group work

Alright,
So in our class we tried out a little group work activity to see how the students would do. Now, until this particular class, I must remind you that we haven't attempted this type of setting except in allowing them to do their homework together. They've just always been such a close-knit group that I was a little afraid that because of their closeness, a group setting would be a waste of a period. However, much to my surprise the group work activity that we used worked very well. We were covering material for a test review because the following period they were going to have their third test. It was really fun to watch, because they were very helpful with one another in working their problems out. I really think there was only one girl who would consistantly ask for my assistance in answering a problem because she didn't trust her group. I wish their was more time in these class periods or maybe that the lessons were spaced out more, because I would love to incorporate more group activities. It's just that because we have so much freakin material we have to cover every period that I feel very uncomfortable trying to many new things for fear of being behind. For instance this last week, I mismanaged my time because I thought they would understand my directions a lot better, and we ended up spending way too much time on a simple task. Well, that just tacked on to my next period, and I'm trying to find a way to combine future lessons so that I can go back and re-cover my last lessons........frustrating!!! But anyways, I did like the use of group work. I think I would like to assign my groups though rather than allow them to pick.

Later