Trista Reading notes #4

I was quite excited to read about group work this week as I have been using them already and it was interesting to learn backwards. I found out that I have been using informal as well as formal groups and in the future plan to use role playing. The readings put a name to my methods and gave me much insight on forming and evaluating groups.

Personally, I am with Lange in that I have a preference for learning through reading, writing, and lecture even though in real life I work mostly in groups. My advisor and the majority of my professors as an undergrad used PowerPoint for nearly all of their teaching. It is hard for me to shift my way of thinking as that is how I was taught and how I prefer to learn. Through this class I have been reminded that not all students learn the same way and Lange reasoned the use of group work through three strong points. He mentioned the VARK inventory showing students prefer to learn in other ways and there is much research backing collaborative learning. As he also mentioned quoting Sapon-Shevin, “It is hard to think of a single job today that doesn’t involve working with others at some level.”

This chapter in Lange also talked about the positive feedback that students give regarding group work. Earlier this semester I read through my mother’s portfolio for promotion and tenure from several years ago. A reoccurring theme I found was how much students enjoyed and learned from group work over lectures. This along with our readings this semester has reminded me to incorporate group work and break up lectures. While my preferred learning style is lecture and writing, it is not my preferred teaching style. I would much rather be working on application of the material and this week’s reading provided excellent examples on how to do that in groups.

I am mostly interested to hear how the other class feels on Lange’s discussion on forming and evaluating group work (pg. 119-123). What are the thoughts about homogeneous groups vs. heterogeneous groups? Should students pick their own groups or have them be assigned by the instructor? Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but I would like to hear others opinion on the topic. Additionally, I would like to hear feedback on processing group work. Should they be graded as a whole or individually? If someone doesn’t do as much work as others in the group is it because they didn’t understand the material or is it because they had controlling group members? I am undecided on this and as a new teacher could really use some feedback.

I also enjoyed the examples of different group activities in particular the new ideas to me of two column lists and KWL (Davis pg.210). I am interested to hear which of these strategies other students in class have used and their outcomes. I love the idea of Service Learning and would like to incorporate it into future classes. I also feel guest speakers can be a valuable tool to use in the classroom. Exercise science is a field with an abundance of opportunities and different areas. Utilizing theses learning strategies gives the students multiple different experiences and can help them choose a career path.