Miwa's reading Notes #4

I am interested in two topics in terms of small group activities: how to give good explanation of the objectives of the group task, take advantage of products from group activities.

Explaining the objectives of the group task

I am aware of the necessity to explain the objectives (Davis, 2009, p. 193), but I often fail to do so and confuse students to understand what they are working on. The problem is not caused by my carelessness but I feel hesitation that it might make negative effects. Specifically, I feel that students are curious and serious about working on something that the objectives are not clear to them, but I am afraid that they may loose their interest and seriousness if they find the objectives are not attractive and pre-determine not to be actively involved in. My challenge is to find out the way to effectively explain the objectives without discouraging students’ interest.

I also have the similar hesitation for grading in-class activities (Davis, 2009, p. 193). I understand that it could be an effective way to encourage students’ active participation, but my hesitation comes from concerning that it may also give some negative effects. For example, I am afraid that students who couldn’t come to class on the day happen to be the one who miss the opportunity to earn some points that they cannot make up for outside of the class, or those who are not good at joining group activities may feel inferiority or unfairness to earn points in the way.

Effective use of products from group activities

I always wonder how to make products from group activities meaningful for students. I tend to give simple restate or comment on what students present based on their activity, but often feel that I am not fully taking advantage of their collaborate efforts. In addition, I face difficulty in responding to students’ products that are not correct or something what I expect. I would correct them in the right direction without discouraging their hard work. I am afraid that I might unexpectedly embarrass students in class and they might grow hesitation to actively be involved in group activities.

Giving students an opportunity to evaluate their group and themselves looks one of effective options for me to try (Davis, 2009, p. 198), as these methods allow me to try different approach and avoid the negative effects that the one given by the instructor.