Section 2 Effective Groupwork Online

Contents

Effective group work activity what is expected of you in this segment of the course: Read the articles provided and write a brief summary of one of them, the main task, using the 'clear thinking' principles. Draw up a list of some key points about group work. Collect principles of effective group work from other students in your group.

Effective group work activity you will be asked to read two articles from the list given below:you will be asked to read two articles from the list given below: Netiquette, or the social conventions of computer conferencing The Theory of Group Formation Groups that work. Towards an Ethics and Etiquette for Electronic Mail How can I make sure that I'm being understood? Learning with other people. How students can make conferencing work.

Benefits of effective group work: Conversation gives you access to other people’s thoughts and helps to clarify your own. Exchanging ideas with other people is an important way of helping yourself to learn. develop skill in communicating You pick up the language as you read texts and write assignments, but it is a great help to have the chance to speak it as well You have to keep on developing ideas and using them at the same time

Benefits of effective group work: When you ask for help with something you’re stuck on it may take only a minute to identify a mistake in your technique, and then ‘you’re away again’. Talking to others helps you to readjust your sights, work out how to cut corners and catch up with what you have missed. You discover that everyone has the same doubts. This is one of the surest ways of boosting your confidence.

Benefits of effective group work: Talking with others can help you to make sense of ideas you are struggling with. Other people can often help you to iron out problems with specific techniques. Studying with a group helps to keep you to the pace of the course. When you get to know other students you can help each other out in practical ways. Studying with a group is a way of meeting interesting people.

Reading and making notes Reading is one of the challenges of studying that lie in: Coping with large amounts. Trying to understand the difficult parts. Finding ways to remember what you have read.

Reactions to readings depends on: What you are interested in. What you already know. What experience you have about reading in a particular subject area. How hard you are trying.

Feelings about reading You can't learn effectively unless you: Become interested in your subject to some degree, and Get some enjoyment out of studying it.

To develop an interest in a subject: Link what you are reading to questions that already interest you - the questions that made you interested in the subject. Figure out why other people have found the topic interesting- the questions that have interested them. Connect the subject to your own experience.

Coping with the words Should you stop and look up difficult words and scientific vocabulary in a dictionary? It will slow you up if you do it a lot. You have to decide whether a word seems important. Does it come up regularly? Do you seem to missing something? If it hasn’t been explained in one of your texts, you must to check its meaning in a dictionary. You’ll have to make your own judgment as to whether or not knowing the exact meaning of a word is interfering with your understanding of the text.

Dictionary importance A Dictionary is an important resource to have handy, but don’t expect it to be infallible (perfect). Some specialist words will not appear in a general dictionary and words that do appear may not be defined the same way in your subject area. flesh A dictionary is a useful guide when you are lost, but often you can get a better insight into the meaning of key terms from your study texts.

Scientific writing style Here, you say in your scientific report exactly what you mean; no more, no less, and only information which is directly relevant to the scientific point is included. –Scientific report consists of: »Descriptions »Analysis »arguments

Effective Study To study effectively, you need to be able to "manage" your feeling. You need to be able to find ways of: –Building upon your enthusiasm (interests). –Avoiding sinking into despair when the going gets hard. Specifically, you need to: –Be able to make the subject interesting. –Accept technical language and take it in your move. –Customize yourself to the scientific style of writing.

Purpose of reading Reading Develop your understanding of the subject by: –Adding new concepts to those you already have. –Understanding explanations you have not met before. –Building new mental models of how things work. –Incorporating new information alongside that which you already possess. *** These are "Thinking" processes, and if you try to bypass them then you are not really learning as you read.

Reading Environment When you read, you have to think of: The place, and Speed of reading According to the type of what you read

Time Investment By becoming a student you are choosing to invest your own time (Time investment) in developing your intellectual (thinker) powers. Always ask yourself:  Am I getting a better grasp (understanding) of the subject?  Does this make me think? If the answers were "NO", then the time you are investing is being wasted and you should repeat or switch to a new activity.

Making notes Should you try to remember facts, figures and names as you read? If the answer is “NO”, You need to note only the general gist (idea) of the information. Other facts and detailed information needed for future study must be written down. Don't worry about your memory. Just write things down. It's what you understand that counts (matter). Taking notes is also an important aspect. Always try to underline or highlight words in a way that allows you to pick up the gist of the argument when you come back to the text.

Making notes Note-making is not a single "skill", something you acquire once and for all. It is a range of different activities, the common characteristic of which is that you are writing for yourself rather that an "audience", so you don't have to worry about "explaining" yourself Making notes helps you in many different ways. Learning when and how to make notes as you study is critical to your development as a student.

Reading for study Purpose Defining your tasks as you set out to read (setting a target). Underlining or highlighting as you read, if appropriate. Stopping to look forwards or backwards in the text when you lose your way. Checking other sources when you are in difficulty. Monitoring your progress from time to time. Changing your approach as necessary.

Reviewing Section 2 Do the Self-Diagnostic Quiz of Section 2