Students progress is evaluated several times during the course to determine that they are on track with the project and also to ensure that all are participating. I have taken one large project and broke it down into several smaller units to make more manageable for students as well as less overwhelming.
I employ a rubric of daily goals that the students can check-off as they accomplish. Additionally, I move around and engage the students in focused questions reguarding the assignment.
I feel that in order to keep student groups on course you must help them set positive goals for each group. For some of my students in order for them to remain on course in the group, we have to have a cell-phone basket. This basket holds everyone's phones and only when the group is completely done with their items will the phones be returned. I even put mine in too. It really makes the group stay focused.
WONDERFUL James!
When people know what to expect and what accountability they have, their outcomes will just naturally be better.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Hi Penelope!
Discussion Board - sounds interesting. Would you please give us a little more info on how you use this in your classroom?
Thanks and keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Utilize a discussion board format so the entire group and instructor can be kept abreast of the evolution of the project.
good idea along with creating compitition between the groups.
It's important to assign different roles within the group so that each person has an assigned task they are to complete. It's also a good idea to allow peer evaluation have some weight on the final outcome. If a majority says one member was refusing to work cooperatively with the group, that might have an effect on the way the group is evaluated.
Hi Amanda!
I like this approach. Instructors must be clear on their expectations and consistently encourage students to stay on track. But they must know what to expect and what their outcomes should be.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
When teaching in student groups, a clear guideline of tasks and due dates will help manage productivity. Review this guidline at every meeting, and encourage students to work together and brainstorm to accomplish anything that seems difficult or challenging.
I like the idea of creating a timeline or task list. I like student group work to be organic and student driven but sometimes they get overwhelmed and unsure about what is expected in order to carry out the task. I think having them delegate tasks and submit a proposal/ timeline would help to resolve some of the challenges they face in a group setting.
Timelines and ground rules. Ground rules are a must to have. The short turnaround time groups have to get their project completed make it critical for everyone to stay on task and to be productive.
Having a leader to guide the group may help.
Communication is critical to the group, everyone needs to hear the same thing at the same time.
Splitting responsibilities helps divide the tasks among group individuals. Assigning time lines to complete tasks helps them know when progress is expected. Through monitoring group activity progress or lack of progress can be detected. Finally, identifying a group leader can be of great assistance in understanding the groups chance for potential success or lack of success. Progressive monitoring by the instructor is crucial to keep group on task.
Well defined guidelines and monitoring.
so far most of my assigned group activities have been short and focused--they need to present during of the class period. For instance the class runs 1 1/2 hours, there are 20 people in the class. I construct 4 groups of 5 students. They have 30 minutes to complete the assignment and then each group has 10 minutes to present. Since my class is one of the first in their program my plan is to make the activities simple at first and gradually increase the complexity. I will make sure that even with increased complexity that the activity can still be completed in the time allotted.
I give the student groups a rubric to tell them how they will be graded including the student to student peer group survey when completing a group activity that will be graded. This ensures that each member knows that they are accountable. They also know upfront that their peers in the group will be grading them as well as the instructor. In addition, I assign a question to each member of the group that they have to report to me about their topic. The question also facilitates further discussion with their group members.
Yes, I mix up my groups so the same people are not always together. This makes the class much more interesting.
This is what I have been doing also. They had their own clicks. I randomly assign numbers for them; that I have prearranged to break up the groups and they have to work with others.
Present the group activity to the students in a way that they understand the process and the importance of the exercise.
My organization has developed practical exercises for the students to complete to reinforce our instruction. During the practical exercises, each group has a set of clearly defined tasks that must be accomplished. The instructors help guide and mentor the students during the practical exercises and evaluate the students as they are assigned different roles within the group. This allows the students to participate in a realistic situation, allows the instructors to determine if each student comprehends the concepts taught in the classroom, and aids the instructor to keep the groups focused on the task to be accomplished.
