Victoria,
Great point about teamwork in today's work environment. Getting students to break the habit of working independently and form into a group can be a challenge. I find using technology - having them create a Power Point or video - helps as this is something they tend to do in groups already.
Just a thought. Thanks for your ideas and insight.
John
Jay,
Keeping the students "on-task" in a learning group can be a challenge. Defining the objective, providing guidance for resources and direction are a good start, but the topic must be something they are interest in and pertinent to their environment, then still keeping the "chatter" to a minimum can sometimes be difficult.
I like the monitoring suggestions which do help. I also use small "prizes" to motivate students to stay with the project rather than just the grade for the assignment.
Hopefully, my ideas are not too far out of the mainstream.
Thanks and great information in the program.
John
Student learning groups provide a forum for students to learn and share from one another. As we all know, each student may select on particular areas of instruction as most critical and by using a group method, they are allowed to interact and exchange information. Challenges include keeping the students focused and on task. It is the instructor's responsibility to take an active approach in observing the activities of each group and to steer them in the appropriate direction should they go off task.
Hi Elizabeth! Thanks for your observations and examples. It is so true that many of our non-traditional students face considerable life challenges that tend to pull them necessarily away from their studies. Ironically, I tell my graduates that this, in effect, is also one of the greatest values they can offer an employer - balance - the ability to balance school with work, job, family and financial responsibilities, and still succeed to accomplish their goals! For those that are successful, what a powerful asset to bring to the workplace - that same initiative and accountability.
Regarding learning groups, I too have worked with students to help ensure that all are carrying their weight. As you reference, establishing clear expectations up front, along with students developing their own ground rules for a team, then monitoring along the way, are all crucial to group success. Peer pressure enters into the equation as well. I have had learning groups that actually have students sign a "team contract" that highlights roles, reponsibilities and expected outcomes.
Thanks again,
Jay Hollowell
ED106 Facilitator
I sometimes get a group of students that half are motivated and half are not. I debate whether to mix them together or not. Lately I mix them together but I make sure I make it clear that everyone is to do their part in the group. There is nothing worse than having mooches. I also have the group rate each person in their groups. I have had great success with this. Everyone is showing up on time, working together, and producing the same amount of work.
I find that when I use student groups, they often feel more comfortable stating their opinions. They also seem to learn from other students certain key points during class. I always use several questions to prompt discussions in student groups and not let the time be used for personal discussions.
The most significant outcomes of students learning in groups is that in today's work world, much work is accomplished in teams and it is valuable to have the experience of practicing to work as a team to accomplish a goal. The value of synergy becomes apparent to the group members as they bounce ideas off each other and come up with outcomes none would have thought of by themselves.
The most significant challenges to using student learning groups is that some students would rather work alone and do not like group work.
Teaching methods to ensure groups stays on course and are productive is to give the groups expected outcomes and a guide in which to accomplish the goal. Being available to the groups to answer questions and monitoring progess is important.I prefer to have the groups report back to the large group as to the small group's progess and thoughts related to the topic or outcome expected.
I believe that using learning groups has its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that it promotes peer to peer teaching. Some students may feel intimidated by the instructor and may open up to his peers and become more involved. This is a great help to the instructor as long as he or she continues to monitor the groups to insure that the students stay on task.It may help the instructor reach a few students that he or she was having dificulty reaching previously. One disadvantage is that it may initiate an avenue so that the slower students begin to ride the coattails of the leaders for a passing grade and may not benefit from the course. It can also initiate horseplay if there are a few immature students in the class. It is very important that the instructor stays on task when using learning groups by moving around the room, asking questions, monitoring progress and fully explaining the importance of and grading of the task at hand.
I find that the most significant outcomes tend to involve the quieter students who don't like to participate in thefull classroom setting. The biggest challeneges tend to involve keeping the groups on task. I find that touching base with the groups and requesting progress reports helps to keep them on task and productive.
I have found groups work well if they are checked on frequently. If the groups are left on their own,it seems at least one member does not do what they were asked to.
While I feel that I am very effective at decomposing project tasks for assignment to groups, it is quite different for me in the class environment. To be honest, I am very ineffective at assigning group work in the class room. This module has been the first time that I have seen clear guidance on the topic. I'm anxious (but still a little apprehensive) to use this approach in the class room. While I have abandoned it in the past, seeing it from more of a project perspective gives me a bit of an epiphany.
More to the point of the discussion topic, incremental learning with small group reinforcement would appear to be very effective.
Probably the most significant challenge is to make sure each student in a group pulls his/her own weight. I have them do a peer evaluation at the end of the project--the problem is that it is difficult for them to be candid when critiquing one of their peers. Regarding the teaching method, I give them a complete objective, including task, condition and standards and an outline or checklist that can be used to can stay on task and be productive.
If the task is for the students to produce a product, you must clearify to the group the collective result. You must provide the students with a clear description of what the end product must address.
When I taught creative writing, I divided the class into groups to write a short story. I started with setting and had each member write a
description of a picture I gave them and then
choose one to read to the class. Each session gave them a chance for an individual grade as well as team building. They moved on to charac-ter description and then plot and finally put-
ting it all together for a presentation to the
class. This was a very successful experience for
me and the students were excited,motivated and
truly anxious to do their best for their team.
The biggest problem I have with groups is some of the members of the groups do not participate as much as others. My suggestion to anyone who is thinking about doing group projects/learning is to have a scoring matrix so everyone in the group is graded individually.
I do agree that floating is a great idea- while I do this I encourage them to speak up. Let me know where the group is and where they want to go.
I think one of the most difficult /challenges when dealing with groups is making sure that the group is working effectively . And also staying on task. There is usually alot of grumbling becuase they want to sit back and watch. I do like using this learning strategies- I have found if I can be clear in my directions it does assist in the process.
In my experience the most significant outcome is collaborative learning. The most significant challenge seems to be empowering group members to regulate their group so that one person does not dominate nor another person is non-interactive with the group.
One of the methods I have used is the method of "floating." But I find that as I float through groups and monitor, students will stop talking or will begin asking me questions rather than interacting with the group. Any suggestions?
Establish a great detailed plan, articulate the goals well, coach as needed, and have fun.
The most significant outcomes I have noticed from student learning groups are the sense of accomplishmant and the sense of belonging. Both are big helps with the adult students who didn't feel as acomplished in high school. The biggest challenge I have encountered is getting the shy/insecure students to participate.
I usually check in on the group frequently to keep them on task. I like the idea of providing them with an outline to follow.
Rebecca
