{"id":8636,"date":"2021-03-09T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/?p=8636"},"modified":"2021-03-04T16:29:37","modified_gmt":"2021-03-04T16:29:37","slug":"5-easy-steps-to-set-up-inclusive-self-running-study-groups-within-your-module","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2021\/03\/09\/5-easy-steps-to-set-up-inclusive-self-running-study-groups-within-your-module\/","title":{"rendered":"5 easy steps to set up inclusive, self-running study groups within your module"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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By Paolo Oprandi and Sarah Watson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are study groups?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A study group gives students the opportunity to meet on a regular basis and work together towards a common goal, such as unpacking concepts within a module, undertaking weekly module tasks, or preparing for an assessment. This blog shows you how to set up study groups within your module, and provides resources for making these groups inclusive, focussed and effective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why have study groups?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Click on the image to watch a video created by Sussex students<\/a> on the benefits of study groups<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Working in study groups helps reinforce that learning is a collaborative endeavour, rather than a competitive sport. Student collaboration aids learning and when done well motivates students to engage more deeply into their studies. When we communicate with others, we consolidate our own learning. Additionally, working in a group develops a variety of transferable skills, such as cross-cultural learning, leadership, diplomacy, people skills, communication, conflict resolution. While many students find it easy to become  part of a study group, those on the periphery of the cohort find it difficult. It is therefore a matter of inclusivity for us as educators to provide the opportunity for all our students to join a study group. With this in mind, we encourage teaching staff to set up study groups with their modules where appropriate.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Technology Enhanced Learning team have been supporting Sussex teaching staff with the setting up of inclusive study groups. We began this work by speaking to both students and staff about their opinions and experiences of study groups, asking what makes a study group work and what prevents a study group from being successful. Two key points came out of these discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Students<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Keeping these points in mind, this blog provides 5 easy steps to setting up inclusive, self-running study groups. This guidance has inbuilt flexibility, allowing both students and staff to make amendments depending on the needs of their cohort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Consider inclusivity when creating your study groups <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To avoid students choosing their own groups, which may leave some working alone, we suggest assigning students to groups yourself. This can be done automatically or manually via Canvas groups [more information below]. It\u2019s up to you how you allocate your students to groups, but your allocation should lead to diversity within the groups. Diverse study groups are great for many reasons, for example they draw together a variety of perspectives and skills. However, we are aware that diverse groups can be difficult to manage, which is why we have created an inclusivity checklist<\/a> that can help the smooth running of diverse groups. We encourage you to refer to this when setting up your study groups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Set up study groups via Canvas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can set up study groups by using the Canvas Groups functionality. There are several ways that Canvas enables the creation of groups by tutors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n