Teaching
11 Small Group Discussions
Jennifer Smith
Small group discussions can be a good way for students to grapple with challenging concepts in a meaningful way. This teaching strategy can be adapted to fit a variety of topics, class sizes, and levels. In addition, small group discussions provide:
- A compliment to lecture
- Peer to peer connection
- Oral communication practice
- Preparation for other collaborative activities
Small group discussion can be effective in synchronous online sessions by using the breakout room feature of Zoom. You can pre-assign students to breakout rooms using a CSV file. Details on how to do this can be found in the Zoom chapter of this guide.
Discussion Compliments Lecture
It can be helpful to break up a lecture (whether synchronous online or face-to-face) with small group discussions to help reinforce a concept or identify areas of confusion. You can model a thought process or methodology in your presentation and then pair students up to work through the steps. Use discussion – lecture combinations to:
- Guide students to question their assumptions
- Identify themes or similarities with previous material
- Zero in on points of disagreement