Student frustration with other students
I have had classes which lended themselves nicely to small group projects. I find this a great teaching tool but get feedback from students that some members of their gorup provided little input or effort yet were rewarded with a good eval based on the efforts of those that did bust butt. Any suggestions on how to reward the performers in a group project?
Hi Jeanna,
Good strategy for using learning groups. I use them a lot in my classes and find that they really help students in the learning process. I know this information will be of help to other instructors that are thinking about using group learning.
Gary
I have my students work on the group project as well as an individual component. Where I get a fair assessment of everyone's participation is in the presentation of the material. ALL students in the group must participate in the presentaiton of the material. You get a very good assessment because those that put forth the effort stand out during the presentation.
As for anyone with fear of presentation, you can still fire off a few oral questions to them and see how knowledgable they are on the whole topic.
Hi Nathan,
I would find some examples of success stories about individuals with such degrees and use them to illustrate how the degree will benefit the individual with it. Also, I would talk to the students doing the complaining and see if maybe they are in the wrong field and need counseling in making a career choice that better fits their needs.
Gary
I've had a couple of students that have complaints about other students devaluing the degree that they themselves are earning, how would you recommend dealing with this subject?
I have never tried this but I will now. I facilitate a lab with many group activities. This should get some interesting results.
I agree. If students know that they will be graded individually while working as a part of the group, I have found that they are willing to put forth more effort.
Hi Dale,
This is an unfortunate for both the student and the class. It is always sad when a student is lost but their lack of effort and progress cannot be allowed to derail the course. It comes to the point where that student needs to be removed from the course, which in this case he did by not attending so you can move the other students forward with their learning. They need to receive the instruction they are entitled to.
Gary
I had a student recently that had learning disabilities and maturity issues that impacted our classroom. Other students would try in lab to help him along. I arranged private tutoring, but the student never showed up. He did not show up on test days. He held back the group as a whole and the group was discouraged that they lost a member of their class.
Isn't this the general problem of group work....the slackers always get away with sitting back while everyone else does the work!
In the larger, more comprehensive projects I do in my classes, I generally require a group outline that specifically addresses what each indivdual will be responsible for. This way, you can have some lead and direct the group but the work is divided among the group.
I also encourage groups to share progress/questions with me during the process so that I can be proactive with a student who is not putting forth a good effort.
For example, I had a student who was not reponding to their group emails/calls. When I called to find out what was going on she got right on the ball. Eventually she just didn't show up for her group presentation and dropped out of the class. However, I think it's a good practice to stay in touch with students who may be falling behind or not contributing.
Good luck!
The combination of dividing up assignments so that the instructor knows which student is ultimately responsible for which work, together with peer review would seem to be ideal. Everyone has experienced, either as an instructor or a student, what can happen in a group where one or two students is more motivated than the rest of the group. They carry the bulk of the work, and sometimes students don't want to "out" a friend or classmate who didn't carry their weight. The combination ensures credit both for individual good work and group accountability.
Joseph,
I have divided group projects into various sections and the students each "choose" a section to complete. All of the sections brought together form a completed project. This also provides me the ability to grade each person according to their ability.
Cathy Anthofer
Peer evaluations sounds like a good suggestion. This will also help prepare your students for the "real" world. I have worked for a few engineering companies and peer reviews were used. Of course there is no perfect way to evaluate anyone but until a new method is introduced, try the peer reviews.
Hi Joseph,
I am used peer evaluations in many different settings and they have worked well. How I manage them is to give the students evaluation sheets for the presentations, projects or whatever I am having them evaluate. By giving them evaluation sheets I direct the students in terms of what they are to be grading their peers on. I generally use a numerical base for each item I have them give feedback on. I don't have the students put their names on the evaluations. I compile the results and give them to the students. This way no one knows who gave what scores on their efforts.
Gary
Gary,
have you ever tried peer evaluations with your students? The army does in in some of their course e.g. Ranger school, but I have never seen it done in the classroom. I'm curious to see if its been tried, how successful it was and the associated pitfalls. Thaks
Hi Joseph,
This is not uncommon. Some group members let others do the heavy lifting for the group. I assign individual projects within each group so each student has to do specific activities that contribute to the total success of the group. This way I can grade the students individually and reward those that are carrying their weight.
Gary
