The Power of Small Group Instruction in Science
Jerry B. Cuaresma
Within the school setting, it is typical to find two kinds of small group operating. The guidance oriented small group, in which either standard non-directive counselling techniques or the newer confrontation group approaches are employed and the learning oriented group, used to teach almost all school subjects.
Schools of all sorts are trying to find economical ways of having teachers meet with small groups of students for learning. Small group have become important in the school setting because teachers and administrators consider them uniquely structured to help achieve important educational goals.
First, their use enables the teachers to give more individual attention to each student's learning needs. A teacher can effectively reach all the members of seven in a group than all the members of the class of thirty. Second, in small groups, the students can become more actively involved in their own learning and participate more freely in discussions. The amount of both verbal and nonverbal student participations in group discussion is inversely related to the size of the group. Third, the small group is seen as the setting most conducive to developing student's leadership and teaching the skills of discussion and group processes.
The small group can be used for several kinds of discussions and for many types of learning activities. Each of these activities may be required in different seating arrangements, different kinds of materials, and different kinds of teaching styles. Despite the diversity, however, it is possible to make some suggestions to enhance the effectiveness of all small groups.
To pursue education requiring group effort, young people need experience in performing as effective members of the groups. There are few things done in the classroom or laboratory that can be done by small groups under circumstances requiring less effort on the teacher's part than if these things were to be assigned to the individual students. In fact, many teachers become quite impatient with the apparent inefficiency of small group format and are quick to abandon it. Furthermore, any improvement in group participation is so difficult to observe or measure that few teachers will recognize when values inherent in the group format are being attained.
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The author is Teacher I at Corazon C. Aquino High School, Pob. 3, Gerona,
Tarlac