How Do You Teach Small Groups Without A Group?

This semester I am teaching a new to Valpo course, Small Group Communication. My background in organizational communication makes this a favorite course of mine. Delving into the psychology of group behavior, dynamics, and communication is fascinating to me. I'm a nerd, I know.

The problem with this class, though, is I only have 6 students. Six. Do you know how hard it is to do group projects with only six people? I had wanted to do four projects, but for most of them, three people aren't enough, and if I put more in one group, that means I have less than a group (2 or less people) for the other group. I guess I'm just going to have to put all six of them in one gorup.

Here's the problem with that, though. We're approaching midterms, and all but one of them are also in my Mass Media class earlier in the day, so they all know each other quite well. They know who is going to slack off, who is going to derail the conversation, who is going to be late, who is going to do all the work, etc. The learning curve of a new group in a new situation is gone.

If we hold this class next fall, I'm going to have to insist on no less than 8 students, or the class needs to be cancelled. At least we're having fun!