The Purpose, Benefits, and Challenges of a??Check-ina?? in a Group-work Class

摘要

The purpose of this article is to illustrate, through teaching examples and student logs, a technique, called a??check-ina?? routinely used in the author's group-work classes. Check-in is a process where students are invited, in the beginning of each class, to share their struggles, questions, dilemmas, accomplishments, and failures related to their group-work learning. Check-in requires students to listen and offer support, ideas, challenges, and guidance to each other. The goal of check-in is to help students develop their group-work skills and knowledge. Integrating democratic teaching practice with group stage development theory, particularly beginnings and middles, this article explores the process, complexities, and skills inherent in the check-in process. Implications for group-work practice skills are discussed.View full textDownload full textKeywordscheck-in, democratic teaching, classroom community, group developmental stages, parallel process, mutual aidRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01609513.2010.549640