TeachTalk 5: Does Group Work Work for You?
Putting students in groups to work on discussion questions, problems or case studies can re-invigorate students, engage them in learning, and make a dramatic impact on their retention of the material. OR it can be an unmitigated disaster, where students engage in lively discussions about their social lives and other classes, or sit sullenly, leafing through the text and mumbling "I don't know" to each other.
What are your "tried and true" methods for making group work a valuable classroom experience? What are your frustrations with group work? Do you need ideas for making group work work for you?
Share your ideas, questions and concerns with your colleagues by replying to this email. I will, as usual, collect the replies and distribute them. Let me know if you wish your comments to be unattributed.
Here's to a successful semester!
A question about making group work effective was submitted by one of our colleagues:
Frankly, I could use some guidance from others on this topic. When I do it, I feel like half the time, only one or two people in each group do all the work, and also the rest of the class doesn't really tune in when each group is reporting back. I'd love to know what techniques other people use.
Share your wisdom, tips, tricks and/or techniques with our colleague in need by replying to this email. I'll be glad to keep your comments unattributed if you so desire.
Lara
From Tom Moyer, Chemistry:
One thing I have done which helps with this is to include as part of their grade an intra-group evaluation of each other. Often simply knowing that the others in the group are going to get to grade their performance/participation in the project can spur the slackers into pitching in. Doesn’t always work, but helps.
From Christine Puckett, Principal, Berry Elementary and Middle Schools:
Not that I'm any kind of expert on the subject, but I have found that when each person in the group is assigned a job, it goes a little smoother (ex: secretary or recorder, presenter, researcher, whatever). Also, three to four make a good group. Any above the usually leave dead weight.
And now I'll add my two cents:
I use group work all the time. In my composition classes I use groups to help generate productive discussions and to do some preliminary peer review of drafts. In my literature classes, both general education and upper division, I create "reading groups" of 6 or so students (in larger classes) or 3-4 (no smaller) for smaller classes. The reading groups meet during some part of every class meeting, although I'll assign different kinds of tasks: sometimes they generate 3 discussion questions about the reading, sometimes I provide discussion questions and they come up with answers, sometimes they will write, as a group, an explication of a poem they have read, sometimes they will do "translations" of texts into "modern" English, etc.
I've found over time that there are three keys to making groups effective:
1. The group must have a task. The task should be specific and should be something they have to write down. Every member of the group should get a copy of the task assignment.
2. The group must be accountable for their task. They should know from the beginning that they will either have 1) turn in their work with their names on it or 2) report back to the whole class for evaluation and discussion.
3. The groups should (ideally) be constructed by the instructor to balance the membership. I usually think about gender, major, personality and skill when I construct groups.
Also, ideally I have found that keeping the same people in groups for a period of time (say, four weeks) works well to build community in the class, and then changing the groups around helps give students a sense of variety, re-engergizes the discussions, and also allows students to "escape" a "bad" group.
Looking forward to hearing your ideas!
Lara
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