Three Highly Productive Active Learning Activities That Can Be Done in Groups!

If your students are anything like most students, you may already know that group assignments are often the last activity any of them want to engage in. 

Many students are apprehensive about:

• meeting and interacting with their peers

• feeling they don’t have enough to contribute

• time constraints (as it relates to meeting up outside of class)

• receiving a grade based on the performance of the whole team

Some of these fears are valid, especially the idea that one member might complete the majority of the assignment but the group will all receive the same score, no matter the contribution of each member. This is especially an issue since the entire purpose of group work is to have students “work together”. Taking these concerns into consideration, below are three uniquely effective group exercises that promote active learning, which might change the way both you and your students approach group work.

Chain notes. For this exercise students are placed into groups of 3 to 4 students. The instructor will compose several questions, placing them on separate sheets of paper. Each group receives one question. The group answers the question to the best of their ability, taking input from all members, then passes their sheet of paper to the next group so they can expand upon what was written by the last group. This project is brilliant in that it moves at a pace that helps students focus on the task at hand and not on themselves and it also implies that there are no wrong answers, just building blocks.

Mystery quotation. For this exercise students get to show their understanding of a particular quote, the theoretical perspective related to the quote, who might have said it and why. The instructor chooses a quote or blurb that students are the least familiar with from the assigned reading material. For example, if the class was studying the works of notable sociologists, the quote might be, “The history of all previous societies has been the history of class struggles”. Drawing on their previous knowledge about these sociologists and their theoretical perspectives, the students will decide who most likely made this statement and what message they might have been trying to convey. Once the group believes they’ve compiled a solid argument, one member is able to present. The unique aspect of the mystery quote is the combination of brainstorming, social interaction and application. This exercise mimics the collective work spaces many students will soon enter after college.

Idea Speed Dating. For this exercise the group would be the entire class (20-30 students). Each student prepares an elevator pitch related to their chosen position on a topic or why they chose a particular topic for a class research paper. As in speed dating, students sit across from each other for one minute or less, share their pitch and then move on to the next. After students complete this exercise a few times, they gain a better understanding of their own positions and they often find clarity as it relates to their paper topics. It’s also just fun to move around and learn something new about others.

Group exercises can be a perfect opportunity to socialize with peers, enjoy the expansiveness that is unique to team work and it can help prepare students for collaborating while not being afraid to share their new ideas.

Share in the comment section below:

Do you have any fun group exercises that promote the beneficial aspects of group work? How was your project received by students?

Jameelah Ra'oof MIS, MS 

Coordinator of Teaching, Learning & Academic Excellence

Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE)

Texas Woman's University

940.898.3427

Stoddard Hall - Room 305A