A lot of people seem to be discussing the problem of grading group work. I agree that this can be a challenge. No matter where students work, they will have to participate in a group. They need to learn how to become effective group members, and being evaluated on a skill is part of learning that skill. I only use one group project for a formal grade in my class, but I think this project teaches students important skills.
I tell students before I grade them that part of their grade is based on individual performance, evaluated by both myself and their fellow group members, and part of it is based on the overall effectiveness as a group. When students tell me, "But what if so-and-so doesn't do anything. Do they still get the same grade for the group part as me," I say, "Yes." When they enter the career world, it will often be if the group succeeds, the group is rewarded; if the group fails, the group is punished. Now, their individual score will reflect the level of contribution for each member, and since I can't observe everything, I let each student evaluate the members of their group, adding these evaluations to my own. For me, it's what I've found to be the best way to satisfy both issues--a grade for group projects, and a level of "fairness" where students are rewarded for work they contribute.
I have found that it is hard to disperse the work evenly. Students will complain that one or more group members did not contribute to the group! Any suggestions would be appreciated on how to handle this challenge.
Some challenges for me have been personalities and individual work ethic. Some group members are more on task than others, and sometimes attitudes toward class and toward classwork vary widely, sometimes to the point of negative impact on the group. There are students who do not want to work in groups because of these two challenges alone.
As an instructor, my job is to promote the value of group activity and relate those activities to the real world, on the job challenges that will arise once the student starts working in his or her field of endeavor. By presenting the group activity and addressing challenges this way, I have found my students to be more amenable to working together; with attitudes and work styles changing for the positive.
I agree that student personalities do not always mesh together in a group dynamic. I also agree that working in a group is a way to enlighten a student as to the dynamic of working for an employer, and with co-workers.
I believe that student need to learn that it is not all about the me, me, me or I, I attitude. I try and stress that we do not even get along with our loved ones all of the time--but we need to work on getting along to succeed. If a person can not and will not get along or work well with their co-workers--they will not remain employed.
I enjoyed reading the posts and learning from them...
Hi Steve!
The synergy created by this approach is important to the structure of any team. That's that reason I'm not crazy about classroom group work - the team doesn't have the appropriate amount of time to gel!
Good job!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
The major challenge is ensuring that all students participate within the group. It is important to set ground rules, and the different roles or assignments so that dominant students do not overtake the group. In larger classes it requires much greater effort to make certain that the participatory needs of all students are met.
Hi Michael!
You are absulitely correct! Balancing the efforts of any group activity can be a challenge. I always found that group work in an academic environment is more of a challenge than in the work environmnet. My concerns for lack of success is that students don't really understand why group work and how group work is suppose to progress. Define the stages of groups (forming, storming, norming, performing, disbanding), give the assignment and see where it goes from there.
I had the good fortune to be part of a work culture that used Deming's Total Quality Management/Leadership. The steps were followed very carefully and the groups were able to have successful outcomes.
Keep up the good work!
jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
In our school, students are part of a cohort. And I teach the first term. So getting them to think like a team is very important.
Often, the diversity of a group and the dynamic of the individual personalities create challenges for the participants. I often find there is a great deal of objection from students at first about the group, but then find they settle in and overcome the issues they once seem to have.
Hi Heather!
I find that group work is a challenge no matter what because of the diversity of the groups. BUT - that is also what makes the group so interesting.
Good job!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Balancing the efforts of the group, the leaders doing too much, the followers doing too little.The assesment of the individual as part of the group can be a challenge.
The biggest challenge of using groups is that there is always one person in every class that does not do what they are supposed to do. I have found that when I give individual grades rather than a group grade this seems to help with this issue. I have also found that students feel better about the project and put more effort in when they realize that the grades are individual.
Grading the performance of all group memebers: To be sure the grading is equitable, I give the group 100 points and ask each group member to privately distribute the points to themselves and the others.
I am in total agreement, students seeking to enter into a new field need to acquire the skills of working well with others, in order to accomplish the assigned tasks or goals.
My problem is that the groups I formed have projects to complete and there are students who are sick/absent/unfocused and they are not getting anything done.
I am going to have to have the working students reassign tasks and get the work done for the absent students.
Greetings!
So - LeeAnn - what have you done to reduce personality conflicts and to help encourage the weaker group member?
Good job!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Personality conflicts are most often a challenge for the group. Also, the strong students vs. weaker students tends to be a bit of a down fall.
often times students in groups tend to push the work to a few students and the others try to ride their coattails. imo, only certain subjects lend themselves to group projects. learning excel or bookkeeping is not a group activity.
Often I find the biggest challenge is ensuring that each group member participates equally, to that end I encourage all members of the group to fill out and evaluation and assesment of eachothers work, effort, and participation. By doing this I find that I am able to keep the group as a whole in perspective and to understand which students need more assistance and or motivation.
Some of the challenges of having student groups are the following:
1. Time consuming - get off task and focus
2. Lack of teamwork - hate each other
3. Immaturity - no group leader, no work ethic
4. Complaints about grading - who did or did not work
5. Some students just don't want to be in a group
However, with careful planning and explanation, using the student groups is often successful. Students need precise directions, clear roles, and fair grading policies. Many have had awful experiences in the past dealing with group work, but they are willing to try again.
