Institute for Christian
Teaching
Education Department of
Seventh-day Adventists
THE
SMALL-GROUP APPROACH IN THE
TEACHING
PROCESS
By
Galina 1. Stele, DMin
Zaokski Theological Seminary
Zoakski, Russia
344-98
Institute for Christian Teaching
12501
Old Columbia Pike
Silver
Spring, MD 20904 USA
Prepared for the
22nd International Faith and Learning Seminar
held at Seminar Schloss
Bogenhofen
Austria - August 1998
"I believe it is a professional crime if
I did not do it!"
Prema Gaikwad
Introduction
Three factors made me interested in the implementation of the small-group approach to the classroom situation.
The first of them presents
relevantly big amount of time in my life, namely six years, devoted to the
study of the New Testament home churches and also small groups of more recent
time. My doctoral dissertation as well as MA thesis dealt with the same issue.
The main goal of my research was to find the answers for the following
questions: does the small-group approach have something to suggest for the
church today? And why does it work? The result was that I have found not only
answers for my questions but also gained a deep conviction that this approach
can bring real blessings to the church when rightly applied. The teaching experience
at Zaokski Theological Seminary and my work in the church even more proved it.
The second factor grew out
of my work with children in Sabbath School. This very energetic group of
children with ages ranging from nine to eleven made me try almost all, if not
all, possible devices. I noted that they best respond when they are actively
involved in group activities. However, I had to admit that the small groups for
children are quite unique even if they are in the church setting. I needed more
information how these groups function when they need to accomplish an
educational function.
The third factor is my
recent attempt to use learning groups during classes I taught at Zaokski
Theological Seminary. Although starting well, very soon I understood that I urgently
need more knowledge on what to do to make the learning process more meaningful
for both, my students and me. Not having the answers (since my previous
experience dealt with small groups in the church setting) I realized that to
implement the small-group approach at the college level, I needed to study more
in this area.
The main purpose of this
work is to investigate the efficiency of the small-group approach in the
teaching process and share some details on how to make it work. To fulfill this
purpose the following steps have been chosen:
First of all, the lecture
approach will be compared with the small-group approach. The advantages and
disadvantages of both methods will be presented. Then, it will be shortly
reviewed for what kind of setting it can be applied. After this, the main
problems and helpful insights will be shared. In conclusion, the relevance of
this approach to the integration of faith and learning will be addressed.
There is one term that
should be defined in the beginning of this work. It is cooperative learning. It
is interesting to note that cooperative learning is called by some as "one
of the most researched educational innovations to come on the educational scene
in recent years"[1]
or, "one of the biggest, if not the biggest, educational innovations of
our time.[2]
There are several basic
definitions of cooperative learning. One of the most common definitions
describes it as "many different ways to organize classroom instructions so
that students work and learn in small groups of two to five.[3]
The definition for a small group in this process will be the following: "a
collection of individuals who influence each other. Individuals are not a group
unless they are affecting and being affected by each other; therefore, the
primary defining characteristic of a group is interpersonal influence."[4]
Advantages and Disadvantages
of the Lecture
and Small-group Approaches
Advantages of the Lecture
Approach
There are several advantages
of the lecture approach, which probably made it so common and long-lasting in
education. Although there can be more, we win look at five of advantages which
are more obvious. Some of them are based on the observations of Ausubel (1963),
Hoover (1968) and others and described by Thomas L. Good and Jere E. Brophy:
1. Saving of time, especially when needed information is
complex and not easily accessible for students or if it will take them long
hours to collect it;[5]
2. Presentation
of the material by an expert, which may include:
a) Clarity of the issue especially on complex or contradictive
data and topics;[6]
b) Personal experience in that field that usually makes the
presentation more meaningful;[7]
c) Logical organization of material that provides a structure
and thus often results in greater understanding and long-term memory;
d) More objective and wise division of time and given attention
for more complex, important or hardly understandable issues based on the fact
that experienced teacher knows both: the material and abilities of the
students;
3. Possibility
to demonstrate necessary points by illustrations, figures or other visual
teaching aids and thus making it more understandable.[8] This can be called demonstration "along the road," meaning
that whenever a teacher needs to clarify the point he/she may use the
demonstration;
4. A
ready product for students to remember. Usually the goal of the lecturing is to
give the material and data that should be remembered. Although students may
gain additional knowledge from home reading, the information received during
the classes is considered of primary importance. Thus, through lectures
students are provided with "what" to remember;
5. Lecturing
leads to evaluation of students according to their personal achievements.
Disadvantages of the Lecture
Approach
It must be mentioned that
the advantages described above are presented in view of the ideal lecturer and,
thus, do not deal with the fact that often teachers fail to use lectures
appropriately. However, even when the lecture approach is used with all scope of
its potential, it also has some disadvantages. In this paper we list only those
that are presented by the same source:[9]
1. Lectures deny students the opportunity to practice social
skiffs;
2. Lectures make the implicit assumption that all learners need
the same information, and this usually is incorrect-,
3. Lectures are often longer than the attention span of the
students, so that they begin to "tune out";
4. Lectures only convey information; they do not affect
attitudes or promote skill development;
5. Students can read facts on their own - why waste their time
with lectures?
Parker J. Palmer expresses
interesting observation on this issue:
Some say that lecturing,
assigning readings, and giving tests is simply the easiest way to teach, and
that teachers (like everyone else) will take the line of least resistance.
Others argue that mass education has forced this method upon us.... Still
others blame educational economics, pointing out that our underfunded schools
are unable to buy the time or staff necessary for more personal and interactive
models of teaching and learning.[10]
Although admitting that
these arguments are "factual and reasonable," the author, however,
concludes: "Laziness, conceptions of efficiency, and budgets are not
forced upon us by cosmic superpowers. They are all matters of choice, and we
are always have the freedom to choose otherwise. Why do we not choose
otherwise? Why does this pedagogy persist?"[11]
One can agree that these
shortcomings of the lecture method cannot be ignored by a teacher fully devoted
to his or her subject. We are not suggesting abandoning this approach rather we
consider another way that can make the teaching process more meaningful.
Advantages of the Small-group
Approach
As was mentioned above, the
small-group approach is basic for cooperative learning. That is while speaking
of its advantages here we will reflect on the main benefits of this particular
type of learning. It is interesting to note that the results of this study will
show that there is a close connection between advantages of this approach and
shortcomings of the previous one. To demonstrate this the same number of issues
are used. In contrast to the lecture method, it is:
1. A good devise to develop social skills, such as "listening,
taking the view point of others, communicating effectively, solving conflicts,
and working together to achieve a common goal."[12]
With this approach the value
of communication is practiced and the atmosphere of community in the classroom
is build where everyone can experience the sense of belonging and have a chance
to know each other better and care about one another. No wonder, that there is
an observation that this very method results in reduction of conflicts and
becomes a good alternative to handicapped or to students who belong to racial
or ethnic minorities. One teacher reports that in two months after
implementation of this approach in class where there was a lot of enmity
between students of different ethnic background, it worked out and racial
conflicts were overcome.[13]
Taking into consideration
the individualization of our society, it should be mentioned that development
of social skills helps a person to change the orientation for competition to
the responsible concern for the progress of his or her neighbor.[14]
It must be noted that this
approach also serves as a great preparation for the future work. As Shirley Ann
Freed says: "our students will graduate and enter a work force where
teamwork is the norm."[15]
However, the development of
social skills does take time. One teacher from kindergarten reports: "In
the beginning, dominant children tended to boss others, while less confident
children hung back. Gradually, however, leaders became less important, shy
children began to contribute more, and decision-making became a shared
responsibility."[16]
2. Meets different needs of students based on their different
types of learning. Four different learning styles: innovative learner,
analytical learner, common sense learner, dynamic learner[17] should be considered.
3. Helps students to hold their attention focus (for adults
about 10-15 minutes) on the task. One of the suggested strategies is to break
the lecture into blocks for 10- 12 minutes and after every such block let the
students to reflect on the issue, answer some questions, compare notes in pairs
for 3 -4 minutes.[18]
4. It is a great means to form students' attitudes and helps
them to develop important academic skiffs in the process of learning that
usually results in better academic achievements.[19]
One of the main task of
education is to teach students to use the received knowledge meaningfully. This
is exactly what happens in cooperative learning.[20]
5. Makes students co-investigators with teachers of the
received knowledge and thus, active participants in this process.[21]
Interestingly enough, there
is an indication that all this leads to better motivation for learning, better
attitude to school and teachers, improvement of self-esteem and bigger
retention in college.[22]
Thus, it is obvious that
this approach has much to suggest to educators.
Disadvantages of the Small-group
Approach
Although it looks very
prominent, there are some disadvantages that very often become the reasons why
this approach is neglected, given up or not believed. We will look at them from
the point of advantages of the lectures and summarize them as follows:
1. Demands more time;
2. Investigation and presentation by learners rather than by an
expert with all possible consequences;
3. The process of the work in the group can be called a
demonstration in this case especially if the stated goal was achieved;
4. Students do not have a ready product to remember, they may
have it or may not at the end. In any case, the focus is more on the process,
it should be emembered, because it serves as a key whether it was right or
wrong. Thus, students learn through "how;"
5. Evaluation of an individual on the basis of the group
achievement.
There are also some
accusations of this method. More common of them are: some students (usually the
brightest) in a group do everything while others do nothing but all Of them
receive equal grades; teachers' involvement is limited or they do almost
nothing while students do the job a teacher is paid for; why the good students
should suffer because of the those who are not doing well? "One of the
most difficult things to tackle is the initial reaction of parents. Parents of
high achievers especially tend to think that their children are penalized by
working with others.
Studies have found that high-achievers
continue to do well or better in cooperative learning."[23]
The following table
summarizes our findings and gives a visual picture of the fact that benefits of
one approach can solve shortcomings of another:
It can be concluded that
both approaches have something important to suggest. Thus, the best is to use
them in complimentary way rather than to exclude one or the other. It can be
easily noted that disadvantages of the first approach can be met by the
advantages of the second one and the opposite. The important thing for a
teacher is to decide what material will be best presented and learned by what
method.
Where to Use the Small-group
Approach?
The working hypothesis is
that this approach can be successfully used first of all, for children in
different settings: public, Christian, Sabbath schools and, second, for adults
as well.
The following table
demonstrates that children in every stage of their development have some needs
and abilities that can be best addressed by the small-group approach.[24]
Kindergarten 1
. First of all, these children are
very active and it is impossible to teach
(3-5) them by long
monologues. They have short attention span (3 -5 min.) and thus, their
listening is limited. These characteristics show the importance of different
individual and group activities during the class period.
2. Second, children of this age learn best by experience and
active participation. They just begin to reason from cause to effect. Thus, to
provide the best education for them means to use a lot of exercises and
activities where they should draw conclusions by themselves.
3. Social abilities are limited at this period. From one side,
children prefer to play alone, are egocentric and are ready to express negative
emotions with the first sign of failure, from another side, they Re to make
friends and be with them and they just begin to learn how to control negative
emotion or express them in the right way. Small-group activities can greatly
help them to develop social skills and ability to work together in a group.
4. At this age children also learn how to respect themselves,
how to respect God and others, and how to make right decisions. Imitation of
good example is very attractive for them. Thus, they can learn a lot from each
other in a group, if the right behavior is underlined by a teacher.
Primary 1. Children of this age are doers - "thinking
and action cannot be separated.
(6-9) cannot be separated.[25]
They have desire and ability to practice new skills and have their own hand-on
experience.
2. Another important characteristic is that these children
begin to apply logic and receive knowledge to concrete situation. They like to
discuss their experiences, new ideas and their own opinions. In addition, they are learning academic
skills, and are in a need to develop a sense of accomplishment, which surely
will influence their self-esteem.
3.
They
begin to have best friends. They like to belong to groups or clubs, to be with
their peers and to enjoy group activities. They continue to learn how to
express negative emotions in a socially acceptable way. Group practices help to
exercise needed skills in communication and relationships.
4.
They
also begin to learn new spiritual and moral values. Thus, rules become very
important for them, they want to know them and to apply them to others and to
different situations. They want to be told what to believe but it is very
important for them to see the models of Christian behavior and imitate it.
Because they fail very often, they are in a great need of acceptance with God
and people and thus, the importance of small groups at this stage of
development cannot be overestimated.
Juniors 1. Juniors are action-oriented, energetic
and talkative, and if there is no
(10-11) if there is no chance to
use these abilities in a good way in a class children will use them in a
destructive way.
2. They are great investigators, like to discover by themselves
cause and effect, and different alternatives. They are very quickly bored if
they do not see why they should do something.
3. In addition, these children are success-oriented and like to
do something for their peers and teachers in order to gain the affirmation.
4. They begin to develop their conscience and are in quest for
values. Bible teaching is' valued by them if it is practical and they see how
to apply it to their own life and problems.
Earliteens 1. Earliteens have abstract thinking and
like engagement in discussions very
(12-13) much. They are able not
only to express and prove their opinions but to reject illogical reasoning as
well.
2. They also seek acceptance and friendship in a group and fear
to be isolated from it. This is why they prefer to do something with a group
rather than individually. Acceptance with a group and respect from it bring
them self-confidence and self-respect so needed at this age.
3. At this age many of them begin to question truth but they
are open to stories describing experiences of other people. They want to test
certain values and to choose the important ones by themselves. Religion has value
for them only if it is practical.
Thus, it can be concluded
that not to use cooperative learning for children is to ignore their needs and
abilities. We see that the small-group approach can be effectively used on
every stage of children development although with different objectives in view.
This approach can be a good devise for improvement of academic and social
skills. It can be a great menace for spiritual development. It can be used in
public and religious schools and in Sabbath schools as well. An interesting
observation was made by Joel Thorley: "If there's a single bet we've
missed over the years, it's making kids to sit quietly at their desks instead
of letting them work with each other."[26]
Larry Burton, a principle and teacher of a K-8 one-room school in Slidell,
Lousiana tried to apply cooperative learning strategies to his students
gathering them in mixed groups. The result was so good that he gives the
following advise for teachers in small schools: "Group students across
grade levels for as many lessons as possible. While this is easy to do with the
Bible, science, and social studies, it is possible in other subject areas as
well."[27] However,
many doubt that this approach should be applied to science teaching. Pearl
Astrid Nelson strongly advocates multi-sensory methods in science teaching:
It is difficult for most adults to allow children to think for themselves. It is easier to tell things and to relate facts that boys and girls should know.... In science teaching particularly, but not exclusively, it is admittedly both easier and faster to give the answers; but since effective science educating depends upon encouraging problem-solving and promoting discovery, telling all of the answers represent poor instruction indeed.
In the teaching science at
any level, efforts should be made to encourage the pupil to observe carefully,
to draw certain conclusions from his observation, and to use reference
materials to ascertain if his answers are correct.[28]
If the small-group approach
should work for children, what about adults? It is interesting that this method
works for adults as well. Research shows that adults in groups "generally
learn faster, make fewer errors, recall better, make better decisions, and are
more productive with a higher quality product than individuals."[29]
The possible explanation for this phenomena are also suggested: in a group
there are "more ideas, insights, and strategies that no one member had
previously thought of," there "incorrect solutions are more likely to
be recognized and rejected;" and in addition to this "groups have a
more accurate memory of facts and events than do individuals."[30]
Another possible reasons are
"group facilitate higher motivation to achieve-" "makes riskier
decisions;" "increases members' commitment to implement decision;"
"facilitates the changes in behavior and attitudes required to implement
the decision."[31]
Interestingly enough, the
results of such research as Valuegenesis surprisingly showed that Adventist
students are doing well in vertical items - relationship with God but have a
lot to improve on the horizontal level - relationships with others.[32]
As commented by Shirley Ann Freed it indicates that, "prosocial behavior
and valuing of service to others actually decreased with the number of years of
Adventist education."[33]
This shows that there is a need for special strategy for developing social
skills and concern for others in our academies, colleges and universities.
Obstacles to Success and
Some Insights
A teacher who decided to use
a cooperative learning very soon may discover that it is not so easy as he/she
thought it is. And it is true, there are many difficulties, which prevents one
to succeed with this approach. Some of them, the most common, are listed below:
1. It takes time to be developed.
To address this problem we
can give three advises:
a) Just go forward, remember
that any group goes through four stages - forming, storming, norming and
performing.[34]
b) Involve students in
groups gradually. Start with the work in pairs, then go to triads, after that
involve groups of four and five, and finally use jigsaw and other kind of
groups.[35]
Then, the process will go faster and smoother. c) Evaluate after assignment is
completed - what can be done in groups differently?
2. It is hard to develop
exercises.
It is true that once a teacher decides to use cooperative learning there will be a need for new exercises and assignments on his/her subject that can be performed in a group. However, there are a lot of resources in this area and some of them are suggested at the end of this paper. To use them really saves time since one only needs to adapt an exercise to a particular topic rather than create a new one.
3. It is hard to evaluate
individuals with this method.
To face this problem the teacher
can:
a) Never use group
activities as the only source for grading the course.
b) Build individual
accountability in groups, let all members in a group sign the worksheet with
the task and gather their points.[36]
c) Use short written tests
or oral quizzes on the random basis after group activity.[37]
4. It is hard to achieve
total involvement in a group.
To meet this obstacle a
teacher may:
a) Assign roles in a group
before the activity starts.[38]
b) Use different exercises
and a variety of groups in order to stimulate participation and involvement of
every student.
5. It is possible that a
group will come to a wrong conclusion.
Sometimes groups come to the
wrong conclusions. To prevent this pitfall it is good:
a) To give clear
instructions;
b) Carefully supervise all
groups;
c) Wisely matches students
with each other in a group.
6. It does not work in my
class - my students just do not like it.
The real problem in this
case may be not with the students but in the wrong choice of material and assignments
for the groups. Some guiding advises in such situation are:
a) Never use group-approach
for easy tasks - students get bored.[39]
b) Assignments based on the
development of social or academic skills or some techniques, which require much
repetition (reading, math operations, memorizing some words, facts or portions
of material etc.), are usually very good for work in pairs.
c) A review of facts and
ideas before a quiz is very helpful if done in pairs or groups. People tend to
remember an issue better and longer if they articulated it or discuss it with
others.
d) Telling of stories on
moral values are good for groups. A teacher may present the story but the
discussion of it in groups is of great importance. The failure mainly occurs
when the assignment is: "just discuss it!" The instructions should be
specific and with some challenge. Good suggestions are to discuss different
heroes from the story in different groups with the task of why? What can be
done differently? And what if.. ? Afterwards the opinions of all groups can be
shared.
e) Bible verses or a teacher
in connection with a topic may present passages. However, it is best to ask
students to read the Scripture by themselves, and then to apply it. The number
of students in a group can be based on the number of verses or passages.
Everyone reads and works with his/her portion of the Bible and then shares it
with the group. At the end, the group should summarize its conclusions.
7 It does not match with
my subject.
The truth is that the small-group
approach may go with any subject. If the teacher is a beginner in this method,
the following two suggestions are good to start with:
a) Try not to lecture
comprehensible materials from textbooks, which are easily accessible for
students. Assign to every student in a group a different portion of the text to
read and then to relate the issue to others.
b) Every subject has some
application points. Let the students make applications by themselves in any
kind of groups. In this way it will become their own discovery and will hardly
be forgotten.
Integration of Faith and
Learning
It is also important to ask:
why the small-group method should be used in Christian schools? Why not just
the only traditional lecture approach?
Interestingly enough, a careful
look through the Bible shows that:
1. Both ways to teach people are biblical. In the Bible we see
the lecture approach in the short and long monologues of the prophets,
patriarchs and New Testament letters and sermon. In addition, we also see
division on tribes and even smaller subgroups in Israel for better problem
solving, living, matching, and accomplishing tasks. For example, the conquest
of the land. We also see that sometimes groups were formed to accomplish
special assignments such as the twelve spies, disciples sent by twos and so on.
Small group interaction and discussion approach is also seen in the New
Testament home churches.
2. Jesus Christ used both approaches:
He tried to reach people,
answer their questions and teach them through both intellectual approach and
experience.
He combined lecture device
and active learning.
He made people passive
listeners and also active participants.
He taught people in great
numbers and in small groups.
He showed that in order to
educate followers one must use the small-group approach.
In His infinite wisdom He
knew that there was no better way to transmit His values and make the disciples
His followers.
3. The Bible teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves. It
shows that God gives each of us a special gift for this service. Are not
Christian schools right places to be consistent with this command and teach
students to put the Bible truth into practice?
4. The main goal of Christian education is to prepare students
for real life, to make them through Christian education better Christians. How
can it be accomplished if we as teachers often fail to give them the chance to
form their own opinions, to discover right conclusions, and to apply Bible
principles to their own life?
In conclusion, if a teacher
wants for his or her teaching to result in successful learning the lecture
approach and the small-group approach should be used as complementary devices.
Both methods are in accord with biblical principles, both methods can be
applied to children and adults, both of them help students to be developed as
more mature and responsible members of human society. I encourage every one to
reconsider their teaching strategies and do the best for the students.
Let us think over the
following words of Frank Smith: "There is a general assumption that
teaching should result in learning and that learning is the consequence of
teaching. The problem with this assumption is that the students tends to be
blamed for failure to learn." Is this only just students' fault?
Suggested literature
Cooperative Learning: The
Magazine for Cooperation in Education. Published by the International Association of the
Study of Cooperation in Education. Box 1582, Santa Cruz, CA 95061-1582.
David W. Johnson, R.
Johnson, and E. Johnson Halubec. Circles of Learning: Cooperation in the
Classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Co., 1990.
D. Dishon and P.W. O'Leary. A
Guidebook for Cooperative Learning: A Technique for More Effective Schools. Holmes
Beach, FL: Learning Publications, 1994.
Spencer Kagan. Cooperative
Learning. San Juan Capistrano, CA: Resources for Teachers, 1992.