Hi James!
And - ultimately it is the students responsibility to complete assignements and be a team player. If not - there is obviously a consequence - failing grade! If this does occur, it also becomes a learning moment - So what would the consequences be in the workplace?
The old saying goes "we can lead a horse to water, but we can't make him drink"!
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
The biggest challenge that I have faced is getting all of the members to participate equally. I have seen many groups work and work effectively together however there is always at least one student that does not hold up there end. The student with poor attendance sticks the rest of the group with their part of the project.
I have had some pretty bad experiences utilizing groups within my classroom. For instance, if I assign students to particular groups based on their personality types or like backgrounds, it has often been a negative experience for not only myself, but for the students, as well. Sometimes 1 or 2 people will dominate the group by talking so much about their own personal experiences, that the other participants feel left out or that they're "less important" than those students. Another thing I've tried regarding the selection of group members is presenting a small "contest" to the class, & the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd "winners" of the contest get to pick their team/group members. This has turned out to be disasterous at times, since invariably there is always 1 or 2 "less popular" class members who are the last one(s) chosen, then once in the group, they are basically ignored by the others. If there are others out there who have utilized these methods of group selection with POSITIVE outcome, please let me know what I'm doing wrong. Thanks!
One challenge of working with students in groups is organizing the group activity so that the expectations for participation and outcomes are clearly understood.
The biggest challenge I usually have is when a student does not complete his or her tasks in a timely manner. This normally creates hard feelings in a group and can even cause the project to fail. To help overcome this situation, I encourage those who are doing well to maintain their positive attitudes. I also call the slacker(s) aside and give a little reminder of what the project entails and reiterate each person's responsibilities. If that approach fails, I will become increasingly more directive in nature until the person gets the message.
In my situation, my class meets only one night a week. My students are all adults with jobs and families. In one night, it's very hard to cover all the necessary material and still have time for group projects. Asking students to meet during the week outside of class is virtually impossible.
I try to break the delivery of the lesson into four groups:
Lecture
A video or media of some sort (something appropriate)
Small group and class presentation
Hands-on
I find that the group scenario is the most telling of the student's leadership qualities, motivation, ease of public speaking, and the material.
Allowing students to choose their groups is a double edged sword. On the one hand, good students tend to migrate to each other and less motivated students often wind up getting paired by default. This can work to my advantage. The good students are often self motivated and will solve their own problems with very little assistance from me where as the less motivated ones require more of my time allowing me to focus more attention on them.
I am guilty of stepping in too quickly, so I appreciate this account of letting the students do the critical thinking, which I agree is an important skill.
On a more humorous note, I also feel jaded when I've hinted and coaxed students to a valid solution, and then they take credit for it - lol. It's good for them to feel that adulation, and I don't truly begrudge it, but it is funny sometimes when you've been wrestling something from the screwy depths of their minds, and then when they finally have that "ah ha" moment they'll say something like "Oh, well I knew that, but I thought you wanted something different." These are actually fun and playful moments, and all accomplished with levity.
It doesn't really matter how the learning occurs... only that it does!
I agree. Students seem to want everything to be easy. Life is not. Critical thinking is a skill that must be taught and is part of everthing we do as adults. Students need to be guided into thinking critically at school, at work and at home.
Left unmonitored, some groups will lose focus and begin to play. Groups need direction and goals in order to be effective. I think that for myself, I have been too willing to jump in when groups are being ineffective, and I have helped them to solutions, so that I can dissolve the groups and in turn the horseplay, and get back to traditional forms of instruction. I do prefer groups, but I need to make a larger effort to ensure that they don't become lounge time.
one is that some students get so comfortable in their own little group that when you either pick or randomly set a group they don't like another student or refuse to work with them because of previous performance of this particular student.
having to many strong personalities because every one wants to lead or do things their way.
The biggests challenge I faced is the friction between students that do not like one another since they gave me a bit of a hard time initially. Later on they did become better acquainted and although they may not have liked one another, they did prove to be professional and respect each other. I did have to remind them in the beginning that not every boss will be love and a teddy bear. There may be a boss or two with a strong character that may require an employee to maintain their professionalism and respect despite the employer's strong character. Once I related the situation to the work place, students became more relaxed and flexible. The results were rewarding.
It is important to keep the students on task. They seem to discuss other things when they are in groups. It is also important to separate the friends in the groups (mix up).
I also mention that they don't have to like each other or be friends. They simply have to get the work done together.
What do you do about students who refuse to participate in groups and beg to do the project solo?
When students pair up on their own, it's not uncommon that there will be some that don't have partners. Sometimes that ends up making some teams where the students in the group are having difficulty with the project and with each other. Any suggestions?
Getting each student to pull his or her weight. Particularly if said student misses a couple of classes. I give them "This happens inreal life and it's important not to hold a grude> The project is more important than your personal feelings." teachable moment.
Power plays.
Coat tail riders.
Lack of skills in a needed area.
Keeping everyone happy.
Lack of adequate communication.
Lack of clarity of the task at hand.
My big problem is using my brains to come up with ideas of how to us a student group. I come from the OLD COUNTRY where lecture is king. I find it very difficult to branch out and use new forms of instruction - group activities.
How do you take a topic like Medical Terminology and create student groups?
I can use all the help I can get.
Some of the challenges that seem to concern students:
Grading - feel that it isn't always fair as some members don't contribute.
Attendance - some students are absent when they are to present.
Skills - some students are more skilled at the project or subject matter and "take over"
It is a challenge to the teacher to monitor each of these concerns. The makeup of the group is essential to enable the students to be able to discuss the problems with each other. Also the contract the project is developed under needs to have some safeguards built in.
I still think one of the biggest challenges I have encountered centers on two diverse types of students. One is the student who wants to dominate the group. Perhaps that may be an ego problem or it can be the student is afraid the group will not function properly on its own. The other is the student who will not participate or is easily intimidated. What are the best ways to deal with these situations?
