Eating an Elephant

One Bite at a Time

This week's methods encourage team work and peer relationships. Students will have fun working in this type of active setting, and they will learn the value of working with classmates.

Both methods provide students with the opportunity to express their individuality while simultaneously teaching them to compromise and work towards a common goal.

Three-Step Interview - Common as an ice-breaker or a team-building exercise, this structure, developed by Kagan (1989) , also helps students reinforce and internalize important concept-related information based on lectures or textbook material. Some faculty have used it successfully as a modified role-playing activity, having students interview one another while assuming the roles of historical characters, such as President Harry S. Truman. The interview questions, focused on content material and having no right or wrong solutions, are usually posed by the instructor. In a Three-Step Interview, one student interviews another within specified time limits (Step one). The two then reverse roles and conduct the interview again (Step two). In a learning team composed of two pairs, the students then share the highlights of the information or insights gleaned from the paired interview (Step three). This structure also results in the formation of new learning quads which may then move on to other team-related activities. This structure reinforces listening and probing skills, helps students process and rehearse information, and results in shared insights. Used at the beginning of a class period, the readings-based questions give students immediate feedback under low-risk conditions on their understanding of the assigned material.

Roundtable - Roundtable, a cooperative learning structure useful for brainstorming, reviewing, or practicing a skill, uses a single sheet of paper and pen for each cooperative learning group. Students in the group respond in turn to a question or problem by stating their ideas aloud as they write them on the paper. It is important that the ideas be vocalized for several reasons: (a) silence in a setting like this is boring, rather than golden; (b) other team members need to be reflecting on the given thoughts; (c) variety results because teammates learn immediately that someone has come up with an idea they know now not to repeat; and (d) hearing the responses said aloud means that students do not have to waste valuable brainstorming time by reading the previous ideas on the page. Team members are encouraged not to skip turns, but if their thoughts are at a standstill, they are allowed to say "Pass" rather than to turn the brainstorm into a brain drizzle. Thus, there is almost universal participation in Roundtable. Roundtable is most effective when used in a carefully sequenced series of activities. The brainstorming can reinforce ideas from the readings or can be used to set the stage for upcoming discussions. Students, for example, could identify the characteristics of an effective leader or the attributes of terrorism before these topics are formally introduced. Comparing a student-generated list with those of the "experts," creates interest. Many creative uses can be made of the ideas generated, depending on their nature. In Roundtable, the multiple answers encourage creativity and deeper thinking. This activity builds positive interdependence among team members because of the shared writing surface, but more importantly, it builds team cohesion and reinforces the power of teamwork because students see in action the value of multiple viewpoints and ideas.

If you have time and don't want to wait for the next bite, you can find the rest of the toolbox in myOzarka under the "Ozarka Resources" tab.

Or you can follow this link:

http://www.ozarka.edu/files/resources/teachingtoolbox.doc

I will be posting each section in the Student Success Center Blog. So if you are interested in checking out "back bites," you can find them there.

Or you can follow this link:
http://www.ozarka.edu/blogs/success/index.cfm/Weekly-Postings-for-Faculty-

Hope you enjoyed it.