I agree, Bruce. I also find this situation in the setting where I teach. My observation is that these students seek out one another for support, yet they would benefit more from seeking to interact with other students who may be able to provide the information to them from a different perspective. Your idea of choosing a more knowledgeable group leader is a good solution to this potential problem.
I agree, Bruce. I also find this situation in the setting where I teach. My observation is that these students seek out one another for support, yet they would benefit more from seeking to interact with other students who may be able to provide the information to them from a different perspective. Your idea of choosing a more knowledgeable group leader is a good solution to this potential problem.
A major challenge of group activities is keeping the students "on course" without interfering excessively. Frequently, students will digress into a discussion of personal matters when working in a group. I have found that creating groups with age differences (mature vs recent secondary school graduate) in the mix helps to keep the discussion/work on track.
Believe it or not the students have a problem working in groups when they can't pick who they want to work with. If they don't like who I pick for them to work with, they will roll their eyes and make comments. I think at this level of maturity students should be more flexable.
Bruce,
this is a great reminder of some of the things we need to be aware of as we are forming or allowing the students to form the work groups.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I find sometimes that the students that struggle with the material tend to gravitate towards eachother. I as an instructor need to be able to read the students and guide them in the structuring of the group members. Some times I choose a group leader and they are the more knowledgable ones on the subject.
Brittany,
it can definitely be a challenge and I really like the idea of assigning groups as it definitely reflects what they will experience in the work environment.
Dr. Ryan Meers
If the students don't have the choice of whose in their group, getting along with others can be a challenge. Also, sometimes one student may contribute more and do more work than another student. If students do have the choice of whose in their group then they may not be as likely to get their work done because they'll be talking to their friends.
Beth,
I agree that when possible we should try to mix up the generations in the groups for the very reasons you state here.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Elizabeth ,
I try to have very objective grading criteria for the groups & the subjective part of the grade is based on the individual contributions. I make a judgement on this & also ask the fellow group members to assign a grade (per a rubric) for each group member. Then the students can see the group total & their final grade based on their contribution.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Phil,
this is a very unfortunate situation that all of us can learn from. Instructors must be aware of these students & the effect they have on the rest of the group & their grades. To me it is a lack of professionalism to allow this behavior to happen or at least continue & impact grades once it is brought to the attention of the instructor.
Dr. Ryan Meers
This is the sam reaon my daughter quit the collage she was attending. In her group she always had one person with alot of excussis of why the work wasn't done. She got tired of having to do the work of 2 just so she could get the grade she deserved. I can see why as a teacher you recamend groups but I also see the students point of view.
Teaching in a career school with differing student ages and experiences is always a challenge. When assigning groups for a class project, I always find it helpful to mix the ages of the group members. The older students tend to mentor the younger students, and it really helps "break the ice" between the older groups of students and the younger groups.
Thank you Thomas. I appreciated much of your analysis of teaching with use of groups. I see it from two points of view . . . As an instructor and as a student. I believe you have covered the instructor point of view quite well.
As a student in a private university, I was placed into a cohort currently in session. I didn't have choice of team members when placed into small group learning process. We attended class one night per week, in 5 week sessions. Some of my group worked quite well, contributing measurably to our projects, while others failed to add to our collective work output. Our grades depended on all members doing a sufficient job. At time for presentations, one member consistently had minimal contribution, or had erroneous information, often falsifying data, which was glaringly obvious. We working members were not allowed to bail from the grade-lowering effect of the bum in the group.
I am now going to a different university.
I think one of the biggest challenges of having students work in a group is assigning a group grade that all the students are satisfied with. The majority of the time there isn't an issue, but there always tends to be one group where not every person contributes equally and all group memebers aren't satisfied with the group grade.
My current teaching setting doesn't allow group work outside of class time - that limits group activities to those that can be completed in a modest amount of time as we typically meet one to two days a week. I've just started teaching in this setting, so for the present I've restricted group work to shared exercises and discussions as our curriculum objectives are strict and time is limited. I'm considering adapting the schedule a bit in future to carve out a full period for case study work or fishbowl discussion exercise (I do have discretion regarding individual class activities as long as the objectives are met). My learners are in the health care setting, and effective group learning would be of benefit.
Spring,
yes & the leadership challenges have variety as sometimes it's a situation where the students won't take leadership or another where one student is taking too much leadership.
Dr. Ryan Meers
It has been my own experiance that challanges include; technology challanges, leadership challanges as well as some students who choose to not participate at all.
Sondra,
this is true. I like to make sure that I have a thorough list of questions for them to discuss.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Monica,
these challenges are definitely present, but the case studies are a great way to engage the critical thinking if you can & to promote good discussion.
Dr. Ryan Meers
