You know the lingo. Be the "guide on the side" and not the "sage on the stage". But that's easier said than done, especially in college level classes where, historically, the sage, the professor, imparted knowledge and wisdom to an eager group of students who sat in awe of every utterance and recorded every truism. Passive learners are a thing of the past and so teaching from the ivory tower is also. The good news is: Students learn more and have more fun when you use cooperative learning groups in the classroom.

Let's face it. As my mentor says, 'covering' the material is about being noble; you just want to be able to say to yourself and others, "I covered the material." But 'covering' the material might just be 'hiding' it for today's learner. 'Uncovering' the material involves multiple methods of engaging, empowering, and enhancing student learning.

You never could cover all of the material and today there is just more to cover. So don't try to cover, pick out what absolutely must be taught in a brief mini-lecture and then structure your class so that the students truly become learners, use groups!

As a community college instructor, I use groups for everything. Here are some tips I can honestly say work for grouping students. They are in no particular order; they are just recorded as they came to me.

1. As a general rule, group students with as much diversity as possible. The more differences, the more dialog and thinking involved. Be deliberate with your grouping.

2. Group students differently for each activity. Some activities are best with a group of students with common abilities and interest. Another activity might be best served by grouping students according to personalities. Too many chiefs? Not enough worker bees? Fix this with carefully contrived groups.

3. Let students form their own groups. Sometimes this is the perfect opportunity to show your flexibility and give students some choice. Students may choose members that have talents and strengths that they need to model.

4. Trust your groups. Don't go into grouping activities with the belief that it won't work. It will. And it it doesn't always work, students are learning important lessons about teamwork and interdependence.

5. Give members of the groups roles to play or have them choose roles from a basket. This is a great way to get the quieter students to have to lead or to get the leaders take a back seat for a change. Skip Downing

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