Claudia,
I think you make a good point here. We need to make sure that our group projects really are that & not individual projects that we have assigned to a group. This tends to help spread the work.
Dr. Ryan Meers
In my experience, students are often resistant to working in groups because they have had experiences where not everyone in the group did as much work as they should have. So, I think the most important challenge for me, is to structure the project or what they are to work on in such a way that each member of the group has a clear understanding of what he or she must do. I also usually make sure they understand that they will be graded individually, not as a group.
Keeping students on task and avoiding social hour
Kelly,
I do give my students rubrics & actually walk them through the rubric. I try to point out how the rubrics will be totaled so they aren't just going with "gut" but thinking about how they translate into a grade.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Yes, it seems like just about every time i divide a class into groups no matter how I divide them there are some students that always try to do minimum ar just slide by.
Have an assigned student to lead the challenge. Have another prepared to present the information if necessary. Give each member some sort of task to complete, letting each member contribute to the group effort.
I like the stradegy you have shared. I do like the idea of the students evaluating themselves, as well as anonymously each other too, although I have never done so thus far. Do you give them a rubrics to follow as well as using one for your share of the grading? I am a hugh fan of rubrics!!
Absolutely, Karen. I have never thought of the switching leaders ideas. I love it...it gives each individual a safe environment to learn more about themselves while still staying focused on the objective tasks at hand. The only group activities I have ever ventured to were role playing and integrating objectives into the jeopardy style game that I have teams instead of individual players, but each player of the team must take turns to answer, although they can consult with each other first in 45 second intervals. I definately need to expand this, so any ideas of how to incorporate a 6 week anatomy or medical terminology class into some group activities would be much appreciated from anyone. Thanks for your valuable insight also, Karen.
Wow, great insight. I love how take care of the "pushback". Not only are the objectives being practice and interactive learning taking place, it serves practice those all essential soft skills within work setting dynamics. Fabulous...now I just need to figure out some captivating group assignments. Any suggestions from anyone for a very fast paced, 5 week anatomy class and/or medical terminology class?
Nicole,
this is definitely a challenge. The only thing I can really suggest is to force them since you are the classroom instructor & use this position to get them to do it.
Dr. Ryan Meers
The biggest challenge I have with students working in groups are the loafers. It seems that now matter how I form the groups, unless I assign specific roles for each member of the group, one or two students do the bulk of the work. Usually, the conscientious students will work diligently, with the other students in the group riding on their coattails.
One of the biggest challenges - classically, is when students feel that they are paired with a "slacker" I get this complain for than anything.
It seems in every group there is a leader or someone that takes over. The work has to get done so, it is good to have someone take the lead. However sometimes people goof off because they feel the leader can do all the work. Also, sometimes the students don't work well in groups.
Diversity and varying levels of intellect and comprehension, but this can be the very glue that defines the importance of team. Drawing out the the quiet and calming the most vociferous of students
I think the biggest challenges is the good old fashion ones. The student that tries to get by with the minimal amount of work, students in the group relying on the "smart" on to get the work done, and falling off task and getting nothing done. I often check in between sessions to see who is doing what and how far their progress is coming along. If they know I am watching, they tend to stay on task and participate.
The biggest challenge I find is creating different groups. Whether I try counting methods or telling students which groups they are in, they always refuse and stay in the groups they are comfortable working in. Do you have any suggestions as to how to create different groups?
Having students who have personal conflicts of some sort in the same group can be a real challenge to the group. This experience would definitely benefit them in learning to work/tolerate difficult coworkers later in their career.
Kay,
thank you for your comments here. I think this helps illustrate why using student groups are important. These really are skills they will use in the workplace.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I am new to teaching but I have had several employee groups working on various projects. I found out rather quickly that I needed to meet with the leader re: issues of keeping on task, what to do about sidebars, and making sure everyone contributes. Setting Norms helped this-by listing what we all agreed to and then always refer back to norms when needed. Norms are usually the same for every team and they can be set rather quickly.
Thank you for this discussion.
Karen,
great application of the ideas. I especially like your idea about getting a boss who probably isn't qualified for that job. Definitely true to life!
Dr. Ryan Meers
