Group Sessions

Why group sessions?

Students learn best when they are actively participating, communicating, and teaching each other. Group sessions also foster a sense of community, which has been shown to improve student success. In the online learning environment, this chance to connect, participate, and ask questions in real time is especially valuable.

Do's & don'ts of group sessions:

• PALs should not prepare a long PowerPoint or spend the whole session explaining concepts or assignments.

• Sessions should be student-centric. That means students should be setting the agenda, actively participating, and asking questions.

• PALs should ask students what they think the answer is or what resources you can use look up the information together.

  • Can PALs give feedback? Sure! But encourage the students to answer each other first. (For example: "Great question, Sharon. What do you think Leona? Megan? Where can we find the answer to that?)

  • Why? This creates the expectation of participation and helps students feel empowered to help each other and themselves. If you answer first, students will quickly learn to wait for your response.

• Sessions should be flexible and depends on the needs of the students who show up. That means you should be ready to adapt your plans for sessions or hold "Q&A" style sessions where you set the agenda with students (See "Best Practices" below for more on this.)

Click here for a sample group session outline.

During Your Weekly "Active Participation Hours"

1. Message your instructor to gauge the needs of your class weekly or what their strengths/ challenges were on their last assignments.

2. Take time to check out the types of materials/ activities your instructor posted for the week. Consider students' upcoming assignments and where they're at in the writing process.

3. Promote your session. Remind students each week of the days/ times of sessions, and link them directly to the Zoom Room. Be explicit about how sessions will help them with class material.

During Session:

4. Greet the students and learn the names of any "new faces"

5. Review the "session norms" (2 minutes each session) by reminding students that...

   • • Group sessions are places to ask questions, actively work on class material, and collaborate with fellow writers.

     • Turning on their cameras can help create a more personal session (although you know that's not always possible).

     • They should feel free to "un-mute" to ask/ answer questions, post in the chat, and share their ideas and experiences. Sessions are for them and you're excited to hear their thoughts.

6. Try a quick Icebreaker question/ activity (see below).

   • • Especially use this technique early in the semester or when you have "new faces" to session.

7. Prioritize the session:

   • • Ask students how the week/ assignment/ class is going for them and what they'd like to work on.

     • Take notes if needed to be sure you address each student's concerns.

     • Tip: This "Q&A" style session is especially effective later in the writing process or when students are working on major readings/ assignments.

8. Be ready to ask questions, encourage participation, & to listen! You should not lecture. A great session is when you talk less then the students!

9. Sometimes you might consider making a mini Group Session Plan (50 mins).

• 5-10 minutes: Session Opener to get them talking! (Examples: icebreaker question, short game like "3 truths and a Lie", review of assignment/ last week/ progress so far, etc)

• 20-30 minutes: Discussion or Activity to practice, draft, or discuss a concept. (Examples: discuss a new assignment, "scavenger hunt" for a campus/ class resource, thesis workshop, reading discussion, note-taking practice together, brainstorm time management strategies, proofread for run-ons together)

• 5-10 minutes: Session Closer to help students connect the session to their "next step" (Examples: Mini/ informal quiz, draft a to-do list, look ahead on syllabus/ modules, ask "How will this help you with...?")

• Tip: A planned session is especially effective early in the semester or when you get a new assignment. "Q&A" style sessions are more effective later in the writing process.

Post Session (or the last 5-10 minutes)

10. Submit this survey: Instruct all the students who attended the session to fill out this survey.

Facilitating Sessions:

• Remember to invite students to turn on their cameras for a greater sense of community and spend 2 minutes at the start of each session recapping the norms every session.

• Feel free to spend the time having a conversation & enjoying the small talk. Creating a sense of community and connection is as essential to student success as the academic stuff. (It doesn't have to be all business the whole time.)

• Become comfortable with quiet. Try to increase your "wait time." (Students will eventually respond! Just wait it out!)

• Invite students to share by calling on them by name and show them how to use the Zoom participation features. (For more on this, see the Zoom page of the PAL handbook.) You might also invite "new voices" into the discussion by asking students you haven't heard from much to chime in.

• Get comfortable with having no plan. Q&A sessions are a great way for students to get help and help each other. Trust yourself! You can do this!

Planning Sessions:

• Don't over plan. You don't need to deliver content. If the student's need resources, spend time in session looking up the information from the materials your instructor posted or on other web resources.

• Ask students what they want help with or what the instructor pointed out on previous assignments. Or ask your instructor what challenges students are having or that they anticipate in upcoming assignments.

• Make explicit connections to classwork.

  • • Group sessions take extra time out of student's busy schedules. Plan activities, discussions, or workshops that help students make progress on an assignment, review the class content, or get feedback on their work.

    • Spend a few minutes at the end of each session asking students how this session will help them on their assignment or what their next step will be.

• Plan sessions that help students develop good habits and success strategies. This might include...

  • • Organizing their class resources. Making a schedule/ budgeting study time

    • Understanding the instructor's Canvas page (i.e. organization, important features, where to get help.)

    • Learning how to message instructors, view their grades, view instructor comments on assignments

    • Posting, uploading, and downloading in Canvas. Showing them how to use Google docs.

    • Discovering college resources on the website or Student Success Hub.

    • Discussing the difference between high school and college, online and face-to-face learning. Discussing "college language" (i.e. Transferring, ed plans, seeing a counselor) and their college/ career goals.

• Plan sessions that are collaborative and ask students to do something. This might include...

  • • Activities that ask students to give each other feedback on their writing

    • Discussions of concepts or readings (in whole group or breakout rooms)

    • Discussions of reading, writing, or other strategies (i.e. How did you start? Where did you find that? etc.)

    • Group brainstorms or group writing/ researching practice

    • Informal games, surveys, quizzes, "races," scavenger hunts, etc.

Get more resources for group session topics or ideas here!