Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- Acknowledgements
- Planning
- Delivery
- Activities
- 51 Action learning
- 52 Amplifying your teaching
- 53 Audio feedback
- 54 Bibliographies
- 55 Blogs
- 56 Brainstorming
- 57 Building blocks
- 58 Buzz groups
- 59 Card sorting
- 60 Case studies
- 61 Cephalonian method
- 62 Checklists
- 63 Design briefs
- 64 Discussions
- 65 Dividing the dots
- 66 Drawing the line
- 67 Fear cards
- 68 Future scenarios
- 69 Games
- 70 Goldfish bowl
- 71 Guided tours
- 72 Hands-on workshops
- 73 Ice-breakers
- 74 Interviewing
- 75 Jigsaws
- 76 Lectures
- 77 Mind maps
- 78 Multiple-choice questions
- 79 Peer assessment
- 80 Podcasts
- 81 Portfolios
- 82 Poster tours
- 83 Presentations by learners
- 84 Problem-based learning (PBL)
- 85 Pub quizzes
- 86 Questionnaires
- 87 Quizzes
- 88 Self-assessment
- 89 Self-guided tours
- 90 Social bookmarking
- 91 Stop, Start, Continue feedback
- 92 Storytelling
- 93 Technology-enhanced learning (TEL)
- 94 Treasure hunt
- 95 Video
- 96 Virtual learning environments (VLEs) (or learning management systems, LMSs)
- 97 Visiting lecturers/guest speakers
- 98 Voting systems
- 99 WebQuests
- 100 Wikis
- 101 Worksheets
- Index
58 - Buzz groups
from Activities
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 June 2018
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- Acknowledgements
- Planning
- Delivery
- Activities
- 51 Action learning
- 52 Amplifying your teaching
- 53 Audio feedback
- 54 Bibliographies
- 55 Blogs
- 56 Brainstorming
- 57 Building blocks
- 58 Buzz groups
- 59 Card sorting
- 60 Case studies
- 61 Cephalonian method
- 62 Checklists
- 63 Design briefs
- 64 Discussions
- 65 Dividing the dots
- 66 Drawing the line
- 67 Fear cards
- 68 Future scenarios
- 69 Games
- 70 Goldfish bowl
- 71 Guided tours
- 72 Hands-on workshops
- 73 Ice-breakers
- 74 Interviewing
- 75 Jigsaws
- 76 Lectures
- 77 Mind maps
- 78 Multiple-choice questions
- 79 Peer assessment
- 80 Podcasts
- 81 Portfolios
- 82 Poster tours
- 83 Presentations by learners
- 84 Problem-based learning (PBL)
- 85 Pub quizzes
- 86 Questionnaires
- 87 Quizzes
- 88 Self-assessment
- 89 Self-guided tours
- 90 Social bookmarking
- 91 Stop, Start, Continue feedback
- 92 Storytelling
- 93 Technology-enhanced learning (TEL)
- 94 Treasure hunt
- 95 Video
- 96 Virtual learning environments (VLEs) (or learning management systems, LMSs)
- 97 Visiting lecturers/guest speakers
- 98 Voting systems
- 99 WebQuests
- 100 Wikis
- 101 Worksheets
- Index
Summary
Buzz groups can be an effective alternative to brainstorming as a way of involving learners and breaking up a lecture. Set a topic for discussion and ask the learners to discuss it with the person next to them. After a few moments they should in turn discuss it with the pair sitting in front or behind them, and so on. Stop when you judge it practical to do so (usually when the group size reaches eight), and ask for feedback from the groups that have formed.
Topics that you could try this with might include:
• Evaluating particular types of information – give the groups a type of information source to look at (say an academic article) and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
• Creating lists of keywords for a search.
• Pulling together a number of things that have caused problems in their information searching. You can then take these and work with them over the rest of the session.
✓ BEST FOR
• tiered lecture theatres, as people can turn around and talk to those above them in the tier
• sharing experiences and opinions
• getting contributions from all group members.
+ MORE
• Ask the pairs to write down their thoughts and then pass them to another pair for discussion and comment. They add their comments to the paper and it is passed on to another group.
• Ask learners to come up with three things that drive them mad about the library or three things that have frustrated them about finding information. They will need to restrict the list to three items in order to negotiate with the other pairs when they combine, but this can give you some really useful information about your services or about the knowledge level of your learners.
: WATCH OUT
• It can be easy for the groups to lose focus as they join up, especially if they are not familiar with one another – they will need to introduce themselves and/or overcome any shyness about sharing before they can start work each time. There is also likely to be a lot of repetition when groups join together. Set clear instructions on how the buzz groups should work and impose quite tight time constraints on each element.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- A Guide to Teaching Information Literacy101 Practical Tips, pp. 158 - 159Publisher: FacetPrint publication year: 2011