Formulating Small Groups for Success

by Christine Ji, Pharm.D., PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Resident, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital

Have you ever participated in small learning groups? Were you satisfied with how the group experience turned out? Effective small group activities should be designed to promote positive interactions among students where everyone feels connected, engaged, and included. The potential advantage of small group learning is that students from different backgrounds and experiences come together to exchange ideas and learn from different perspectives.¹ Before the 1960s, small group learning was relatively uncommon, and the education system was largely focused on what the individual learned through interaction with the instructor. Unfortunately, this created competition between students and final assessments were usually based on individual effort and accomplishment.  Things have changed and small group learning is now widely accepted. Indeed, some teachers prefer this instructional method for students at all levels.²

Small group learning may increase student accountability for acquiring the content knowledge outside of the classroom and applying it to the group discussions. Students reported that they are able to develop their communication skills and ability to effectively work as a team member.  These are important skills in the real world, particularly in work environments. Students also enjoy active engagement in the classroom setting and this can result in improved course grades.³

Despite the benefits that small group learning can offer, not all small groups work well and not all students have a positive experience.  For teachers, it is difficult to find practical guidance and effective methods to create and organize small groups to maximize the chances of success. Some have described group learning as “sinking or swimming together.”⁴  When small group work really succeeds it's the result of “participants' striving for mutual benefit so that all members of the group benefit from each other's efforts.” ⁴ Therefore, planning and managing small group learning activities is an important part of the instructional design process. Small group learning should be reflective of positive interdependence, face-to-face interaction, individual and group accountability, social skills development, and group evaluation.⁶

When assigned to small groups, students have two main responsibilities: learn the assigned material and make sure that all other members of the group learn the assigned material. Students should work together, striving for individual accomplishments as well as team success. Students can encourage and help each other to reach the group’s goals by exchanging needed resources, providing each other feedback to improve performance, and challenging one another to promote a higher quality of a task completion. Students are held responsible for their own contribution and also for achieving group objectives. By practicing in small groups, students are expected to be better prepared to complete similar work in the future. Furthermore, students get to know and trust one another and need to learn how to resolve conflict. Lastly, students learn about how well they perform and adjust learning strategies to better achieve goals. Through group evaluation, students should strive to maintain good working relationships and share feedback about participation. Students should be taught how to celebrate the success of the group and reinforce the positive behaviors of other students.

In terms of formulating groups, there is no “right” way of assigning students.  However, when students self-select groups, they tend to assimilate with people they already know and may exclude students who don’t fit into any group. On the other hand, when teachers randomly assign groups, it saves time and avoids any discrimination; but there is a risk of imbalances that hinder the group’s performance.⁵ Although it is more time consuming, selecting groups based on certain criteria such as gender, ethnicity, linguistic ability, personality, prior achievement, levels of competency, and work styles to promote heterogeneity may be a better alternative in terms of encouraging positive learning interactions and individual accountability. With regard to group size, it is important to come up with a number that is small enough to have interactive discussions, but large enough to tolerate an occasional gap in the attendance and allow smaller subsets (of 2 and 3 student) to engage in more  focused activities. Groups can be rearranged at the mid-semester point to allow students to rotate and interact with various people.²

For small groups to succeed, it is important to plan ahead. Arrange the physical environment to maximize group interaction and avoid any pitfalls such as students coming to class unprepared, being reluctant or refusing to participate, or letting one student dominate the discussion. It is important to give student adequate time ahead of class time to prepare and, if they not prepared, to ask why. Teachers should try to understand why some students are not participating. The reasons may be due to their past experiences in other classes. It can be helpful to start out with an easy, engaging question and to discuss the goals and outcomes of small group learning with the class ahead of time. During small group discussions, teachers and facilitator should invite everyone to speak and use structured discussion protocols.⁴

References

1. Steinert Y. Student perceptions of effective small group teaching. Medical Education. 2004; 38:286-93.
2. Kitchen M. Facilitating small groups: how to encourage student learning. Clin Teach. 2012;   9:3-8.
3. Ferreri SP, O’Connor SK. Redesign of a large course into a small-group learning course. Am J Pharm Educ. 2013; 77: 1-9.
4. Jaques D. Teaching small groups. BMJ. 2003; 326: 492-4.
5. Meo SA. Basic steps in establishing effective small group teaching sessions in medical schools. Pak J Med Sci. 2013; 29: 1071-1076.
6. Roger T, Johnson DW. An overview of cooperative learning. Campbell University, NC. 2013

Does Class Size and Student:Teacher Ratio Matter?

by Andrew Wang, Pharm.D, PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency, Howard County General Hospital

Does class size and student:teacher ratio affect student performance? How should this factor affect how we teach? This issue is relevant whether we are teaching elementary or secondary or post-secondary schools.  There has been an ongoing dialog about the value of reducing class size and student:teacher ratio versus the cost of education.¹ While proponents for each side of the debate point out the advantages and disadvantages of each position, does the focus on the number of teachers or the number of students really lead to improvements in student performance? The focus of this blog post isn’t to compare which is better but rather, it is using data to examine the benefits and limitations of both. In examining both sides of this issue, we as educators can make better choices with regard to instructional design and teaching style.

Why is class size so important? Some state governments have pushed for smaller class sizes as a means of improving student test scores and overall success. Class size affects a host of variables when it comes to teaching. For example, class size can impact teacher-student interactions, both quantitatively and qualitatively. It is highly unlikely that in a class of 200 students, one professor would have the ability to spend much time directly interacting with each student. Moreover, those teacher-student interactions will be lacking in quality. Thus, class size is an environmental factor teachers must consider when determining the methods of instruction and when making instructional design decisions.² The approach a teacher should take in a large class differs from that of a small class.

Proponents of higher student:teacher ratios argue that strong evidence is lacking regarding the benefits of smaller classes, particularly in the setting of undergraduate and graduate education.  One meta-analysis suggested that student performance was independent of class size.⁴  Could student achievement and class size really be independent? The key conclusion made by this study was the fact that it focuses on post-secondary education. In classes where students already possess higher-level thinking abilities, class size may not impact student performance.  Indeed, there may be some benefits to larger class sizes such as greater competition, more ideas, more resources, and more efficient use of resources.

Proponets of smaller class size and lower student-teacher ratios argue that more and purposeful student-teacher interactions result in enhanced learning, particularly when it comes to helping students develop their higher-order thinking and complex reasoning skills.⁵  When the class size is larger, the teacher has less influence over teaching and places more responsibility on students to learn.⁶ In larger classes it is harder for the teacher to have command over the environment. Lastly, class size may play a role in the teacher’s attitude and commitment.  In smaller classes, the teacher is more likely to be committed to every student’s success whereas in a larger class setting, the focus may not always be teaching.⁷

How should class size influence our approach to teaching? It starts with the instructional design. One must consider the desired result and goal of the class. For example, in a larger class setting, knowledge transmission may the goal and it may sufficient to completely and logically present information in the form of a lecture.   In smaller class setting, the desired result may go beyond mere knowledge transmission.  The approach to achieving the desired result may also differ in a smaller vs. larger class size. For example, in a smaller class size, informal interactions and one-on-one customized learning activities can be used while in a larger class size, a more structured lesson plan might be needed. Some modes of delivery might include lecturing, video media, and group discussions. It is important to note that in larger class settings, the same material must be provided to everyone.⁸  In a smaller class environment, it is possible for information to be conveyed differently to each student, which allows the educator evaluate each student’s needs and give additional assistance as needed.

Lastly, the evaluation process usually differs. In a larger setting, it is typically necessary to have examinations at the conclusion of instruction in order for students to demonstrate competency and understanding of the material.  These exams must be efficient to administer and score.   In contrast, in a smaller class setting, evaluations can occur almost simultaneously as one teaches the material.

Class size should influence on how the educator approaches instructional design. The educator needs to tailor his or her instructional approach and create an effective environment for learning. Whether the class is large or small, the educator still has control of how students are educated. Student performance is influenced by multiple factors: background knowledge, interactions, participation, attitude, course material … and class size. Success is multi-factorial and cannot simply be solved by focusing on one aspect. While class size does have some influence, it is not the only variable that determines student performance and success. And in the end, well-planned instructional designs is perhaps important that class size and student:teacher ratio.   

References

1. Kezar, AJ. The impact of institutional size on student engagement. NASPA Journal. 2006;43(1):87-91.
2. Taft SH, Perkowski T, Martin LS. A framework for evaluating class size in online education. Quarterly Review of Distance Education. 2011;12(3):181-97.
3. Ice P, Gibson AM, Boston W et al. Exploration of differences between community of inquiry indicators in low and high disenrollment online courses. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks. 2011.15(2);44-69.
4. Slavin, R. Class size and student achievement: Is smaller better? Contemporary Education. 1990;62(1):6-12.
5. Rawat KJ, Thomas M, Quazi W. Factors that inhibit teachers from adapting a student – centered teaching approach. The European Journal of Social Sciences. 2012:28(3);383-90.
6. Radders, SK. Design for class size: A study for instructional designers of large courses [dissertation]. [Minnesota]. Capella University; 2012. 7-20 p.
7. Savage, A. Why going to a small college rocks [Internet]. 2014 May 24 [cited 2014 Oct 10].
8. Clark, D.R. Design Methodologies: instructional, thinking, agile, system, or x problem? [Internet]. 2012 [cited 2014 Oct 18].

Get Smart: Smartphones to Complement Classroom Learning

by Jessica Pyhtila, Pharm.D., PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Resident, VA Maryland Health Care System

"The advent of the smartphone ushers in a myriad of possibilities for its use in education to complement classroom learning," I narrate into the Siri app of my beloved iPhone 5. It’s the opening sentence to this blog essay regarding smartphone use in education for a graduate school class I’m taking.  It’s by no means the first time I’ve used my smartphone as a tool to facilitate my academic work.  It’s not even the first time I’ve used it in this class, a decentralized internet-based class that meets online via Blackboard Collaborate. I’d like to take decentralization one step further by using my iPhone to participate in this class (or any class) from any location of my choice.

I am far from the only person who sees the potential for smartphone use in education, which has become a hot topic among educators. Long lists of educational activities have been published over the past year, encouraging teachers and learners to use smartphones to complement classroom instruction.^1,2 Ideas on these lists include everything from “remembering notes” (e.g. allowing students to photograph the chalkboard/whiteboard) to “blogging” to attendance-taking using location-based apps.^1,2

Smartphones are also being used in health profession education, both inside and outside the classroom. One study found 55% of medical students and 75% of medical school faculty reported that smartphone use had a positive impact on medical education, and 41% reported they used smartphones every day for clinical self-education.³ Further, 75% of medical students reported using smartphones for medical calculators, and 70% of reported using smartphones to access online textbooks.³ Another study of undergraduate health professional students found that smartphone use for educational purposes was focused on accessing medical reference material, and that smartphones were used for this purpose inside the classroom, outside the classroom, and between patient visits.⁴ Yet another study showed that more than 50% of medical students use smartphones to assist with drug information, clinical guidelines, point-of-care information, calculations, and differential diagnoses.⁵

Smartphone prevalence is increasing as well. In the USA alone, 71% of the US population owns a smartphone, according to Nielsen—a percentage that increases to 85% for people age 18-24 and 86% for people age 25-34.⁶ Additionally, there is a negligible gender divide, with 70% of men owning smartphones vs. 72% of women, as of 2014.⁶ Use is believed to be prevalent even among young children, with one estimate that 20% of children age 5-7 use a smartphone, generally belonging to their parents.⁷ That number increases to 70% of children age 13-17.⁷ Furthermore, the top-selling iPhone education applications are generally apps which have been designed for children.⁷ As of this blog post, 9 of the top 20 selling paid education apps on iTunes were aimed at children under the age of 11. Children and teens can be heavy users of smartphones and are highly reliant on phone-based communication and networking.  A 2012 Pew study showed that the average teen sends 60 text messages a day.⁸

Corporations are taking note. Textbook companies such as Pearson are leaping on the trend, offering not only digital versions of graduate-level medical textbooks and textbook auxiliary material, but also flashcards and educational games aimed at young children. McGraw-Hill is also offering flashcard applications aimed at young children to enhance their academic skills. Smaller companies have invested in this trend too, with a wide array of products aimed at both teachers and learners of all levels. Products include everything from free polling apps for teachers to simulate multiple-choice questions on tests, to social-networking style apps for student collaboration that leverage the theory of social learning, which postulates that learning takes place within a social context and construct.

With the use of any new technology—particularly one with such a wide variety of applications available—comes the need to appropriately evaluate its value using it for educational purposes. Carly Shuler, a Cooney Fellow at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, advocates a “3 Cs” approach to evaluating the appropriate use of smartphones to complement education.⁹ (This approach was initially developed by Lisa Guernsey to evaluate children’s media).⁹

• Content – what is the design of the application? Is it appropriate to the age group and education level of the learner? Is the data contained therein trustworthy?
• Context – how is the learner applying what they are learning from the app? Are they learning a skill which they can then translate into a different activity? Is there a discussion period after the app use has been completed?
• Child (or, more broadly, learner) – what types of apps work best for this particular learner? Is there a type of app that seems more efficacious and engaging? Is the learner able to engage with others when not using the app?

Taking this approach into consideration alongside the real-world studies that have incorporated smartphones in teaching and learning, we should pose a few questions teachers should ask as they evaluate whether smartphone use can complement their classroom instruction. First, educators should evaluate the educational needs that might be served by smartphone use—such as remote access. Second, they should evaluate if the need is present in the classroom itself, or outside the classroom. Third, they should evaluate what types of resources and applications might best complement these needs. Lastly, they should consider evaluating smartphone use in the classroom using the “3 Cs” approach.

References

1. 40 Simple Ways To Use A Smartphone In The Classroom [Internet]. Te@chthought. 2012 Oct 10 [cited 2014 Oct 5].
2. Heick T. 50 Reasons It’s Time For Smartphones In Every Classroom [Internet]. Te@chthought. 2014 Jan 27 [cited 2014 Oct 5].
3. Wallace S, Clark M, White J. ‘It’s on my iPhone’: attitudes to the use of mobile computing devices in medical education, a mixed-methods study [Internet]. BMJ Open 2012 [cited 2014 Oct 10];2: e001099.
4. Davies BS, Rafique J, Vincent TR, et al. Mobile Medical Education (MoMEd) - how mobile information resources contribute to learning for undergraduate clinical students - a mixed methods study [Internet]. BMC Med Educ. 2012; 12: 1
5. Boruff JT, Storie D. Mobile devices in medicine: a survey of how medical students, residents, and faculty use smartphones and other mobile devices to find information [Internet]. J Med Libr Assoc. 2014; 102: 22-30.
6. Ring the Bells: More Smartphones in Students’ Hands Ahead of Back-to-School Season [Internet]. Nielsen. 2013 Oct 29 [cited 2014 Oct 5].
7. Mobile Millennials: Over 85% of Generation Y Owns Smartphones [Internet]. Nielsen. 2014 Sep 05 [cited 2014 Oct 5].
8. Lenhart A. Teens, Smartphones & Texting [Internet]. Pew Research Center. 2012 Mar 19 [cited 2014 Oct 5].
9. Hoffman T. Can Smartphones Make Kids Smarter? [Internet]. Education.com. 2013 Aug 27 [cited 2014 Oct 5].

Handwriting Notes in an Era of Technology

by Miranda Law, Pharm.D., PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Resident, Howard County General Hospital

Imagine a university student walking into classroom, promptly sitting in a seat, pulling out his or her laptop to prepare for class, and loading up the lecture slides.  The student also opens a web browser to load Google chat, Facebook, and e-mail.  If you were a student in the past few years, this is likely a familiar scene.

The method for taking notes during lectures has changed over the past decade. The use of laptops in classroom settings has been steadily on the rise and is now estimated to be 65% of students or more.¹ Increasing laptop use has led to apprehension not only about whether students are really paying attention during lectures but also about the quality of learning that is produced from electronic note taking. One survey found that 81% of students admitted to checking their e-mail during class and high percentages reported using instant messaging (48%), surfing the net (43%), playing games (25%), and doing “other” activities (35%) on their mobile devices.¹ The evidence strongly suggests that laptops, if not managed well, are a distraction for students in class.² But distractions aside, let’s assume that in the well managed classroom where every student is on task, not distracted, and diligently taking notes, do students who take “laptop notes” do as well as those students who take “longhand notes”?

An evaluation of this question requires a brief discussion on how each of these methods relates to learning theory. According to cognitive learning theory, one would hypothesize that longhand note taking would require learners to encode information while laptop note taking would merely require the learner to appropriate place information into external storage.³ According to the encoding hypothesis, longhand note taking requires a student to transform information beyond verbatim text and reorganize the material into a context that is most meaningful to the learner.³ Through these processes, students who hand write notes may perform better on examinations, particularly if they are required to do so without prior study.³  Similar to rote memorization, external storage is the process of taking notes in their verbatim format, without deeper processing, and storing them for recall at a later time.³ Therefore, laptop note takers who do not review their notes prior to an examination would likely perform less well due to a lack of deeper processing of the information.³

These suppositions sound legitimate, but a hypothesis is merely a question waiting to be answered.  Does hand writing notes really result in improve performance in real life?  Research shows that laptops enable students to record greater amounts of information over shorter periods of time.⁴  Therefore, any advantage from hand writing notes brought about by “encoding” might be lost due to the greater quantity of information that can be recorded using laptops.

A recent study examines this very question.⁴ Does laptop note taking produce equivalent learning results when compared to longhand note taking? Students in the study watched four instructional videos in one sitting and were later tested on this material. Each group was handed either pencil and paper or provided a laptop to take notes. Both groups were instructed to take notes as they normally would in the classroom and informed that a test on the material would follow in one week.  Some students in each group were allowed 10 minutes to study their notes prior to the exam, and some took the test without having an opportunity to study their notes. The test consisted of both factual and conceptual questions. Results indicated that students who took long hand notes consistently performed better on factual and conceptual questions, regardless of whether time was given for studying (p=0.002).⁴  This study documents a very clear advantage for long hand note taking over laptop note taking.

So what does this all mean? Should the schools set regulations against laptop use? Do teachers need to ban laptops from the classroom? Is banning laptop use in an era when over 90% of the students¹ owns one really feasible?

More and more research now indicates the potential harms of laptop use (and other mobile devices) on the learning process.  Not only do they create the opportunity for distractions but they may harm the very processes necessary for learning. But completely banning laptops and mobile devices is probably not feasible.  Some teachers have established “laptop zones” where users either sit in the front row to ensure their attention or, alternatively, sit in the back row to keep other students from becoming distracted.⁵ These solutions, however, do not resolve the inherent harms that laptop note taking may cause to the learning process.

The evidence shows that handwriting notes enhances the processing and learning of information.  My recommendation is for teachers to create learning environments where hand written notes are not only encouraged, but perhaps mandated.  The focus should be on improving the learning process, rather than prohibiting technology. Students can have their laptops when needed, but hand written notes should be the primary method of recording information during classroom instruction. Pushing students to process and organize the information enhances understanding and learning.  That’s something all teachers should strive to achieve for their students!

References

1. Fried CB. In-class laptop use and its effects on student learning. Computers & Education 2008;50:906-914.
2. Kay RH, Lauricella S. Exploring the benefits and challenges of using laptopcomputers in higher education classrooms: A formative analysis. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology. 2011;37:1-18.
3. Rickards JP, Friedman F. The Encoding versus the External Storage Hypothesis in NoteTaking. Contemporary Educational Psychology. 1978;3:136-143.
4. Mueller PA, Oppenheimer DM. The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages ofLonghand Over Laptop Note Taking. Psychol Sci. 2014;25:1159-1168.
5. Yamamota, K. Banning Laptops in theClassroom: Is it Worth the Hassles?Journal of Legal Education. 2007;75:1-46.