Eating an Elephant

One Bite at a Time

We have been spending a great deal of time looking active learning methods. This week is no exception. The first one sounds fun. It may be a bit confusing for the class at first, but if this method is used a few times during the semester, it would catch on and quickly become a fun way for classmates to work together in groups and "shuffle" their ideas.

The Gallery Walk is great because it allows students to spend more time where they need to and quickly observe and glean what they can on subjects they know more about.

Three-Stay One-Stray - Like "Stand Up and Share," this structure requires the easy identification of a team member who will become the group's spokesperson. It too builds on some other structure, but in this case, the topics can be far more complex. After the problem solving discussions are complete and all team members indicate that they can give the team's report, you designate the student from each team who will "stray." That is, one student from each group (such as the "Number One" or the "Diamond") leaves it and rotates to an adjoining team to give the report. In large classes it is essential that the order of rotation is clear. Playing cards work particularly well because the "Aces" know to rotate to the "Twos," the "Jacks" to the Queens," and so forth. The designated student, who is welcomed as a visitor, shares with this new team the results of his original group's discussion, giving proposed solutions to problems or summarizing discussions. A second rotation may be desirable if the topic prompted divergent thinking and solutions. Three-Stay One-Stray offers a low-threat forum where students can exchange ideas and build social skills such as asking probing questions. It also offers students the opportunity to learn by teaching. Placing the report-out responsibility on the students reinforces the valuable conception that knowledge resides within the learning community, not just with the "authority-figure" instructor. Perhaps its greatest value lies in its efficiency. Instead of, for example, ten sequenced five-minute reports to the entire class (fifty minutes, plus transition time); individual students are simultaneously giving five-minute reports throughout the room. (Paulson and Faust, 2002)

Gallery Walk  The Gallery Walk is one of our favorites. It requires a report-out that can be visually depicted, preferably on butcher paper. It can be an outline, a concept or mind map, or any other written or drawn product. In this technique a student stays next to the butcher paper taped to the wall and serves as the group spokesperson. The other students rotate around the room examining the products of other teams' thinking, asking questions of the designated spokesperson. This technique works best if the spokesperson role is rotated so that everyone knows that each person is responsible for the final product. This structure is also efficient and engenders a sense of team cohesion as each group displays the product of their "group think."(Johnson and Johnson, 1994)

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.