Summary
Learning is the process of acquiring skills and knowledge by being taught as well as the experience of studying. There has been a great debate about the style of learning that is best for every learner. Some people argue that there are situations when individual learning promotes the level of education received by a student (Callan and Shim, 2019). Nevertheless, others claim that an environment that promotes group learning is inclusive and might help students with special needs as well as their average or above peers. However, studies reveal that there are advantages and disadvantages to every style of teaching (Callan and Shim, 2019). This paper compares and contrasts teaching in individual and small group lessons as well as various teaching methods required for small groups compared to individual learning.
Individual Learning
Individualized learning is a teaching method where the pace and content of learning depend on the abilities and the interest of the learner. Having a close relationship with personalized learning and how the curriculum has been designed might be similar for all learners (Schulze and Bosman, 2018). However, the individual plan and profile for every student might differ. This is because every learner progresses through the study material at different speeds and according to personal learning needs and abilities (Schulze and Bosman, 2018). Thus, students might take a long time reading to understand a given topic, they may also skip topics that they are already conversant with, or go over topics that require deeper understanding.
Small-Group Lessons
Small group teaching is an efficient teaching style adopted by different schools. There is no ideal number that has been set for an ideal small group. However, a group comprised of around eight to twelve students assisted by an instructor is considered the proper format (Fisher and Wolf, 2021). This teaching style is student-centered where all students work together to discuss a particular topic and engage in active learning (Fisher and Wolf, 2021). Therefore, when small groups are designed in the right way, learning activities create active and safe learning surrounding with lots of benefits for peer-to-peer interactions.
Advantages of Individualized Lessons
There are fewer distractions in individualized learning; this is because when learners choose to study alone, they completely focus their attention on the material they are studying. In addition, there is no worrying that the session of studying will turn into a hangout session because the students are with their colleagues (Gacs et al., 2020). Therefore, individualized study entails 100% of what a student is learning, thus, there is no time for distraction.
There is control of the study environment; every learner has a different strategy of studying when preparing for exams. Some students prefer sitting on their listening to music in the background (Gacs et al., 2020). In contrast, others love being in a public space where there are many activities going around them. Other students love sitting in a quiet place away from any kind of distraction (Gacs et al., 2020). Therefore, individualized learning allows students to study in environments that are perfect for them.
Disadvantages of Individualized Lessons
There are various drawbacks associated with the individualized style of learning. For instance, a lot of time is needed to develop teaching materials that suit the needs of a single learner compared to class-centered instruction (Rajabboyevna, 2020). Additionally, there might not be appropriate materials and resources to teach a single student. This mode of teaching also entails special skills for examining needs and student requirements. Finally, this teaching style needs individualized strategies for evaluating learners.
Advantages of Small Group Learning
Small group learning allows learners to discuss concepts with their colleagues. Genuine proof of whether or not a student has understood a concept is the ability to explain it to another person (Van de Pol et al., 2019). Learning as a group enables a student to understand a topic clearly by holding discussion sessions. Therefore, if a student is unable to explain a concept when asked by someone else, it means that the student needs to study more.
Small group learning helps in clarifying difficult concepts; a student being unable to understand a concept and having no one around to help them understand can be very annoying. One importance of studying in a group is the ability to ask for clarification from other students (Van de Pol et al., 2019). Therefore, having other students around facilitates a deeper understanding of various concepts and provides a broad knowledge of class materials.
Disadvantages of Small Group Learning
Studying as a group also comes with various drawbacks for a small group studying. For instance, a student may find it tiresome when study in a group (Van de Pol et al., 2019). Moreover, sometimes conversation shifts from studying to trendy events, which distract learners from studying. Additionally, studying as a group hampers competence and creativity, and when there are exams on the horizon, efficiency ought to be the highest priority (Van de Pol et al., 2019). Finally, there is impersonalized learning; this is because a person’s brain conceives information differently, and digesting information the right way a student needs to do it on their own. However, when learning as a group, students get to study at their colleagues’ pace. Therefore, they might end up losing track of their questions about the subject at hand because other students do not want to deviate from the group discussion.
There are different teaching ways needed for a small group in comparison to individual teaching. For instance, the common labels for small group teaching are problem-solving classes, seminars, and tutorials (Van de Pol et al., 2019). However, this is too general for classification purposes; five different types of teaching methods have been identified that describe the range of techniques that might be used. They comprise buzz sessions, group discussions, problem-solving activities, mediated feedback, and group projects (Van de Pol et al., 2019). On the other hand, techniques used in individualized teaching include involving learners when selecting teaching methods, getting individualized feedback, and then sharing (Van de Pol et al., 2019). There is also allowing students to create their word lists and cards and finally ask more open questions about the usage and not just meaning.
Key Considerations to Keep in Mind as a Teacher
Teachers should keep in mind that first, an instructor should identify when it is appropriate to contact individualized or small group teaching. For instance, individualized learning can be carried out when group studies are becoming too talkative, group meetings keep changing, and the student has a very different level of understanding than the group (Kim et al., 2019). The teacher should recommend group learning when it is easier to understand the content by discussing it and when classmates are motivated to study in groups.
Conclusively, this paper has explored individualized and small group teaching styles as well as various teaching techniques required for small groups compared to individual learning. Even though there are slight differences between the two teaching and learning styles, small group learning is much better because it allows instructors to ensure learners have equal learning experiences. Therefore, small group learning offers students opportunities to learn content at a pace and level that they understand.
Reference List
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