Buzz-groups

Students brainstorm or discuss a question or problem in small groups. 

Promotes: Analysis and critical thinking, problem solving

Buzz Groups can be done in large auditoriums or regular classrooms with very little preparation. The main benefit of buzz groups is that you can rapidly create group configurations of four so that the students are immediately engaged in responding to questions or problems you present throughout the class. By simply calling out assigned lettering and numbering of rows, students can conveniently identify which group they belong to so they can begin dialoguing with each other quickly with minimal confusion or delay.

This diagram illustrated the Buzz Groups classroom formation. There is a large class group of 144 figure drawn students and the instructor seated in a conventional, front facing theatre or auditorium seating setup. The diagram shows the example of assigning a letter and number to all rows seating from the front of the classroom to the back as A1, A2, B1,B2, C1, C2, D1, D2 to allow the instructor to organise students into groups using the letter and number rowed seating. The illustration also shows an insert diagram illustrating the creation of groups of four so the figure drawn students can setup and work in teams by following the pre-assigned letter and number rowed seating with A1, A2, B1, B2 displayed in the insert diagram.