Group V/s individual activities
With respect to medical terminology are group activities better than individual activities?
I think it is best to have a mix of both individual and group activities. Individual activities can assess and correct where a student needs work. Group activities can teach students teamwork, leadership and allows learners to teach and coach each other. That way you are not the only teacher in the room, some of the more knowledgable students will be, also.
I usually work with small groups and find that if given individual activities, they lose ineterst after some time . so I usually try to mix them in pairs and do the activity.
Mixing the groups to sometimes be pairs, sometimes trios, sometimes 4's can offer variety and an opportunity for them to work and learn from a variety of people. Keep up the good work!
Thank you! can you suggest any good activities that have been successful with a small group in the past.
Any of the adult style game shows that are on television such as wheel of fortune, Jeopardy, who wants to be a millionaire all are popular formats that work when you use content in them for the questions. If you have 2 or more students, this works well.
Any of the adult style game shows that are on television such as wheel of fortune, Jeopardy, who wants to be a millionaire all are popular formats that work when you use content in them for the questions. If you have 2 or more students, this works well.
Thank you Michele. I have actually tried Jeopardy at times and it has been fun. I think next time I can try working with wheel of fortune as well. I am pretty sure they will like it.
In my experiences, group activiteies definately work better than individual activities. First, the students LOVE the competition and it truly encourages them to strive harder for the answers to gain bragging rights. I can't wait to include the games learned from this training into my lesson plans. =o)
Thanks Niecy. I agree to your suggestion. But sometimes when you have a small group of students,pairing in duo's or trios might help. Creating one big group sometimes does not solve the purpose of the activity.
They will love wheel of Fortune. I use this with alot of different subjects. The students get so excited about it and look forward to playing at the end of the class. It seems to grasp their attention during lecture time.
I prefer to use groups of 2 or 3 at the beginning of my class term. I choose the groups.
I then move them to individual activities.
I try to limit to groups of two for the rest of the class.
I have a "random" draw system to pick the groups.
I have two sets of cards. One set is for the "higher" students and the other is for the others. This avoids puting two challenged students together.
Paula, using familiar adult game show formats can help the students both learn and review content. Isn't it great seeing interested faces and engaged learners? Keep up the good work.
Frederic, your strategies work when you mix people in ways to help them, as you described. Sometimes we do things that look "random" to the learners, but we have planned ahead of time. This is a wise choice. Keep up your good work!
It seems that most students benefit from a mix of both- if they are comfortable with the content from working individually they are more able and willing to help their classmates when working as a group. I try to let them work on things individually before assigning them to groups so that they aren't going in "blind."
Mixing things up is a wise teaching strategy. Preparing them by at least having them start an activity individually can show them where their knowledge gaps are, and working with others can fill thm.
I have a game that came with one of our medical terminology books that has Wack a Mole, Wheel of Fotune, and several other games. My students in particular love the Wack a Mole game and the energy of the pace keeps them on their toes. We have a good time with it and it makes a wonderful review at the end of class.
Whack a mole is one of my favorites, too! Isn't it amazing how activities work sometimes better than lecture?
I would agree with the others. I think that a mix of group and individual activities work best. Change up is best. When you see engagement lacking, throw in a group activity.
Engagement is the key, Todd, I agree
