Student Group Work: Collaboration or

Catastrophe?

Michelle TothFeinberg Library

SUNY Plattsburghtothmm@plattsburgh.edu

What was your experience with group

work in college?

What are the down sides of group work?

Why Group Work Sucks

• Free-riders, loafers• Hoarders• Too time consuming• Difficult to schedule time out of class

Why Group Work Sucks

• It is inefficient • Different expectations for the

work/assignment• Don’t know how to work in groups• Anxiety about grades• Lacks fairness and accountability

So why would you want to use group work?

Benefits of Group WorkOutside reasons:– Develops skills that can be used outside

of school

– Employers value it

– Accreditation agencies require it

Benefits of Group WorkStudents (interpersonal):– Social interaction, get to know others– Social support for at-risk students– Communication, dialog skills– Learn to collaborate–Work on negotiation, compromise and

conflict resolution

Benefits of Group WorkStudents (learning):– Exposed to diverse

viewpoints/perspectives–More/better ideas and solutions to

problems– Greater meta-cognition of learning–Higher order learning: analysis,

application– Project management, problem solving

Benefits of Group WorkTeaching/Learning process:– Active learning– Students more engaged, on task– Improved learning outcomes, applying

knowledge– Increased participation

Benefits of Group WorkFor Instructors:– Decreased grading load (maybe)–More time to reflect on students’

learning– Delegating authority – students more

responsible for their own learning– Opportunities to re-teach, without

holding others back–Maintaining faculty’s enthusiasm for

teaching

When and where would you use group work?

For Every Instruction Situation, a Group Project Possibility

• Course-related one-shots– In a computer classroom– In a lecture hall• Instructor assigned groups• Librarian created groups

For Every Instruction Situation, a Group Project Possibility

• Online courses – Embedded as support for online

groups• Library credit courses– On-campus – Online

The Methods and Madness of Assigning Groups

How do you group groups?

Best Grouping Practices

• Consensus in research on groups – groups should be small, between 3-5, some say 4 or less.

• There is no one best way of assigning groups.–Heterogeneous vs. Homogeneous– Self-Selecting vs. Assigned

Ways of Grouping

• Who you are sitting next to• Random (1,2,3, - 1,2,3, etc…)• Astrological Sign• Students self-select groups

Ways of Grouping

• By Major• Interest in topics• Quiz scores• Skill sets• Schedule availability• Myers-Briggs (or other assessment)• Software - Team Maker

To Consider While Grouping

• Race / gender / age• International students• Grade / GPA• Outside commitments• Geographic location (online

students)

Barriers to Good Group Work

• Individual student characteristics and motivation

• Previous bad group/team experiences

• No training, understanding of group work

• Instructor not explaining the benefits/purpose of group work

• Unclear directions – kills time & creates conflict

What do you do to create a good group project

experience?

Teaching Students about Groups

• Critique how other groups work– Hangover, Star Wars, Avengers, …

• Review: communication, problem solving, conflict resolution

• Stages of groups/teams: – Forming, storming, norming, performing,

adjourning

How to Facilitate a Good Group Experience

• Start small, build on success

• Address social aspect – ‘get to know you’ and team building activities

• Teach how to give good feedback(praise/constructive criticism/next steps)

How to Facilitate a Good Group Experience

• Class time for group work

• Scaffolding assignments/activities

• Roles and responsibilities are defined (& possibly rotated)

How to Facilitate a Good Group Experience

• “Tips from Survivors” – info shared from past successful groups

• Schedule critical thinking timeI think… I wonder… I suggest…

• Prepare groups to fall apartReserve time, Have a process

How to Facilitate a Good Group Experience

• Positive Interdependence “We all want to contribute something unique, have an important role, to be valued by others” (Frey)– Report, share, compare– Reciprocal teaching– Jigsaw approach – home group and expert group

Elements for a Good Group

• Time interacting together

• Resources (esp. intellectual)

• Challenging task that becomes a common goal

• Frequent feedback on individual and group performance

Assessing the People, Process and the Products of Group Work

How and what do you assess on group projects?

What are you Assessing?

• Process or Product? Or both?

– What % of grade for each

• What criteria will be used?

• Who will apply the criteria?

– Instructor and/or peers

• How will grades be calculated?

Grading

• One grade for the group• Two separate grades – 1 individual, 1 group• Only individual grades• How big a part of the final course grade• Not graded at all

Assessing the Process

• Threaded online conversations or documents• Individual reflections, answers to questions• Portfolio with individual work identified• Criteria for assessing the process:– Attendance– Contributions (quantity and quality)– Time and task management

Peer Assessment

• 57% include peer assessment• “Abandonment of instructional responsibility”

(King)• Limited data on its effectiveness• Least effective tool for improving performance

Peer Assessment

• Use to monitor the group, not grade it• For formative feedback– ‘How am I Doing’ Rubric (peer or self assessment)– Constructive and encourage improvement

• A ‘firing’ option

Assessing the Group Project Experience

• 3 Words on group work– First set based on previous group work– After the project, about this group experience

• Post group debriefing– What worked, trouble spots, done differently

• Self-reflection– On contribution, on product

• Survey

So are you excited about group projects?

Some final thoughts…

• A lot of great advice from Problem/Project Based Learning also applies to group work.

• Try turning an area you are struggling to teach into a group project.

• Be sure to use regular (and maybe extra) evaluations of the instruction session to help document changes & to see if they are effective.

This PowerPoint and the bibliography are available on my web page:

http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/michelle.toth/