged with the 4C's during the process. The participants reported that they felt motivated and that the PDJ improved their creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaborative engagement. This paper contributes to theory and practice of advanced thinking skills and creativity development through facilitation. Future studies are suggested to examine the impact on long term development of participants' 4C’s in formal education.

Teaching a Flipped, Fully Online Class Using Small Group Work

Teaching a Flipped, Fully Online Class Using Small Group Work

Alumni Events, Sociability, and the Residual Organization

This paper argues that alumni events are not only settings where professional identities are renewed in social gatherings, or simply instruments to build and sustain commercially valuable networks. They can also be continuous with the organizations they celebrate by reproducing latent structural features of these organizations long after they cease to exist. Based primarily on participant observation of three annual lunches for alumni of the former accountancy firm Deloitte Haskins & Sells, and interviews with participants, organizers and non-participants, the paper makes two inter-related contributions to the study of professional service firms and to organization theory. First, it argues that alumni events reveal the variable durability and re-enactment of hybrid professional-social relations - what we call “sufficient sociability” - which were formed during intense working in small groups. Second, we show that these social relations, via table seating choices at an alumni event, produce what we call the “residual organization”. In this way, a modest alumni lunch in a central London hotel is transformed from an event of marginal interest, into a “site” where core issues of organization theory are at stake.

The Firm that Would Not Die: Alumni Events, Sociability and the Residual Organization

This paper argues that alumni events are not only settings where professional identities are renewed in social gatherings, or simply instruments to build and sustain commercially valuable networks. They can also be continuous with the organizations they celebrate by reproducing latent structural features of these organizations long after they cease to exist. Based primarily on participant observation of three annual lunches for alumni of the former accountancy firm Deloitte Haskins & Sells, and interviews with participants, organizers and non-participants, the paper makes two inter-related contributions to the study of professional service firms and to organization theory. First, it argues that alumni events reveal the variable durability and re-enactment of hybrid professional-social relations - what we call “sufficient sociability” - which were formed during intense working in small groups. Second, we show that these social relations, via table seating choices at an alumni event, produce what we call the “residual organization”. In this way, a modest alumni lunch in a central London hotel is transformed from an event of marginal interest, into a “site” where core issues of organization theory are at stake.

Collaborative Group Learning in Remotely Taught Analytical Chemistry Courses

The use of synchronous remote teaching methods in two undergraduate analytical chemistry courses during the COVID-19 pandemic is described. Classes were convened using cloud-based video conferencing software, and the majority of class time involved students working in small groups on worksheets. All group activities were followed by a whole-class session in which students reported out and discussed the answers. Discussions allowed us to resolve differences in answers among the different groups, discuss interesting questions that arose in some of the groups during their discussion, and summarize the expected answers for questions on the worksheets. The incorporation of a group component into the final exam in one of the courses is described. Students indicated that they preferred the use of synchronous instruction to the asynchronous instruction that occurred in other courses. They also preferred having the opportunity to work in small groups. The active learning materials used in the two courses are available to instructors and students for free through the Analytical Sciences Digital Library. While class sizes in this report were small, the potential for using collaborative groups in larger classes is described.

Mitigating Information Overload: An Experiential Exercise Using Role-Play to Illustrate and Differentiate Theories of Motivation

Work motivation is a core component of many management courses. However, its effective teaching can be hampered by the fragmentation and seeming incoherence of the various theories of work motivation. To address this challenge, we describe an interactive role-play activity that induces students to synthesize, apply, and compare several theories of motivation. In the first part of the exercise, students work in small groups to prepare a role-play skit illustrating a specific theory of motivation. In the second part, groups present their role-play skits in front of the class, and the rest of the students try to determine which theories were performed. Next, the debriefing session encourages students to discuss, compare, and contrast the theories. Though the present exercise focuses on four theories—the hierarchy of needs, the two-factor theory, expectancy theory, and self-determination theory—the activity can be easily adapted to incorporate other models of motivation.

‘I’ll be the hero’: how adolescents negotiate intersectional identities within a high school dual-language program

ABSTRACT In this study, we examine how adolescents in a dual-language program negotiate intersectional identities through interaction, while engaged in small-group exploratory talk around the task of a collaborative-writing project. We recognize that while dual-language settings can help adolescents build relationships with ethnolinguistically different peers who might be otherwise tracked into separate classrooms, dual-language spaces, nested within a larger racialized U.S. system, also have potential to reify marginalized identities. Using a microethnographic lens, we examine how students in an extra-curricular high school dual-language Spanish-English program negotiate intersectional identities while engaging in small-group work to write a bilingual book to share with elementary students. We found that the small-group setting was a space where students negotiated both marginalized and privileged identities, sometimes related to language and other times related to a host of other factors. We consider how talking directly with adolescents about the roles that might be placed on them as participants in dual-language programs can enlist them in the work of creating dual-language spaces that validate the various identities students seek to take up.

IMPROVING STUDENT COOPERATION SKILLS USING THE JIGSAW AND STAD MODEL

This study intends to answer the problem of why collaboration skills are needed in the learning process, especially in elementary school students. One model of cooperation in the study of Christianity that was developed was Jigsaw and STAD. Through an experimental method with a control group design that was tested using pre-test, post-test and questionnaire sheets and observation found that student collaboration skills experienced a significant increase. This finding confirms that an important factor driving increased student collaboration skills is; students are given the opportunity to work in small groups; students have social communication interactions; and students are accustomed to sharing knowledge and experiences, assignments and responsibilities. It was concluded that through the Jigsaw and STAD models, student collaboration skills would improve so that learning objectives would be achieved.