What Every Faculty Developer Needs to Know about Learning Groups

Michaelsen, Larry K.; Fink, L. Dee; Black, Robert H.

doi:10.1002/j.2334-4822.1996.tb00301.x

Cited by 30 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…(For more specifics on how team-based learning works see: http://www.ou.edu/ipd/ teambasedlearning.html). In team-based learning, the students become motivated to do the work necessary for high-quality learning, develop a thorough understanding of the content, learn how to solve very complex problems, and learn the value of teamwork when confronted with difficult problems (14,24). In general, it promotes a learning-centered culture in the course.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Team-Based Learning Enhances Long-Term Retention and Critical Thinking in an Undergraduate Microbial Physiology Course

MCINERNEY¹,

FINK²

2003

Journal of Microbiology &Amp; Biology Education

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109

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Teaching microbial physiology can be challenging because it is easy to overwhelm students with information. Microorganisms metabolize a number of compounds as carbon and/or energy sources and use diverse pathways and modes of energy conservation. In addition, an enormous amount of information has accumulated on microbial metabolism. However, such information is critically needed if the students are to understand how microorganisms function.What are the ways in which instructors can respond to this challenge? The traditional approach of teaching microbial physiology as a lecture course is efficient in that it allows the teacher to present a large amount of information to many students. The downside of this approach is that it fosters passive learning where students expect to be told what to learn and how to learn it (31). Students do not develop the skills or the interest to learn on their own, and enthusiasm for the course is low. It is also counterproductive, given what we know about how students learn and what the mission of a university is. It is clear that learning styles of students in science classes are diverse (5,6,12,22). Thus, at best, the lecture format reaches only a select group of students. The mission of a university should be to introduce students to research and inspire in them the passion for discovery (16). Finally, there is the temptation to cover as much material as possible in a lecture, but this often comes at the expense of in-depth understanding of key concepts such that students have difficulty applying these concepts in new contexts (1). These points raise the question of how we can change our mode of instruction so that students acquire the information base they need, but they also engage in the genuine inquiry that is at the heart of the scientific process.A number of studies indicate that active learning, especially the use of small group activities, improves student performance and enthusiasm in diverse college courses (2-7, 9, 18, 19, 21, 31, 37). Several recent papers examine the value of small groups for teaching microbiology. Suchman et al. (31) found that small group activities were effective in an introductory microbiology course if the activities had welldefined and obtainable goals and clearly articulated guidelines. Cooperative learning activities increased student interest in research in microbiology (5) and the inclusion of collaborative learning and other activities improved the final grades of students in an introductory microbiology course for allied health students (19). Trempy et al. (32) found that cooperative learning where students work interdependently on well-defined tasks resulted in high retention of key concepts and high student satisfaction in a microbiology course that included both science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET) majors and non-SMET majors.These reports on the use of small groups indicate some clear benefits from small groups in comparison with a primary reliance on lecturing. However, there may be additional benefits in a mor...

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Team-Based Learning Enhances Long-Term Retention and Critical Thinking in an Undergraduate Microbial Physiology Course

MCINERNEY¹,

FINK²

2003

Journal of Microbiology &Amp; Biology Education

Self Cite

109

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“…Under the right conditions, people working or studying in teams can produce, learn, innovate, and solve problems more effectively than individuals working alone (Hill, 1982;Holter, 1994;Jones, 1996;Larson & LaFasto, 1989;Martell & Borg, 1993;Peters, 1987;Piczak & Hauser, 1996;Wellins, Bynam, & Wilson, 1991). Well-managed student groups tend to promote better learning, higher achievement, greater motivation, and greater interpersonal competence (Johnson & Johnson, 1985;Michaelsen, Black, & Fink, 1996). On the other hand, unskilled, inadequately developed teams can weaken morale, repress creativity, and reduce the quality of problem solving (Feichtner & Davis, 1985;Hackman, 1987Hackman, , 1990Jalajas & Sutton, 1993;Jones, 1996;Senge, 1990a).…”

Section: Team Performance As a Function Of Leadership Learning And mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Give written, graded feedback on team tasks conducted in class. To help students grasp the consequences of how interpersonal defensive routines detract from team performance, I assign graded in-class problem-solving tasks (see Michaelsen et al, 1996, for a discussion of how this method generally contributes to learning). The in-class tasks can be anything that requires students to address fairly well-specified objectives within a set time period (see e.g., Appendix C) and produce a product in the form of a short presentation.…”

Section: Make Team Process An Acknowledged and Defined Component Of Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

Will we Teach Leadership or Skilled Incompetence? The Challenge of Student Project Teams

Holmer

2001

Journal of Management Education

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After almost 20 years, the memory of my first student project team stays with me as one of the most compelling experiences of graduate school. There were five of us, comprising one of six term paper project teams in an introductory policy course. We had been given no guidelines or instructions for how to function as a team or any process management tools such as debriefing or peer evaluation procedures. After it became clear that one member of our group was not contributing to the group product in a manner acceptable to the rest of us, our "team" quickly degenerated into a frustrating, painful, and guilt-ridden exercise in human frailty.Having little facility with leadership skills such as feedback, dialogue, or conflict management, we were left to manage the situation with our various skilled incompetencies (Argyris, 1986). These included issue avoidance, unilateral face saving, and covert coalition building. The four of us coped by complaining about the divergent fifth member when he was not present, pretending everything was fine when he was present, and secretly meeting with the instructor to seek compensation for what we saw as unfairness to ourselves.Fully complicit in our incompetence, the instructor made no comment on our behavior, offered no suggestions for handling the situation, and made no effort to resolve the problem other than to ultimately give the complained-

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“…However, the expected positive effects of group work do not always materialise. This happens not only in problem‐based learning, but also with other educational group formats 2 . Problems in group work include students who keep up the semblance of hard work while letting others perform the real work.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This happens not only in problem-based learning, but also with other educational group formats. 2 Problems in group work include students who keep up the semblance of hard work while letting others perform the real work. One way of dealing with such problems is to have tutors judge summatively students' individual contributions to the group process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between professional behaviour grades and tutor performance ratings in problem-based learning

Dolmans¹,

Luijk

Wolfhagen

et al. 2006

Med Educ

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Tutor performance ratings were not related significantly to harshness of grading. Two explanations can be given: (1) tutor performance ratings were based on rating by groups of students and (2) the percentage of tutors who rated students' professional behaviour as unsatisfactory was low. The strong relationship between tutor performance ratings and the adequacy of the feedback given by tutors suggests that the tutor performance ratings collected in this study are a valid measure of the quality of their teaching, although, for a full picture of teaching quality, more measures will be needed.

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What Every Faculty Developer Needs to Know about Learning Groups

Cited by 30 publications

References 15 publications

Team-Based Learning Enhances Long-Term Retention and Critical Thinking in an Undergraduate Microbial Physiology Course

Team-Based Learning Enhances Long-Term Retention and Critical Thinking in an Undergraduate Microbial Physiology Course

Will we Teach Leadership or Skilled Incompetence? The Challenge of Student Project Teams

The relationship between professional behaviour grades and tutor performance ratings in problem-based learning

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