Commonly I have found students on both ends of the spectrum. Some are so leadership inclined that they become bossy over the rest, telling them how to do their part,or rather criticizing their efforts. Others are so sympathetic to the other's short comings that they help by masking and substituting the work. All in all resulting in partial participation and fulfillment. We even discovered that classmates were hiding the fact that one student had no idea how to monitor (or count)a patient's vitals until the doctor was one on one with the student and a live surgery patient.
I agree with many of the comments so far especially those regarding having all members contribute equally. As Vince Lombardi said, "Individual commitment to a group effort is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work." It is important to create a group assignment where each group member's efforts are required for the group's success. And group dynamics can be a problem if the groups are selected purely at random. Each member's role should be unique rather than competitive. Yet, I also understand that each should receive an individual grade, which is in itself competitive in nature. Also there can be a struggle with the balance between accomplishing the group task and actually learning from it to meet the goals and objectives of the class. These issues can definitely be challenging.
William,
this is an ongoing challenge. One potential solution is to add a peer grading mechanism to the whole process.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Christopher ,
I agree & we want to make sure that while the stronger students are helping the weaker, that they make sure the weaker students are still participating.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I have experienced the "stronger students" helping the weaker a couple of times, especially in the Laboratory enviroment. It takes some extra monitoring of the individuals and sometimes a conferince or two with the group as individuals or the group as a whole. It seems, so far, that the stronger students find their classroom and laboratory experiences very rewarding...
The challenges I face in regards to group work is how to effectively grade them. It always seems that certain students take more ownership of the project then others, which makes it difficult to give all students the same grade.
anthony,
and along with this help the students see the benefits of the diversity in the groups & use that to their advantage.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
When students work in groups, the diversity of personalities can cause problems. Some students will take charge and not allow others to talk or engage. It is important to move through groups, monitor them, and engage when necessary.
Marie,
and groups can help the students learn these various skills that they need to be successful in the work place.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Brenda,
you are right that we must constantly monitor the groups & what they are doing. It is vitally important that we help them stay on task.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I have recently used student groups with my large class to ensure that all the students are engaged in the course. Groups seem to be effective but they need constant monitoring.
Interesting, you let all the students play to their strengths. I found out recently, I had a student who had never made the slides for a power point presentation. When I asked her how she made it this far without making a power point she said it was always someone elses thing. Needless to say I was also teaching how to make power point slides.
The biggest challenge of using students groups would be for all students in the group to contribute and share responsibilities for the project given. Many times a few students will do most of the work and some will not do anything.To prevent this, tasks could be assigned to each student.
Ledio,
you bring up a good point here. We cannot fix this problem 100% & we shouldn't stress ourselves if we can't. These groups are helpful to the students & we have to help them see that.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Some challenges are culture, diversity, background, ability level, gender, age, etc.
Knowing the level of students, I mix groups. This does backfire because weaker students do not produce work or don't participate. However, I have fixed that (not 100%) by letting them know from the beginning that at the end of the group assignment everyone will fill out a survey about their teammates' participation in that project.
Eric,
these are definitely some of the challenges of using groups. You are right that groups should never exceed 6-8. I like to form the groups even over the protests as it helps split up groups.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
It can be a challenge to ensure that students are sharing their work evenly. Often times one strong leader can take over, or a quiet student can feel left out. Group sizes should not exceed 6 or 8, and it's important to try to maintain diversity in groups. Sometimes students may want to form their own groups and feel snubbed if you don't let them.
Camille,
and I would encourage thinking about having the groups decide who should be which role. This way they can get a feel for the strengths & abilities of the whole group & playing to those strengths.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I have noticed and been part of this. Assigning each member a task will allow the group effort to be more equal
