It’s true: we are all running on empty some days and doing our best to make it to a class with an enriching plan. It’s not in the cards for most of us to set out on new departures at the moment. But, if you are feeling like learning about a new approach or stepping up your use of small group work in your class, then you might just be interested in POGIL.
POGIL stands for Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning. In POGIL practice, students work regularly in small groups with the instructor designing activities and acting as a facilitator of their collaborative learning. In a POGIL classroom, the session often begins with students receiving an activity that they will work together on for the day, typically a worksheet with questions that guide them through a learning process. It is a very structured approach to group work that can complement other approaches such as team-based learning or problem-based learning. For instructors, the heavy lift usually comes in designing the activities before the class session, with the work of the classroom being more student-centered with the intent of stimulating active learning.
Several Castleton faculty members have adopted POGIL practice and have great things to say about it. If you would be interested in learning more about it, you can visit the POGIL website. If you think that you would like to try it out, the CTL can support a small number of faculty who wish to attend a virtual workshop on Saturday, November 12. (This is the only open workshop this term.) Reach out to Chris if you would be interested in attending this workshop!
