I bvelive when having group projects can be challenging for students because there are often a few in the group that emerge as leaders or have to many leaders. In addition, some members of the group may wait until the last minute not putting in as much effort into the project , causing frustration amongst other group members.
Jesse,
You make a huge point here that I want to reemphasize. When we decide to have group projects as part of our course work, we must make sure that we are using them because the content is best suited by them, not just to have group projects.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Abigail,
I wonder if you could break them in on smaller projects that wouldn't have as much impact on other students? This way you can give them some good feedback & work them into the more challenging assignments?
Dr. Ryan Meers
Therese,
I think you make a great point here that we need to be watching for in our classrooms. We often look at the danger of social groups, but as you said what about those students who have developed an unhealthy reliance upon another. Great job in noticing this & breaking them up.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Carmencita,
Definitely a challenge, yet by working as a whole group on each project you still have an opportunity for learning. This will be more like the real work environment for many of the students.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I am in an interesting position as being both an instructor and in school myself. And issues in my schooling have helped me identify problems to avoid in my teaching. One major area of issue is group projects. If group projects are not appropriate to the rest of the learning objectives for the course, they can serve as a major source of frustration and be viewed as such by students because they will spend more time trying to focus on finishing the project then the content that is contained within it.
For me the challenge is to find an appropriate group project in my anatomy and physiology classes. I have tried to give them small topic presentations but the quality of the information presented is so poor as to require significant remediation lest other students be totally misled about the actual facts. I want them to participate, to have ownership of their own learning, to become lifelong learners. But I am tragically unable to convey this as yet.
Often there are students in the course that have developed a close friendship (or perhaps a reliance) on a fellow student as a result of common course schedules. These students display displeasure when they are not permitted to work together. I have had to explain that they need the experience of working with others -- and not limit themselves. Breaking this type of reliance is a challenge.
a group of 4 students... in the whole class.
Kami,
This is definitely a challenge. I realize this isn't the "answer" but reminding your students that in their work places they don't generally have the "luxury" of picking their own teams, so this really is a picture of real life.
Dr. Ryan Meers
That the students do not get along. I place my students in groups based on a random draw, and I think the students get upset when they are not placed with their "friends". When I allow them to pick their own groups, I get too much talking and not enough action.
Jae,
Yes, I am a big fan of asking the students to grade one another in regard to group projects. I think this heightens the accountability & also I cannot be with each group the entire time, so they can be my eyes & ears. I have found that the vast majority of the time, the students are very honest in their feedback on their peers & generally grade pretty diligently.
Ryan
Dr. Ryan Meers
Group projects can be challenging for students because there are often a few in the group that emerge as leaders, several who do the bare minimum and occassionally one person who makes little or no contribution. In addition, some members of the group may wait until the last minute...perhaps the day before or day of the project, causing frustration amongst other group members. One way of resolving this is to have the students anonymously grade themselves and the members of their group in the areas of contribution, participation and cooperation with supporting comments. The instructor can use this feedback in conjunction with other grading rubrics.
Yes, any time we can create groups like this where we ensure that every member has a job to do, they are even more successful.
Ryan
Groups or No groups Hmmmmm.
When the setting is guided with good participation Groups are a powerful tool and unmatched in the dynamic learning curve. We have had the typical group where one student tries to loaf around but that can be addressed with the proper supervison and direction. With our hands on approach in pastry I think the best solution is the 3 person group. Each student has a task to do within the production process. One is to mix the others are to guide the fellow student with care using notes, text and experience to complete the task. This allows for the hands on skills along with the verbal skills necesary to become succesful.
Coleen-
I agree that there are challenges involved with working in groups, both for the students and the instructor. The biggest problem I found in a class last quarter was poor attendance by some of the group members. Despite extensive prep about personal accountability, some students were content to let others carry the load. Personal pride in the success of the project and individual grades were very motivating for some students and not so motivating for others.
Yes, for me personally I like the 3-4 group number. I think that gives good interaction & a quality project.
Ryan
I agree.. I have started asking students to limit the number of students in groups for projects to three students, I have noticed more enter action when the groups are smaller.
The biggest challenge of having students work in groups is making sure all student participate, often one student will take charge and others will sit back with limited participation.
Some of the challenges are student not getting along and some students not doing any work at all while everyone else does.
