4  Facilitating student groups and study support meetings

It is likely that the students in your study group will know each other quite well already. You may know some or all of them too. But this will be the first time they will come together as blended learning students with you as their blended learning tutor, so we thought it would be useful to include some guidance about how you can help your students get the most out of their group, during their time with you.

A major objective is for you to facilitate the kind of atmosphere and activities that will encourage everyone to relax and feel comfortable working together in the study group. As a blended learning tutor, you will have a lot of influence and responsibility in relation to the kinds of methods, learning processes and activities that go on. The ways in which you attend to relationships and communication within the group can greatly affect the students’ experiences as members of the group. Working in groups can enhance the achievement of specific tasks and it can also develop individual skills and confidence in becoming an independent learner. It can help your students in their personal engagement with the learning materials and enable them to become more independent of you. In this respect, your principal aim is to cultivate skills of independent learning in the students and to facilitate that process rather than be the source of their knowledge.

At the first study support meeting therefore, you should check that your students know each other and then give them a chance to share their expectations, concerns and questions – with each other and with you, as the blended learning tutor. The rules for the group should be established, such as listening to each other, everyone having an opportunity to say how they are getting on with the learning materials and so on.

The number of students who are able to attend the study support meeting may vary from time to time. However the following characteristics are most frequently mentioned in evaluations of effective learning groups even if there are just two or three people present:

• a climate of acceptance and respect for one another across both similarities and differences in the group
• openness of communication
• listening being valued as much as talking
• everyone taking responsibility for their own learning and their own behaviour
• problems and conflicts being faced openly and constructively
• the tutor taking responsibility for the process of the group by encouraging and facilitating active participation of all the students attending
• clarity in the setting of tasks, activities and deadlines
• everyone’s contributions being acknowledged and valued.

Part of your role as blended learning tutor is being prepared to intervene if one or more students are experiencing difficulties. However it is important not to dominate the discussions in the group. It can be difficult to let go of the traditional authority of ‘the teacher’ and there is a certain amount of security in standing at the front and doing the majority of the talking. But it is important that from the start, you establish a supportive role that enables your students to become confident and independent learners. This emphasis on facilitation can broaden and enrich your role as well as benefit the students.