Ruth’s small group activity ideas

In part of Establishing a Teaching Persona (ETP), Ruth, one of the Lecturers in Educational Development at City, who is the school liason for Cass, discussed small group teaching with some of the participants. Ruth led a reflection about teaching in small groups, thinking about the advantages and disadvantages, and the ways in which students might feel included or excluded. She explored a teaching incident where the teacher, frustrated at the types of answers she was getting to her questions, made a disparaging remark about a student. This demonstrates the ways in which acting towards a student without compassion (something we discussed during ETP) can be harmful to the relationship with a whole class.

Ruth also shared some ideas for activities which can be used with small groups to encourage active learning: from the fishbowl to the jigsaw classroom. Take a look to see which might be useful for your classes.

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