Group discussions

In the classroom At work Interview technique

In the classroom “In terms of encouraging students to take a more active role in their learning, few strategies outweigh the benefits of class discussions.” Ma. Socorro C. Bacay Senior Instructor School of Management and Information Technology College Registrar, De La Salle University, College of St. Benilde, Philippines

So… Groups discussions help students take a more active role in their learning. Do we want students to take a more active role in their learning? YES!!!!!!

Benefits in classroom Students taking part in group discussions learn to: Express their ideas Listen to their classmates’ ideas Enrich their learning experiences Discussions Allow students to express criticism without being offensive, Train the students to accept criticism without being offended. Help the students understand and apply what they have learned. Provide valuable feedback to the teacher. e.g. whether the students have understood the lesson, how they have understood it, and if necessary, what clarifications/corrections need to be made to rectify any miscommunications in the lesson.

Group discussions at work Formal -> meetings We will look at this separately Informal Most jobs involve interacting with other people Colleagues Customers Suppliers Important to be able to do it well! Even when only two people involved, same communications skills apply

Interview technique Group discussions are widely used as part of interviews Give interviewer useful information on aspects such as Subject knowledge Communications skills Group dynamics Leadership

Communication skills Express your ideas in clear and concise manner Contribute to the discussion itself Build on others' points Move the discussion forward Sum up the group discussion Work towards agreement. Listening Without listening you can’t hear Without hearing you can’t understand Without listening you don’t know whether the other person understood what you said! Without listening, the points you make may not fit in with the points made by others. Like all skills, good communication takes practice!

Problems with group discussions Too little participation Listening too much Hesitant to put own viewpoint Too much participation Hogging the discussion (may not be deliberate – see below) Not allowing others to contribute Not encouraging others to take part These two aspects reinforce each other People talk to fill silence If someone is talking others may not speak If they don’t speak there is silence ….

Task Take part in a group discussion on a topic given by tutor Try to apply what you have learnt about group discussions Participate Encourage others to participate Listen! Question Understand Summarise