Working in groups
Besides the participation of group members on projects I believe that group work develops a teamwork principle in the students that they will use in the workplace.
Arranging for a group study or project is a perfect scenario of the real world. The profession that we teach often calls for engagement of others, even some you will not mesh well with. The exposure of dealing with all kinds of people is a very important learning skill.
Mignonne,
and this is a great reflection of the type of groups they will have in their work environments as they don't get to pick their coworkers.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I find that selecting random groups, will get the students to work with others with whom they don't normally interact. This facilitates students to be be inolved with others in a team and thus work together to achieve a mutual objective.
Josiah,
this is a great point. Along with this it helps the students learn to articulate their opinions & views & listen respectfully to the views/opinions of others.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Not only does this help develop teamwork, but it also allows people to become their own voice. They become comfortable with talking to different people while being put in different positions.
I enjoy arranging group work. They get involved and work together as a team. I recently hand pick my groups and they worked well together, the work was very challenging, so they had no time to argue and everyone in the group had a specific assignment.
Yes teamwork, and group think are supreme.Also, the modicum of the work environment
,This helps students relate to the survey of great minds in making best decisions or determining best practices.
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Yes,class size is a factor in group size.Often with certain subjects or topics gender ,age and nationality play a part in self selection.Most groups if left to self selection will be naturally homogenous.
I agree that working in diverse groups helps students engage in a team type workplace. Many students will group up with friends and there are quiet students that get left out and feel as though they are not part of the class or team. So, by mixing up the groups and organizing diverse teams the students have to work with new people and their ideas and this allows them to learn about the other student's experiences and knowledge.
I find mixing the teams up can help keep the groups fresh and get people out of their comfort zone.
The field that I am teaching is often done by groups. Breaking the class into groups to work on projects helps them explore roles that they will find themselves in when they get into the workplace.
I agree. Even working alone at a workplace still provides teamwork to other work areas.
