Group project doesn't always work well
Hello all,
From my past experience as a student as well as an instructor, I have seen, when it comes to group project, contribution from each member is not often equal. There is always one who wants to get a free ride on others' work. But as the topic mentioned, by grading individually can help identify the non-productive member of the group and be awarded points accordingly.
I agree Totally, you have the hard working students doing all the work, because they don't want a bad grade, and then you have the slackers who still slack don't produce the work or assignment they should have. The harder working students tend to just do the work for them. Hence they all receive a good grade. This is really not fair. Having groups just for discussion or in class work is fine, but projects not fair.
Hi Sherry!
You can read additional post in "The Lounge". There is a place in there where you can click on the course in which you are enrolled. You can blog there as well.
But in the meantime - I agree group work is a challenge for both student and instructor. It becomes just something that has to be done to get the grade.
A concern that I have is that we aren't making it clear why group projects are so important and how they tie to the work environment. We give every instruction possible about the project itself but not why we do it!
What do you think about my comments?
Thanks and keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Where could I read the earlier post? I have my students anonymously grade each other on the project, but they consistently give each other the highest grades possible.
I agree! I have been in situations that I have had to work closely with an office manager that took credit for all of the office training manuals that I created and she always got rewarded for it. But, once I left the office to pursue other things the owner of the business emailed me and asked me why the Manager couldn't fulfill any of the tasks she was asked to do when she was supposedly doing it before.
At the office I am at now I manage 3 different departments and when we have projects I have each individual submit to me an outline of their thoughts and ideas then they all compile their ideas into 1 big project for their department.
Hi Kelly!
I agree that group work is a challenge and doesn't always provide the expected outcomes. In an earlier post, I stressing the importance of providing the steps in process along with some explanation. My hopes are that students realize that it not just about the informational assignment but how the process works as well.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
I agree that group project often do not work well because some students do not do their fair share of the work. However, in the work world I have been assigned to many group projects. In the work world they went about as well as group projects for students. The person who did the most work received the least amount of credit. We are preparing our students for the work world. They need to understand that this can also happen when they get a job.
I was once told by a student that her instructor had the students grade each other based on their view of the other group members efforts and work. The group was given a grade for their completed project by the instuctor and each person was given a grade based of the average their fellow students gave them for their evaluation.
