Study Group Troubleshooting

This section continues to grow–please propose situations you're encountering to help develop it more fully!

How do I get everyone involved?

Set and enforce the expectation early and continually that everyone participates

Lower the Bar (“it’s ok, we’ll help”)

Prime the Pump (“how about adding legs?”)

Body Language (standing close or handing/tossing the marker in a commanding fashion).

Difficult people in study groups? 

Be persistently assertive (“actually, we’re really all going to take a turn, so please give someone else the marker”) and enlisting the help of the difficult person (privately before or after “I know you have a lot of great information/insight, but I want to make sure everyone gets as much opportunity to learn and practice as you are”).

If you're aware that others in the study group are negatively being effected by this person, consider interrupting the difficult person to polling the the full group asking "How many people would like to move on?/try a different activity?/like to hear from someone else?" or "Excuse me (to difficult person).  I want to make sure I understand–could someone put this in their own words?" and then follow up with redistributing the conversation (as it supports the agenda) to all participants.

After the study group, talk to the (difficult) person privately.  Thank them for their contributions, but ask them to hold off on dominating the conversation so others can have a chance to participate. 

Set expectation that everyone in a circle will speak/participate going a certain direction.  (Circle group)

Fish Bowl- each personal writes 1-2 questions, pool questions, and pull a question to work on as a group

Popcorn around the room where those identified throws out some answer (goal is just to survey what everyone thinks, not remember who was 'right', getting different perspectives of how think about concept)

Attendance 

Remind your SP’s to send reminder emails about PLUS every 2 weeks to entire class

 Develop Peer wise question that professor may consider pulling test questions from at the end of study session

Make up a review sheet

Cookies???

 Connection with professor!  Ask them to make a plug during lecture.

 Go to classes and promote PLUS or have preceptors & professor promote attendance in class

 Practice writing questions

 Connect study group with skills needed for an upcoming graded assignment

 Post announcements on Blackboard about the topics being covered every week at the study groups.

Can also post announcements on Blackboard for review PLUS sessions, especially the week before exams

Create a folder of PLUS agendas on Blackboard; update this along with Box

Ask class facebook page to like PLUS FB page/advertise PLUS study group times on class facebook page

Preceptors Working Together

Dividing up the agenda, so that each preceptor is in charge of one topic

 Have both preceptors sitting at different positions in the room

Identify strengths & weaknesses of each preceptor & delegate agenda accordingly

Have preceptors in WPM sit together à make agenda together as practice. Or plan activities together

Using the round robin group concept (sequentially everyone shares in a circle)

Creating Inclusive Study Groups (not just Preceptor to Preceptor questions)

Split up into 2 mini groups (contest between the two?) , physical space divide Preceptors

Ice breakers at beginning and get more comfortable with all people in study group (Hi, how are you?, what’s your major?, how’d that test go?, etc)

Circle chairs

Preceptors pick students they particularly will try to pull out

Eye Contact with reluctant participation

Time for writing before speaking

One Preceptor Explaining Everything

Dividing up the agenda among the preceptors so that just one preceptor is not doing all the talking

Designing activities that require attendees to problem-solve vs. just having discussions that allow preceptors to teach

Encourage participation, hand chalk to others

Have preceptor partner evaluations

Preceptor interrupt w/ “What do you think?” to attendees

 Divide up the topics and address at the beginning who is going to be at the board for what topic

Have preceptors divide time in ½ or 1/3 between them

Break the big group into smaller groups for each activity to address this 

Set a time limit, after <5 minutes, person must transfer space (sit down, pass chalk off to someone, etc)

Improving Quality of Questions Asked

3 Levels of learning  (Remember, Understanding, Apply)–working on developing a handout to help with this!

Video Examples

Include key questions in agenda

Train preceptors on open ended (vs close ended) questions

Individual writing time to identify concepts that are fuzzy/describe concepts in your own words

Off Topic Study groups

Put agenda on board or address agenda at very beginning

Remind attendees of expectation

Include a 5-minute break in the middle of the study group solely for “off-topic” discussions (limits to a set time)

Include one person to be the “on task master” role