Biology Group Discussion Leader Orientation

BGD Leader’s Duties Facilitate BGD Attend Biology class lectures Take notes Act as model student Meet with faculty member Avoid turning BGDs into lectures

BGD Leaders are Peer facilitators Models of critical thinking Demonstrators of organization Note takers Good readers

Overview of sessions Maintain Informality Review notes (Study Guide, text book) Discuss readings Develop organizational tools Prepare for exams and quizzes Integrate course content with reasoning and study skills

Caroline Solomon’s 2 cents Text books Locating materials Rosters Mentors Confusing issues (Bio lab, SI) Communication protocol Decorum

Activities to use in BGD Group discussion Clusters Pair-up Appoint a discussion leader Think/pair/share Individual presentation Jigsaw Group survey

Session Strategies Lecture Review Oral Reading of Lecture Notes Visual Techniques

Situations – What to do 1. When one person dominates the conversation of the group. 2. When students are having side conversations.

…more situations 3. When all of the interactions in the sessions are between you and the students. There is no student to student interaction. 4. Every time you ask a question over the course content, the group becomes very quiet.

…and more situations 5.You have one student in the session who rarely talks. 6. If a student becomes confrontational and suggests the sessions are a waste of time.

Letting students run BGD “Does anyone know the answer to that question?” “What are we trying to find out?” “How did you do that?” “Can u be more specific?”

Letting students run BGD “Give an example of that.” “How is that related to _______?” “Can you summarize the discussion up to this point?”

Q and A Getting paid Evaluation Forms Using TutorTrac CRLA Training