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Group Leader Handbook

Module by: The Cain Project in Engineering and Professional Communication. E-mail the author

Summary: This handbook prepares students to lead small discussion groups in large lecture classes. Instructors may also want to access the Group Leader Training Materials, which provide an overview of training new group leaders.

WELCOME TO BEING A GROUP LEADER, A NEW KIND OF COACH

The group leaders are a new kind of coach. Group leaders are coaches/mentors/managers who use their subject-matter expertise and their understanding of discussion dynamics to manage and respond to student-led and student-run discussion groups that meet as part of lecture courses.

Group leaders organize the day’s session, keep track of time, and spend a couple of minutes at the end of each discussion going over the

• process for a student-led discussion group

• accuracy and completeness of the group’s explanation

This approach means that group leaders do not initiate questions, ask for a response from a student, and then evaluate the student’s answer. Group leaders let their teams get as far as they can on their own. They then encourage better group-directed learning in the future and place the team’s explanation in context by adding material, correcting errors, and connecting the explanation to other concepts and course work.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE DISCUSSION GROUP PROCESS

Student-led discussion groups in large lecture courses prepare students to take part in the daily conversations that will be part of their future lives, first as students in advanced courses and, later, as physicians, researchers, engineers, lawyers, managers, or citizens. After graduation, students will be expected to participate in meetings and discussions, contributing insights and conclusions based on personal experience and scientific knowledge they learned here. In advanced classes, students will engage in discussions of the material presented both in class and in peer study groups and project teams. When they propose solutions to problems, they will be expected to explain processes and technical concepts for non-specialists as well as other professionals. And in many interdisciplinary situations, they will need to reconcile different perspectives and definitions in order to reach a consensus about how to approach a complex problem.

In student-led discussions, students participate positively in group discussions, leading and managing discussions toward productive conclusions, and reaching consensus on topics. Because the discussions are student led, group leaders refrain from participating in the discussion and instead observe the discussion to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of the presentation, the quality of the discussion, and the process of discussion. A student’s grade for the day will reflect the number and quality of contributions made and the thoroughness with which the Preparation Form was completed before class.

How students learn: Mental maps

We all learn by acquiring information from our environment (through visual and auditory systems). We map the information in the brain in a unique and personal way that reflects how we relate to it. We use these mental maps to structure and code knowledge, store it, decode it, and recall it. As students learn about a topic, their minds creatively construct unique maps that place the new information in the context of their existing maps. Students will have myriad of unique experiences, learning styles, perceptions of their needs, and even perceptions of shared experiences. Although two students may read the same passage from a textbook, they will come to the discussion with different mental maps of the information. For example, a student who grew up near a beach may relate a biological process to the movement of water in the tides. Another student who worked in a laboratory may relate a process to a similar process in his/her research area. In the discussion session, students will bring their own mental maps to the group. By sharing understandings of the material and questions about it, the entire group will come to a consensus on the topic—a group mental map—that will be richer than the mental map of any individual. The multiple connections will enable participants to solve problems and apply the concepts in multiple ways, increasing their mastery of their knowledge. Students will then apply their extended knowledge on exam questions based on the discussion topics.

Logistics of discussion groups

Each discussion group typically consists of 12–14 students and one group leader. In Introductory Biology at Rice University, the discussion groups meet on pre-determined dates during the semester. Meetings should occur in locations that foster face-to-face communication (not rows of chairs facing a lecturer’s podium).

During each discussion session, students discuss two pre-assigned topics. Topics are assigned in class and by email or posting on the course website. Students have one week to research the topics and complete a Preparation Form for each topic. Completed Preparation Forms will be brought to each session and handed in to the group leader at the end of the session.

Roles

Before the session begins, the group leader prepares a list showing who will fill each role. Only at the beginning of the session, the group leader announces the roles for particular students. To motivate students to prepare, group roles are kept secret until the session begins. The roles are as follows:

  • The presenter gives a short presentation (under six minutes) on one of the assigned topics, using his/her Preparation Form as notes. A legal pad or whiteboard will be available if the presenter wishes to draw a visual aid for the rest of the group.
  • The discussion leader moderates the discussion. He/she keeps the discussion going, turns to the group for questions or comments, notices who wishes to speak, and ensures that everyone has a chance to contribute to the discussion. If the group seems confused or becomes deadlocked in disagreement, the discussion leader should ask the group leader for clarification.
  • The writer takes notes during the presentation. After the presentation, the writer prepares a short (1/2- to 1-page) written summary of the topic. The writer also lists any questions that were unanswered during the discussion; these questions will be answered by the course instructors on the course website. The course instructor or some designated person will collect the summary at a specified time by following the discussion. The best written summaries on each topic will be posted on-line for students to use in preparing for exams.
  • The summarizer/synthesizer pulls together the most important points made during the discussion and presents the group these points to conclude the discussion.

Time management

Each of the two topics is discussed for approximately 20 minutes:

  • 5–6 minutes for presentation
  • 10 minutes for discussion
  • 3 minutes for summary/synthesis.

When discussion of a topic concludes, the group leader then comments on the group’s discussion for 1–2 minutes.

HOW YOU CAN BE AN EFFECTIVE GROUP LEADER

Organizing the first session

During the first meeting, use a few simple techniques to establish a friendly atmosphere. Then use the rest of the meeting time to have a “practice” discussion in which you take the role of presenter.

Establishing a friendly atmosphere

First, spend a few minutes to establish your credibility as a group leader. Introduce yourself. Here are simple questions you might answer for the students. What year are you? What is your major? If you took the course earlier, when did you take it? Tell the students a little bit about your experience with group discussions. Have you been a group leader before? As a student? What did you find most helpful about discussions? What were the biggest challenges you faced? How did you overcome them?

Now, ask the students to introduce themselves. Invite them to tell the group a little about themselves, such as what they are majoring in, why they considered the course important, where they are from, what their hobbies are, what kind of music they like, etc. Earlier group leaders have found these questions inspire more camaraderie.

To be recognized in the larger lecture course records and sessions, each group needs to come up with a name—the more original, the better. Let each group spend a few minutes brainstorming its group name. Discourage obscene names. Inform the students that their team’s name may be recognized in class if they excel as a group. In some courses, for example, multiple groups compete to provide the best summary on each topic and receive points for quality. Following each session, the course instructors announce (in class and online) the group(s) that submitted the best summaries.

The first discussion

After these activities, explain to the students how discussions work and that today will be a “practice” session. Assign students roles, but take the role of presenter yourself. Model a thorough but concise presentation on the assigned topic. Use a whiteboard or legal pad, if necessary. Finish on time and invite discussion to follow. In some courses, students are not graded on their participation during this practice session (although their preparation forms are checked and graded). Although not essential to the success of discussion sessions in a course, the practice session does help to familiarize students with the process.

Establishing the tone

It is important to establish a tone in each session that encourages students to feel comfortable sharing their ideas with one another. Students can be insecure about what they know, and few, if any, students may have participated in small group discussions in a large lecture class. As the group leader, you must establish a tone in which students know that everyone has a right to speak and, in fact, is expected to do so.

Whenever possible, have group members sit in a circle or facing one another. Try to relax the students. Establish ground rules for the discussions: The primary presenter should not be interrupted during his/her presentation. During the discussion, only one person should speak at a time—no talking over others! Students should listen respectfully, without attacking or making fun of another’s ideas or interpretations. If a student disagrees, he/she must disagree with the idea, not with the person.

Providing feedback to your group

When the discussion ends, you will evaluate what the group accomplished. Answer such questions as the following: Did they reach a consensus about the topic? Were there any points of confusion to clarify? What were the highlights of the discussion? What questions about the topics remain? How might the group work better next time?

Note exceptionally insightful or helpful comments and explain their value. Use communications (email or verbal) outside of the group discussion period to compliment contributions or encourage shy students to participate in the future.

Giving feedback to disruptive participants

Psychologists have urged instructors, managers, and parents to place the pressure for positive participation on disruptive individuals through DESCRIBING the behavior’s effect on the group or on another individual instead of LABELING the behavior.

DON’T SAY:Harold was a complainer; he whined about the traffic during our discussion time.

DO SAY:The group got off to a slow start because after Jean presented, Harold spent the first full minute talking about the traffic on the way to school. The best time to refine the explanation is right after the presenter finishes.

Once you’ve described the effect of the disruption, the responsibility shifts to the person who caused the problem. The ball is then in his or her court. Obviously, the list of disruptions we might mention could be long, but four types are probably the most problematic.

  • Addition of wrong information (“most cells have two complete sets of organelles”)
  • Disparagement of other members or their knowledge (“only a complete fool would think that…”)
  • Off-topic remarks that eat up the available time (“What about that winning soccer team?”)
  • Criticisms of the group’s purpose or the discussion project, inviting an “us versus them” attitude toward the experience (“this is so totally useless—I can get this out of the book by reading”)

Unless the entire session appears to be headed toward disaster, it’s best to let group members try to deal with the offensive folks themselves. The best response during the feedback session is to point to the good outcomes or benefits of NOT doing the disruptive behaviors. Here are some samples:

  • “You need to come prepared. When you supply wrong information, it slows the team down. Now there are corrections that you need to understand, and no one countered when Arden said ___”
  • “You know from every sport you’ve played that the team suffers when players spend time criticizing one another. If you disagree with a contribution, focus on the subject; don’t attack the person.”
  • “You didn’t have time in the discussion to deal with possible applications of the concept, and that’s where the bonus points are. The soccer team’s win won’t help you on the test.”
  • “Although memorizing something from the book might have helped most of us in the past, the kind of mastery the discussion sessions are supposed to foster will be crucial to working in research groups and project teams in other courses. That’s why we take foundation courses—so we can use the stuff later. If you just memorize something, you don’t necessarily have mental access to it in the same way you need it during problem solving.”

HOW TO ASSESS STUDENT PERFORMANCE

As a group leader, you will be responsible for evaluating student performance in the discussion groups. Each time you evaluate a presentation or written summary, you will use an assessment sheet containing clearly defined criteria. You will also have an opportunity to write in specific feedback. You will award points for completed Preparation Forms, participation in discussions, and adequate summarizing/synthesizing.

Preparation forms

Students can earn from 0-2 points for their preparation forms:

  • 0 points for no preparation
  • 1 point for incomplete preparation (some areas completed)
  • 2 points for complete preparation (all areas completed)

Presentations

Students can earn from 0-12 points for a presentation. You will evaluate student presentations using the form on page 15 of this handbook.

Discussion participation

Students can earn from 0-2 points for participation in discussions:

  1. 0 points for no contribution
  2. 1 point for marginal contribution, for example:“What? I don’t understand.”
  3. “I really liked the way you compared the process to a river. That helped me get it.”
  4. 2 points for positive contribution (for example, new information; helpful analogy or other learning tool; novel explanation or insight; significant point of confusion), for example,
  • “I recall reading that there is another type of protein that participates in the process. It’s called….”
  • “I think it’s helpful to think of this (concept) as a 3D jigsaw puzzle, with…”
  • “You explained that X requires Y, but doesn’t X act independently of Y when…”

For each discussion session, you will have a list of all the students in your group. Next to each student’s name, make a mark for a marginal contribution (for example, a checkmark √). For positive contributions, make a different mark (for example, a plus sign +). At the end of the session, you will be able to determine whether students have earned 0 points (no marks), 1 point (only checkmarks, √), or 2 points (one or more plus signs, +) for their discussion.

Summarizing

Students can earn from 0 to 2 points for their role as summarizer/synthesizer. Give them points for adequately summarizing and synthesizing, for example:

Reiterating presenter’s main points

Incorporating the discussion comments into the presenter’s material

Synthesizing the multiple areas of the discussion into a coherent summary

Many students have difficulty with this task. A handout on summarizing/ synthesizing, with poor and good examples, is provided on page 12 of this handbook.

Written summaries

Students can earn from 0-12 points for a written summary. Course instructors will also recognize groups with excellent written summaries by posting their summaries on-line and the announcing the names of the “winning” groups in class.

You will evaluate the written summaries using the evaluation form on page 14 of this handbook.

Contribution to student’s grade in class

In Introductory Biology at Rice University, the maximum points earned from discussion session assignments is 100 points. The maximum points come from the following five categories:

Table 1
Points Category
__/25 Preparation forms
__/20 Discussion
__/20 Presentation(s)
__/20 Write-up(s)
__/10 Summarizing/synthesizing

In Introductory Biology at Rice University, there are four one-hour exams (100 points each) during the semester plus a final cumulative exam (200 points). The lowest exam grade of the four exams taken during the semester will not be counted in the final tally. Thus, a student can earn 600 points in the course, of which 100 points are discussion session points.

NOTIFICATION SYSTEM

Classroom locations and student lists for each discussion group will be posted by email or on-line. Topics for each session will be posted similarly.

STRUCTURE OF A “TYPICAL” DISCUSSION SESSION

The following is a summary of a discussion session and how to handle any problems that might arise:

  • You have prepared ahead of time by studying the day’s two discussion topics. You arrive at the discussion session with two presentation Assessment Forms and one “Log of Participation” form. At http://cnx.org insert the phrase “Log of Participation” in the search window.
  • All students arrive on time to the session in which there will be two discussions.
    • Variation: a student never shows up to class and the absence is unexcused. Consequence: the absent student will get a ZERO for a presentation grade that day (that is, assume you would have asked him/her to present and he/she missed the opportunity).
    • Variation: a student shows up more than 5 minutes late. Consequence: the student loses all participation points for the first session.
  • Assign all of the roles for the first discussion topic: a presenter, a discussion leader, a writer, and a summarizer.
  • Ask the first assigned presenter if he/she is prepared to speak.
    1. If the reply is no, the presenter will be allowed to defer to the next discussion session. The penalty is 3 points off the total score for the presentation next time.
    2. If the reply is yes, the presenter begins a short presentation (5-6 min) of the topic. Students are not allowed to interrupt the presenter during this time.
  • During the presentation, take notes to provide feedback to the presenter.
  • Keep track of time. If the presenter is still speaking at 5.5 minutes, remind him/her of the time.
  • Open discussion follows the presentation. Students should make comments or ask questions they prepared ahead of time on their Preparation Forms. They should chime in with their interpretations of how the topic relates to other knowledge or experience. Students should discuss potential applications or meaningful questions that they have formed.
  • As students speak, make notes on your Log of Participation form. Remember, a simple statement gets a checkmark √ and a meaningful contribution gets a plus sign +.
  • When 18­ or 19 minutes have elapsed or if there is a natural break in the discussion, the group leader should ask the summarizer/synthesizer to conclude with a synthesis of the discussion’s main points.
  • Comment on what was discussed:
    1. Point out inaccuracies that were not corrected in the discussion;
    2. Suggest alternative ways of thinking about the topic;
    3. Highlight the strengths of the group’s discussion and what they achieved (for example, Were they complete? Concise? Accurate? Did they raise important questions that need clarification? Did they work effectively as a group?). Suggest how they might do better next time.
  • Complete your assessment form for the presenter.
  • Repeat steps 3 through 11 above for Discussion Topic 2.

Schedule of Discussion Sessions

Table 2
Date Session #
  Introductory session and practice discussion (Group leader will be the presenter and then moderate/guide group discussion)
  Session 1
  Written summaries from session 1 due
  Session 2
  Written summaries from session 2 due
  Session 3
  Written summaries from session 3 due
  Session 4
  Written summaries from session 4 due
  Session 5
  Written summaries from session 5 due
  Session 6
  Written summaries from session 6 due
  Session 7
  Written summaries from session 7 due

Procedure for students to submit papers

Students must email their completed written summaries to their group leaders, sending a copy to the course instructors no later than the specified time. Include the author’s name and the group name in the header of the report.

Grading and returning

Group leaders must grade and return the completed form (and the written summaries, if notes were made on it) no later than the specified time.

Handout: How to Summarize/Synthesize

The role of the summarizer/synthesizer in a discussion group is to listen carefully to all of the discussion and present the discussed material in a clear, concise, logical way. The summarizer/synthesizer will not repeat everything that was said, but will reiterate the most important points and, while doing so, incorporate relevant comments or questions that arose.

For example, imagine a discussion focused on the following hypothetical biological process:

A moves to the nucleus and becomes B; B becomes C; C binds D; and C/D moves to E.

The discussion would likely begin with the presenter describing the process. One group member might say he does not understand the transformation of B into C. Another member of the group offers an analogy to help describe this transformation. Another member then mentions that C has been in the news because it relates to cancer treatment. For a minute or two, the discussion gets off track as two group members start talking about the mispronunciation of biological terms on a television news show about C. The discussion leader reminds the group to return to the discussion topic. At this point, a member of the group says that he is working in a lab which studies how A moves to the nucleus. The group discusses the lab’s findings for one or two minutes. The discussion then concludes.

Table 3
Poor synthesis Good synthesis
We discussed how A moves to the nucleus and becomes B, how B becomes C, that C binds D, and that C/D moves to E. We said that B becoming C was like (insert analogy). Then we discussed that C has been in the news because it is related to cancer treatment. Lastly, John Doe talked about the research in Jane Smith’s lab. Her group is studying how A moves to B, and they have found X and Y. We first discussed how A moves to the nucleus and becomes B. John Doe discussed the recent research from Jane Smith’s lab on how this occurs—they have found X and Y. After A becomes B in the nucleus, B becomes C. We said that this transformation is like (insert analogy). C has been in the news because it relates to cancer treatment. C binds D, and, in the final step of the process, C/D moves to E.

Note that the “poor” summary is a chronological retelling of what happened during the discussion. The “good” summary is a synthesis of what was said about each part of the topic—it tells the “whole” story.

Note:

Please refer to Group Leader Training Materials

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