Academic Listening and Speaking in Small Groups
Working in small groups has been found to be one of the most successful ways of providing a more intimate learning environment and necessitates participation from the students who may stand to benefit from it the most. The potential of this format is often squandered on activities that require little to no critical thinking. The time and resources needed to organize and facilitate stimulating group work often seem so consuming that they may be entirely overlooked by educators.
Group discussion can be split into two formats: seminars and deliberations. The seminar is one of the most widely used formats as it requires a great deal of critical thought and active participation from all students, a collaborative process which can lead. Deliberations require abstract predictive thought to take all factors into consideration to determine an appropriate course of action. Many group activities benefit from an often organically occurring combination of these two forms.
It is much more important that new content and concepts are thoroughly learned than simply exposing students to a larger quantity of material while receiving little in-depth coverage. Small group discussions allow students the opportunity to engage with the material in a way that is otherwise impossible with traditional lecture-based mode of instruction. Students can exercise their comprehension of new concepts and language, develop their own thoughts, and guide one another towards deeper, holistic understanding.
Everyone has had frustrating experiences in the classroom with small groups. In my practice, I intend to implement small groups whenever it is appropriate to do so, but will be sure to avoid situations where students may become dependent on one another for assessments. It is this interdependence that can potentially lead to a great deal of inequity in engagement and discord within the group. When the scope of the work is reduced and the pressure of assessment is eliminated, students may begin to thrive and develop without any kind of external impediment.