Many of us know by now that didactic lecture is incongruent with student learning: receiving information passively tends to disengage students, which is likely to result in undesirable learning outcomes. Even though lecture remains the ...
During a keynote address at the 2022 Teaching Professor Conference, I spoke about challenges that exist in higher education, specifically students and instructors who do not have the freedom to bring their authentic selves to ...
My model for setting classroom expectations is a green giant. No, not the jolly green one of vegetable fame, but the playful, disruptive, yet effective Green Knight of the 14th-century romance Gawain and the Green ...
How might a teacher address the following moment in a college classroom? Students are discussing a course reading about the rising cost of higher education and President Biden’s plan to address growing student loan debt. Three ...
Imagine this: You have just given instructions for the day’s class activity, designed to test a theory chronicled in the previous week’s readings. But the proposed assignment doesn’t land the way you anticipated. One courageous ...
It is best practice to open online courses with a welcome to students. The online format will be new for many students—in particular, adult students who are returning to school after a long absence—and they ...
“Welcome to class, and by the way, when you review the course syllabus, you will see that one-third of your mark will come from group work.” For many of us teaching in a postsecondary setting, the ...
For all the talk in faculty development circles about transforming our classrooms, there is very little guidance for faculty attempting to navigate the mindset shifts necessary to approach their work differently. We each want to ...
With all the unrest and violence that has rocked our country over the past few years, this fall you might be giving added attention to issues of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in your courses. ...
The past 18 months brought us to see systemic challenges and disparities in higher education. The new emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion has pushed each of us to recognize hidden barriers and inequities that ...
Many of us know by now that didactic lecture is incongruent with student learning: receiving information passively tends to disengage students, which is likely to result in undesirable learning outcomes. Even though lecture remains the predominant form of teaching, collaborative learning has been a popular educational approach representing a significant shift away from the traditional lecture-centered setting in college classrooms. In collaborative learning, students work in groups, focus on exploring the course materials, and search for understandings and solutions, all of which are effective ways to motivate and help students engage in effortful thinking and active learning (Laal & Ghodsi, 2012). But it is also common that students in collaborative learning may have off-topic discussions, frustrate themselves, and even feel like they’re wasting their time. To overcome such drawbacks, the instructor can step away from the lectern and move around the classroom during collaborative learning.
While many faculty may already do this and might see it as their responsibility to circulate among groups, some might still stand back and leave groups alone, afraid of interfering group functioning. If you prefer a more hands-off approach, you can devote some time for students to work on their own before getting involved, giving them some instructions or hints as needed to accomplish the task, without providing answers right away.
Involvement in learning, involvement with other students, and involvement with the instructor are key factors that make an overwhelming difference in student retention and success in college. By circulating through the classroom during collaborative learning, instructors involve students more actively in the learning process, which also invites students to build closer connections to their peers and the instructor. The classroom becomes more of an interdependent community for students in which everyone is welcome to join, participate and grow, and this can boost students’ participation, engagement, and achievement.
Laal, M., & Ghodsi, S. M. (2012). Benefits of collaborative learning. Procedia—Social and Behavioral Sciences, 31, 486–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.12.091
Yunteng He, PhD, is a chemistry instructor at Central Community College in Kearney, Nebraska.