(Kist) Group Work

 

“I avoid group projects for assessment because almost invariably they allow some students to slack off while others—the ones who care most about the grade—do all the work. No matter how cunningly I craft a scoring guide it is still hard to hold individuals as accountable as I would like when students work as a team. In, for example, an M.B.A. course there is a functional need for group effort, but at this stage of a child’s education, I want to know how well each student has understood the text. I need to hear from each one separately” (Jago, 158-9).

 

Let me be the first to say that I HATE group work.

I was always the student who wanted to work on the project and get it done rather than wait until the last minute. I was always the one who wanted to do more than just the minimum. I was always the one who cared, and in turn, did the work.

I completely agree with Jago on this point. I would rather give students individual work and take the extra time to grade it, then have students sliding by on another's effort.

While I do see the point in an occasional group assignment, I would prefer to keep them to pairs rather than groups of three or more. This would allow for a much easier way of seeing who did their work and who did not.

Also, any “group” work that is graded should be individual grades. It is not two students’ faults that their third member didn’t care about the project. That, to me, is pure laziness on the part of the teacher. They would rather assign one grade then figure it out.

 

Now, I definitely see the point in group activities, brainstorming and classroom discussion. However, for assignments worth a significant amount of points, I would try to avoid group work as much as possible.

I agree with Jago that I want to see what each student has to offer.

In that sense, many will advocate for group projects because it allows students not particularly skilled at writing to perform other duties in the group. To counteract this, I would probably give a choice of assignments.

For example:

Students have completed a novel and will be doing a project in summation of what they learned.

Students can choose between:

• An essay
• A visual representation (requires research and more effort than throwing pictures on a page)
• A video
• A sculpture or other work, accompanied by a short explanation
• Any other similar “project” idea used endlessly

 

Although this video is long, it has some interesting ideas about group work—when it works and when it doesn’t.