When it comes to helping students learn, nothing beats good old-fashioned teamwork.
Professor Karen S. Ivers knows that in a world where various technologies encourage students to pull up their own mental drawbridges and work independently, peer collaboration in the classroom yields a wide range of benefits, from more effective subject learning to greater intellectual confidence and life skills.
In her new highly recommended book, Using Technology to Support High-Impact Educational Practice, Ivers explains the challenges of facilitating class discussions and the great outcomes that can result from smaller group activities—both in person and online. She discusses how to use group work to help students strengthen a range of skills, including:
- Positive interdependence – setting group goals to learn beyond individual abilities
- Accountability – maintaining responsibility for individual and group goals
- Promotive interaction – Producing joint products that promote each other’s learning
- Social skills – Strengthening skills that promote teamwork and shared tasks
In this excerpt, Ivers offers guidelines for facilitating small group discussions, both online and face-to-face.
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