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FAQs - Learning Groups

  1. Do all courses offer Learning Groups (LGs)?
  2. When do LGs start?
  3. How often do LGs run?
  4. How much does it cost to attend a LG session?
  5. How can I join a LG?
  6. My LG was cancelled. Why?
  7. How do LGs work?
  8. How are LGs different from tutorials?
  9. Can students receive help on assignments during a LG session?
  10. How can faculty and program coordinators help?
  11. I’m interested in becoming a LG leader. What qualifications do I need? What do I need to know and do?

Answers

  1. No. Learning Groups are only offered in courses that are introductory (i.e., first year) and difficult in nature (i.e., 30% of students receive D or F final course grades and/or withdraw from the course). Notes: (1) a course may qualify for a LG but a LG may not be offered due to difficulties in finding a leader; (2) a course does not lose its “difficulty?status when the D, F and/or withdrawal rate has been reduced due to the success of LGs.
  2. It is our goal to have LGs start as early as possible in the semester, ideally by week two. However, due to time lags in finding and training LG leaders, and coordinating schedules, LGs may not commence until week three or four.
  3. Each LG runs once a week in a one-hour session.
  4. Attending LGs is absolutely FREE so come on out!
  5. To attend a LG, simply listen for class announcements informing you of when and where the LG session will be held and drop on by. You do not need to register for LGs.
  6. Learning Groups may be cancelled if student attendance is consistently low. To ensure that LGs continue to be offered please attend and encourage your classmates to join you.
  7. In a LG session, expect to be actively involved in group work with classmates. You will not only ask questions but you will also teach one another course content, solve problems, learn new study techniques and prepare for exams.
  8. In tutorials, students typically sit alone facing the front of the class and ask the tutorial leaders questions, which are answered for the students. In contrast, students attending a LG typically sit in groups of 2-4 working on problems. When students ask LG leaders questions, it is the role of the LG leader to not answer them directly, but rather to use this opportunity to teach students how to locate answers for themselves, problem solve and apply new learning techniques. This way, students learn generalizable study strategies and particular course content that is applicable and understood rather than memorized.
  9. No. Learning Group leaders are not allowed to help you work on assignments in a LG session, nor are they allowed to clarify assignment questions for you.
  10. Faculty and program coordinators can help with LGs by nominating students to be considered as LG leaders, promoting the LG service and student attendance in their classes, communicating and meeting regularly with LG leaders, and cooperating and initiating early communications in setting up LGs each semester.
  11. Learning Group leaders are senior students (in second year or above) who provide learning help to first-year students in difficult courses. These students have achieved a 3.0 GPA or better in the course for which they are a LG leader and have maintained an overall program GPA of 3.0 or better. These students have also been recommended by faculty and have had both tutor and LG training. For more information, please see the LG Leader Job Description and LG Leader Contract.