1. By Valerie Harmon

2.  Definition- a meeting for an exchange of ideas in some arena; guided debate or discussion of concepts  Description- preset objectives are set by the instructor. The instructor works as a facilitator or as a participant discussing the assigned topic/concepts with the students

3. Social Learning Theory- If you want to change an individual’s behavior you must change their role models and social experiences. Learning is interactive and tends to occur in a social context.

4. 1. Students can share their unique experiences on given topic in an open forum 2. Students can provide positive reinforcement to other students in a non-threatening group environment 3. Students are more likely to absorb the material being taught when information is reinforced by a group of peers

5.  Classroom  Online  Post conference in clinical  Learning resource centers

6.  Involves all students  Encourages active student engagement  Promotes critical thinking  Peer Sharing  Cooperative learning  Creates a supportive environment for mutual inquiry  Little preparation time required by teacher  Does not require additional supplies

7.  Students must have adequate knowledge for active discussion  Some students are over talkative, while others are shy  Students may be challenging of other students opinions  May require a lot of student preparation time  Difficult to do with a large class size  Time consuming

8.  Facilitator may have create a specific list of questions if students are having trouble with the topic  If the discussion groups are having trouble staying focused, behavioral objectives may need to be altered to be more specific  If the climate is one in which attitudes about learning are negative the faculty must change the climate. They can do this by responding and reinforcing student successes.

9.  Require a written product from student group activities and grade it. Over the course these grades are incorporated into a class participation grade  Put a tick mark next to student names each time they speak to encourage quantity of responses.  Require groups to keep a log of their discussions then have each student write a summary the topics they discussed.  Discussions can be evaluated indirectly through exam questions and written assignments that reflect class discussions and activities.

10. Billings, D. & Halstead, J. ( 2005). Teaching in Nursing a Guide for Faculty. Saunders: St. Louis, MO. Henry, P. (2006). Making groups work in the classroom. Nurse Educator, 1, 26-30. King, E. (1984). Affective Education in Nursing. Aspen Publishers: Rockville, Md. Oermann, M. & Christman, J. (2008). Strategies for using assigned reading in nursing courses. Nurse Educator, 33(59-60). Thomas, K. (1998). Clinical and Nursing Staff Development. Lippincott: Philadelphia, PA. Van Hoozer, H., Bratton, B., Ostmoe, P., Weinholtz, D., Craft, M., Gjerde, C., & Albanese, M. (1987). The Teaching Process: Theory and Practice in Nursing. Appleton-Century-Crofts: Norwalk, CT.