Setting the Stage for Effective Group Work

By participating in the workshop, you will have the opportunity to: clarify your reasons for using group work articulate learning goals you have for group work in your course assess various strategies for fit with your group work plans see an improved group learning process take place next time

Agenda Who’s here? Welcome and Introductions Why group work? Learning goals for group work What strategies could work? Share and discuss Grouping students Connecting students Supporting the process So, what? Wrap up Not spending time on assessment, expect to the extent it sets up group learning Introduce yourself: Name? Your teaching area/discipline? What’s your group project?

Benefits Challenges For Students For Instructors In your experience – Quotes: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. The biggest room in the world, is the room for improvement.

What should students know about your reasons for using group work? Important to explain reasons for using this approach to student learning, relevance, applicability, benefits… Consider making this explicit in syllabus or assessment details.

Which approach do you expect?

Photo credit: commons.wikimedia.org Cooperate, divide and conquer, who does what, assemble the parts into a whole Cooperate, divide and conquer, who does what, assemble the parts into a whole Simple, reasonable for those new to group work Photo credit: commons.wikimedia.org

Photo Credit: neontommy.com Photo credit: commons.wikimedia.org Creating something new, must work together, each bring an ingredient, is the product collectively formed Creating something new, must work together, each bring an ingredient, is the product collectively formed Interdependence, complex reasonable for those with some group work experience Photo Credit: neontommy.com Photo credit: commons.wikimedia.org

What do you want students to practice and become better able to do as a result of group work? Students are accustomed to product goals, not process If you have process skill goals, such as clear communication and conflict management, explain their practical benefit, including workplaces. What product and process will provide reasonable evidence that this has occured

Through group work, students in this course will become better able to: ____________________________________________

Grouping students

Grouping students Size (Optimal? Odd or even numbers?) Self-select? Student Learning Services video Cautions about choosing friends Cautions about homogeneity Assign? On what basis? Random Distribution of skills or prior knowledge Capitalize on diverse experience Organize around topic interest Scheduling realities Some students will like what you do with respect to this, some will not. How will you explain the reason for your approach. Will you consider any special requests?

Connecting students

Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development (c. 1965) Forming  Storming  Norming  Performing (Many youtube videos available on this, here is one) Each stage has its particular behaviours, tasks, emotions – Useful framework to talk about developing the team, not really a diagnostic tool Forming: positive, polite, anxious, some effort to get to know each other Storming: push back, frustration with different styles, jockeying for position, some teams never get past this Norming: differences start to be resolved, appreciate and respect strength, ask for help, provide feedback Performing: works gets done, goals achieved, deadlines met Adjourning: need for group is over, work is done, time to transition (may be hard to stop meeting)

Developing interpersonal connection Attend to physical set up Everyone can see and hear Inclusive set up for this exchange very important Introductions (provide icebreaker or guide) Name, major, year of study, reasons for taking this course Experiences with group work Strengths you bring to a group (skills, knowledge, connections) Initial task to work on together, such as…. Goals, mark goals 2-min memo to instructor about concerns

3 ideas for setting ground rules Use a ready-made list Example 10 ground rules for meetings poster Example 8 Ground rules for great meetings article Customize a ready-made list Example Team Charters Build a list of rules from scratch Ask them to reflect on positive cooperative/collaborative experiences (create a list of do’s, rather than don’ts) Then, share the stories Then, identify the themes and what that means going forward for this group Don’t assume students already know how to work successfully in groups. In fact, their bad experiences may overwhelm their openness to the approach

Student Learning Services Group Work Resources

Supporting Process

Provide process direction Define the task Identify (some) steps necessary to accomplish the goal Suggest project timelines, interim deadlines Identify possible roles (UBC video) Suggest collaboration tools (e.g. google doc) Provide some meeting periods during regular class time (think about timing, i.e., not at the end) Alert students to common pitfalls, how to resolve them

Require Process updates Ground rules or team charters Meeting agendas, minutes Progress reports Mid-project meeting with instructor

Anticipate Conflict/Controversy Benefit of constructive conflict, multiple points of view, critical thinking, etc Provide some tools Cultivating Collaboration Periodic Peer feedback (rubrics?) “Oops, ouch” – A norm that can be established in a group about how to acknowledge a unproductive comment (oops) and how to acknowledge an disrespectful or offensive remark (ouch) 8:30

Sample form for peer feedback Low compared to the group Similar to other members of the group High compared to the group Effort Participation Cooperativeness Accessibility Communication

Accountabilities and Conflict Class-wide check in? (anonymity has +/-) “Snowball” lesson “Identify a problem you are observing, experiencing in your group. Do not sign your name or give identifying information.” 2-minute memos “What would you like the instructor to know about your process so far” “What would you like your group members to know” Instructor summarize next class Rules for approaching/involving you? Snowball lesson

So, what now? Something to keep doing? Something to try doing? Something to tweak?

Acknowledgements Carnegie Mellon University’s Eberly Centre for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation Using Group Projects Effectively LOTS HERE! Solve a teaching problem TREMENDOUS TOOL FOR ASSORTED TEACHING CONCERNS!