Roy,
I honestly think one of the greatest skills we can help our students learn is how to listen to the ideas & opinions of others. If they can learn to do this in a respectful way, they will be miles ahead.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I feel that making sure the students interact with each other as well as giving them feedback throughout the term helps a great deal. many are afraid to work in groups because they are not sure of each other. However by showing them that you are aware of what is happening in the group as well as letting them know that they are graded individually, they tend to get more involved and take action.
Hi Maria, I agree with you, it is very important for us to make sure that the students know which direction to go in and that they are not in this alone.
Hi Arlene, I agree with you, that group cohesiveness is not as easy as it sounds. Many people feel that working in a group would be easy because there are other people to help on the task. However, this is only true if you have cohesiveness and everyone on that team feel as if they are a part with the same common goals and objectives.
keeping the students working in group is helpful and healthier for them as long as they realize the importance of getting used to different people and different learning styles and different characters .
Andy ,
You make a great point here . When the students know that we are checking in on them they tend to be much more diligent.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Andy ,
I think this comes through a combination of our directions as instructor & developing leadership in the group. This way the path can be clearly laid out & the group can learn a valuable skill of keeping themselves on task.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Andy ,
When teaching about teams I emphasize the difference between a group & a team. In my opinion a team is that when all members are actively engaged in using the diversity of their talents, strengths, abilities & experiences toward achieving a common goal.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Richard,
Yes this is a huge benefit of group projects & one that will pay significant dividends in their future jobs if they learn it early on.
Dr. Ryan Meers
it is important to have the students working in groups because they get used and learn to work with different people and characters beside that they can share different learning styles and experience ,they get familiar with the team work that is essential to acomplish goals
as long as we as instructors supervise their work and we assign interesting activities ,and we make them realize the importance of working in team and we make them find exciting that type of activities because they learn in a exciting way they are going to enjoy working in teams
An instructor must break up the trouble maker groups and add diversity so that the group dynamic is successful.
One strategy that can be employed by an instructor would be by using a facilitator to help keep the students focused on the mission. The instructor can be that facilitator or he can ask someone or a group of individuals outside the class to do the same thing. This number of facilitators woud depend on the number in the class and the groups. Having the facilitator or a recorder put their ideas on paper during the brainstorming time and then vote on the top 5 or ten ideas.
give them a fair amount of work to do and a time frame. if the task is too light students may put the work off and wait until later, thus waisting time and not staying on task
Richard,
I think one of the most valuable lessons learned from groups is that others have different ways of approaching problems, issues, etc.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Richard,
A good point is made here: do we have a good reason for working in groups? Sometimes we use group work just because we should, but if we have a good reason & that is demonstrated to the students I've found they are usually more motivated to work.
Dr. Ryan Meers
The toughest part is keeping them focused on the task, not the party the night before or last night's game. I need to make my presence known throughout the room and throughout the various groups.
Robert ,
This is definitely a challenge for all of us as instructors who utilize groups. I too have found that by popping in to the groups here & there they are much more likely to stay on topic & be working.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I believe that the time constraint is problem the key, but depending on the task an instructor could also assign a group/team leader to help keep the group on target.
Designate a leader for each group and have the leader report on their status, the group's progress, and to speak for the group.
