It allows them to interact with one another and to allow them to have a voice.
It does seem that from time to time there are students who are not very motivated and are relying on the rest of the group to do the work...
I have also seen situations where one person wants to dominate the group and is pushing the rest of the individuals out... This is really the inverse problem of the one lazy student...
It is an interesting dynamic having to deal with the overly dominate student - who is convinced they have the one and only way to the solution...
There is a fine line between a leader and a dictator who pushes everyone out and dominates the process...
I have seen both situations professionally in my corporate experience... it is very challenging indeed...
I am a graphic design professional & this is the content that I teach...
It has been my experience (in the design world) that many young-professionals have a hard time compromising... they see their solution/design as the one and only way... they have a tendency to take strong ownership over their work and in many cases are very unwilling to compromise... This can be a very challenging situation to manage...
In a professional-corporate environment it would be very unusual for an employee to be completely isolated and working alone... One of the greatest challenges of any job is the ability of the individual to work with others...
In my experience the best employees are the people hired 90% for their ability to get along and work within a team and then 10% for their skill-set...
Clearly it is important for a designer to have a strong education and work experience in producing creative solutions... but even the most creative individuals need the to have strong interpersonal relationship skills...
Most of our students have probably never had experience working within a team setting... and exposing them to a team project is a great introduction to the "real" working world...
Team work is about the whole being greater than the individual... Team oriented projects in the classroom can be a great first-step...
It seems that no matter how hard I try I can not teach material and not know the material at the same time. Students who collectively search for the same knowledge tend to ask each other the most relevant and germane questions of each other. There have been many times when students attempt to filter my message into a more meaningful student-lite version such that they can comprehend. Although I have to mold the final understanding a great deal of the pre-knowledge tends to be best served by like-experienced colleagues.
I have experienced many positive outcomes of putting students into learning groups such as the following; Students mentoring each other, energy levels sustained in evening courses, enthusiasm and team spirit for each others teams.
One very positive aspect of putting students into learning groups is that they can work on their teamwork skills. My program is one where the students will be part of a team out in the field and the learning groups help them to interact in a positive manner and practice their communication and goal achieving skills in a team effort that is also, at the same time, a safe and controlled environment.
students may feel more comfortable bouncing ideas off each other with no fear of judgement from the instructor
I believe it can enhance their learning by becoming connected with other students. It helps them to work outside of their comfort zone.
Hi Deborah!
Students should definitely know the expected outcomes. I find that rubrics are a very useful tool in outlining specifics.
Good job!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
I have found that by putting students into groups that are more diverse than most student would pick becomes and advantage, most student will pick group of friends they have made while here at school, this maybe ok if all the students learn at the same rate , but we know this is not true ,so a mix of motivated students and somewhat slower and less motivated students tends to create a more tolerent group where everyone learns to work together they all finish the task and feel better about themselves and each other
Students get to learn from others experiences by working with their peers in groups.
Yes, Deborah and often it the students we least expect to be successful. For an instructor, stepping back and allowing this to happen can be difficult.
Good job!
jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Hi Teresa!
These are truly critical learning points for group work.
Good job!
Jane Davis
ED106 facilitator
Exactly it is really exciting to see who become the leaders and the followers in the teams.
When the students are in groups it helps them to get to know their fellow students and open communications. It also helps the students in learning and most important how to talk and interact with others as well as learning how to divide and share the work load.
You are welcome. Of course the dynamics of the group can change the activity from term to term. I have had to modify activities based on the group dynamics.
Thank you Deborah, I appreciate any input, since I have not yet used these groups.
If you have a large group I would make sure and give the students a list of specific tasks. Having multiple student groups can be challenging as an instructor to circulate and answer questions.
I have not used learning groups, but would like to try this next term and see if I can pull up test scores of some of my low scoring students, my class sizes are larger than I would like and I think this could make a difference.
Hi Deborah!
If this has been accomplished, we have truly been successful.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
