Posts Tagged ‘group work activities’
February 18 - Peer-led Reading Groups Boost Engagement and Retention
By: Bill Davies, PhD and Maya P. Barak in Teaching and Learning
A legal historian by training, I have taught many general education courses that draw students from across majors and disciplines. It is not uncommon for the 21st century college student to become somewhat disengaged with the works of Plato or Kant, and this is especially the case when these readings are complex and/or students are outside their topical comfort zones. As a result, in-class discussion suffers, momentum and dialogue are hindered, and students may feel alienated from the course. This is exacerbated by varying levels of engagement with out-of-class readings, producing uneven student learning outcomes.
January 22 - How Can I Incorporate a Group Poster Session into My Class?
By: Mary Bart in 20 Minute Mentor, Student Engagement
Posters can be an extremely effective group assignment in the classroom environment. In this 20 Minute Mentor program you will learn how to prepare, assign, and grade a group poster session in your class.
September 18 - Using Group Work to Promote Deep Learning
By: Mary Bart in Online Seminars
Designed appropriately, cooperative learning assignments can actually turn group work—what was once a frustrating exercise for instructors and students alike—into a powerful way to reinforce course concepts and promote understanding. Let Barbara Millis, director of the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Texas at San Antonio, show you how.
February 22 - My Students Don’t Like Group Work
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog
Students don’t always like working in groups. Ann Taylor, an associate professor of chemistry at Wabash College, had a class that was particularly vocal in their opposition. She asked for their top 10 reasons why students don’t want to work in groups and they offered this list (which I’ve edited slightly).
February 8 - Group Work: A Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for All Members
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog
I recently revisited something I have always considered a great resource. It originally appeared in a 1992 issue of The Teaching Professor and was published then as a Study Group Member’s Bill of Rights. It outlined what individuals had the right to expect when they participated in study groups. Students not only have rights, they also have responsibilities. Those rights and responsibilities are relevant in any group activity used to accomplish educational goals. The version below attempts to capture those larger expectations and duties.
September 30 - Fostering Collaborative Critical Thinking through Online Group Quizzes
By: Rob Kelly in Online Education
Looking for a way to get your students to collaborate and think critically? Consider group quizzes, a technique that Ida Jones uses in her business law courses at California State University, Fresno.
June 10 - Group Work: Are Student-Selected Groups More Effective?
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching and Learning
If the course involves a graded group project, should instructors let students form their own groups or should the instructor create the groups? This decision is not always easy or obvious. Some students lobby hard to form their own groups, arguing that knowing each other ensures that they will be able to work together productively. On the other hand, in the world of work, most of the time employees do not get to pick their collaborators. There’s a task, and those with knowledge and relevant skills are formed into a group and assigned to complete the project, solve the problem, or develop the product.
July 1 - Group Work: Should Your Top Students Work Together?
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Instructional Design
One of the common objections to group work is that bright, capable students are held back when they share group activities and grades with students of lesser ability. This is of concern to teachers and students. Often very good students strongly oppose group work. They worry that an ineffective group with weak or nonproductive members will compromise their grades. Many openly express the belief that they can do the activity, project, paper, or presentation better on their own and would prefer doing it that way.
June 30 - Online Group Work: Making It Meaningful and Manageable
By: Mary Bart in Online Seminars
Group assignments are slowly finding their way into online courses and bringing with them incredible opportunities and big challenges. Integrating group work in the online classroom requires tailored content, a well-defined structure, and a change in student perception. This seminar will guide you through the entire process.
June 17 - Student Engagement: Trade-offs and Payoffs
By: E. Shelley Reid in Effective Classroom Management
I dread the moments when I look out into a classroom and see a collection of blank stares or thumbs clicking on tiny keypads: a pool of disengaged students, despite what I thought was a student-centered activity. Recently, I have been considering how teachers (me specifically) undermine our own efforts to engage students.
