Gladwell's Law of the Few

Hi Blogger Buddie!
We talked a lot in class about each of Gladwell's three factors of the Tipping Point.  I decided to blog about the rule of the few because I could think of two good examples from yesterday's classes at school.

In my freshmen Wellness classes, students were working in small groups to Build an Ally.  This activity required each group to brainstorm qualities needed by a person so s/he would advocate for someone else who was being bullied. Then, each group came up with a way to draw something on their ally poster to represent each quality.  They were asked to give their ally a meaningful name.  Finally, they presented to the whole class.  This activity related to the law of the few in several ways.  First, in the meaning behind the activity - that one individual can make a difference.  Secondly, yesterday when my students worked in small groups, they were much more involved, engaged, and most of the time, more personally responsible in the process. They were part of a group of "few" as compared to being part of "many" in the whole class.
The third way that activity demonstrated the power of the few was when one student commented in passing, "I like this class." Another student said at a different time, "I like working on projects like this."
Participation in a small group allows students to use their own learning styles, whether that be as a visual learner, an interpersonal learner, etc.

My second example from yesterday at Spaulding was during the Exploring Foods class.  Part of the class involved students working in the kitchen labs to make pie dough.  One of the kitchens had three cooks. When I realized that the absence of another student would leave one person working alone, I asked for a volunteer to switch kitchen groups.  The result of the changes in groups left two pairs.  One of the pairs included a students who is slightly learning challenged and who is less confident of himself.  He was really nervous about losing their third teammate!  I knew he could step up and he did!  The law of the few at work again! They worked slowly and surely and were completely successful!

Ta Dah!  Have a great day!