Antisocial Students
How do you encourage students who are introverts to join a study group?
Stephen Dable,
this is a great strategy as it helps you make informed decisions that are in the best interest of the students.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
At the beginning of class I have students do an oral resume'. The resume asks them to answer ten questions. From the answers I get a good idea of skills, likes, and level of social particition with groups. Since I teach general education I get the full diviersity of campus programs. When putting groups together I mix program members with skills(or lack of) from the oral resume. I always make sure each group has a strong tech person in it.
Tina,
this is true as both can come to an understanding of how the different personality type views the world.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I feel that perhaps grouping an introverted student with a rather outgoing extrovert could benefit both students.
brian,
and it sounds like you're also pointing out the idea that sometimes these students need that verification of their strengths & abilities for their own benefit.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Even my most quiet students tend to have strengths that we can readily identify. When this is the case, we explicitly point to those strengths to give them confidence and a little push to assert themselves in the group. they are called on to provide their expertise, or at least interest, which helps get them into the mix. When we have students so quiet that we have no idea who they are as individuals or what they are capable of, we try to give them a task that is easily quantifiable. This way we can assess how they do with tasks that we can measure, plus if they require help, there is usually a methodical way to approach assisting them.
This is a challenging topic for me because I am a very social person. It is so frustrating to see a student sitting alone when the other students are working and discussing the topic together. I try to engage the introverted student by asking them questions that the group may be discussing. Then, hopefully they will see that they are able to contribute information to the group.
I have a student who is typically a little late and the other groups have begun lab already so he ends up working alone. He is also anti-social in class, never working with anyone. I believe he feels there is a bit of a language barrier and that is why he prefers to work alone. What can I do to help him?
ROBIN,
I think you've done a good job of echoing much of what has been shared in this thread already regarding the need to hold students accountable & having them weigh in on the grading for one another. I would say that many of our students will work in teams or groups at some point in their careers so that experience is important & valuable.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I agree that one will NOT always work in a group. I should have phrased that eventually and a good majority of the time you will be part of a working in a group. I understand your point about getting the good grade and not be the one carrying the group and then end up with the short end of the stick. Been there my self. But in the case of this student I have he can use all the help he can. I also came across another student but this one is being selective of whom she can work with.
I myself would like for them to be able to do the work on there own. Particular because when students are out I do not want it to hold others back. The problem is limited resource of equipment, so there is a need to work together in this case. So, there is no choice.
I can speak from an IT background - you do NOT always have to work in a group. In fact, at many of my previous positions, I was the ONLY network administrator there, so I had to be able to work individually.
It's not always that the person is antisocial; that person probably wants a good grade and a lot of times group work does not lend itself well to that. One person ends up doing all of the work and the others just follow along (OR one person doesn't do something that the group really needs done and it throws everyone off.)
Unless the instructor is aware of this and plans for it (in other words, grades students individually even if they worked in a group) then there are probably going to be students that feel that way. I know, because I was one once upon a time. I didn't want to have to "teach the others" how to do everything and let them get the grade that I EARNED. You have to make sure the students realize that individual effort is what is graded.
This is what I do - I make the students grade each other on his/her performance in the group (I do this in secret; I do not reveal the results of the poll I take.) If one student did not pull his/her weight, he/she's not going to get full credit. I got burned so many times by slackers when I was in college, that I know what it's like to have your heart broken when you don't get the grade you should have gotten because of someone else's lack of work ethic.
I do let them know up front and as far as there career I told them right away that they are part of a team and remind them that there is no I in team. That there will be times that they would be individuals they will not want to work with but that there are there to do a job which they are hired to do. It is life and how we deal with it will dictate how successful we will be.
I was hoping if there was some other way to get them to quickly open up. The other problem with the student is that he is very soft spoken. I actually have to approach him and be in front of him to hear him out. You can tell that he is hiding out because he chose the most remote chair in the whole classroom (back corner).
Thanks,
Carlos
Carlos,
part of it may be getting real honest & upfront with the student & pointing out that his/her grade is dependent on working in groups, not to mention future career success.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I have a student who is giving me the problem who does not want to work in groups. Laura's idea is great but my situation is that right away they need to be broken into groups because of limited lab equipment. So, there is no opportunity in breaking him into working in a group. The strangest thing this is IT student in which the majority of time they need to be working in groups.
So, how can one deal with this type of situation when there is no time to slow adjust the individual in?
laura,
this is a good plan as you ease them into the roles & to the interaction rather than just throwing them into the deep end.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I first have them team with 1 or 2 other students to present a powerpoint. this builds confidence and although they remain introverts, they have overcome the initial shyness displayed at the beginning of the course.
