Setting Up Group Assignments

This Q&A was adapted with permission from the book Chalk Talk: E-advice from Jonas Chalk, Legendary College Teacher, edited by Donna M. Qualters and Miriam Rosalyn Diamond –

Question

Dear Jonas,

Everyone’s talking about preparing students to work in teams in the workplace by doing more group activities in class . Last time I did this, it was a disaster! The division of labor in some groups became totally lopsided, because there were students who didn’t do anything. Also, I couldn’t tell which members of the group had done the work and which had been slackers. I agree that it’s important to give students some experience with group work, but how can I make it a more uniform, less chaotic experience?

Signed: Grappling with Group

Answer

Dear Grappling with Groups,

Group learning, cooperative learning, peer teaching, or any class activity involving more than two students, can lead to unpredictable mixtures of abilities and personalities. If group work is not properly planned, group dynamics can range across the spectrum from a harmonious cooperative learning experience to a dysfunctional group of quarreling students. Entire books have been written about teaching and collaborative learning, so a complete primer on this subject in a single column is not feasible. However, I can provide some basics for setting up student groups for success. Here are some pointers that I have collected from “Tools for Teaching” by Barbara Gross Davis.

Before the semester starts, look over your syllabus and figure out which part of your course is well-suited for group work. Don’t try to force fit group work on things that are better done individually. Problems that require discussion, different points of view, and division of labor to complete are good applications for groups. Like any assignment you give to students, group tasks should not be “busy work,” but achieving some integral part of the course objectives.

You’ll need to decide how groups will be formed.
In small, upper-level classes where students probably know each other and have likely worked in groups previously, they can form their own groups after you establish a maximum group size.
In larger classes or those where students may not have had much experience or simply don’t know each other, group selection could be done randomly or by having students submit 1-2 names of students they’d like to work with and use that as a start. Also see “Jonas on Teamwork in Class Projects”, 11/14/02.

Have groups submit written guidelines after their first meeting. You should ask each group to submit a proposal that details the responsibilities of each group member, deadlines for achieving certain milestones, and even mechanisms they plan to use to deal with problems in group dynamics.

Involve students in the group in assessing each other’s efforts. Felder and Fuller present a rubric for gaining input from team members and modifying individual grades within the group. (See “Accounting for Individual Effort in Cooperative Learning Teams“).

• To avoid problems with “slackers” or “shirkers”, consider the following:
  Keep groups small; it’s harder to be a slacker in a group of three or four.
• Make sure that roles are well-defined in the proposal, and follow up on these roles during the mid-project evaluation sessions.
• Ensure that the group assignment has enough elements for a reasonable division of labor.
• Base a portion of the grading on individual effort, e.g., each week, assign a different member to report on the group’s activities for that week and evaluate each report.
• Suggest mechanisms for each group to deal with problem members, and have them detail this in their proposal. This is difficult since students usually don’t like to be perceived as “selling out” their peers, but they need to understand the idea of responsibility to the team and the project. (A subsequent column will address methods to help students negotiate the group dynamics.)

Finally, a competition for the best group product (presentation, paper, scale model, etc.) can often fuel motivation.

Group learning has the potential to be a powerful learning and teaching tool. However, it does require investment by the instructor to organize and keep tabs on each group’s progress.

Good luck,
Jonas

Quick Tip

During group assignments, conduct one or two “check point” evaluations with each group, during which you should ask them to discuss the following questions:

1. What has each member done to help the group?
2. What could each member do from this point forward to make the group even better?

Also, at the end of the project, students should fill out an assessment form regarding the effectiveness of the group and its members.

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This content was adapted with permission from the book Chalk Talk: E-advice from Jonas Chalk, Legendary College Teacher, edited by Donna M. Qualters and Miriam Rosalyn Diamond.

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