Learning to Love Group Projects
Location
Waldorf
Start
1-16-2018 3:35 PM
End
1-16-2018 4:45 PM
Short Description
Can I learn to love group projects? What’s in it for me? What are the real benefits for my students? Like drums coming together in a drum set, students learn to work in sync for group projects. Let’s explore the response mechanisms that create the beat and rhythm of effective group work.
Abstract
Why would I do group projects? What’s in it for me? (I feel that it’s not worth the time and effort I put into creating them). Group work cuts down on grading time. It’s a robust active learning activity. It provides an internal peer review mechanism. What is there not to love about that?
My students don’t like it. It makes them uncomfortable. Why should I want to make my students uncomfortable? Well, working in groups is what they are going to do in real life. There isn’t a job out there where there won’t be cooperation. Now or later: I can make this clear to my students - Do you want to learn this now (when there’s someone to teach you and the stakes are relatively low) or later? I can add scaffolding, modeling and structure to this to make it less threatening but the bottom line is making them uncomfortable now prepares them for the future. Isn’t that what my role as an educator is all about?
Group work is like drums in a drum set. All drums come together in a musical piece. Groups are the same, each individual drum contributes something to the general beat and rhythm of the song. A single drum by itself cannot accomplish what they can all do together. They need to be in sync with each other, while at the same time, each one has an individual sound. It’s a beautiful example of cooperation that looks effortless what requires a lot of effort.
Summary Our presentation talks about why group projects are a great tool for learning and practicing life-skills. It explores some principles of effective group work and cooperation, namely Positive Interdependence and Individual Accountability.
Participants will gain new insight as to what our role as facilitators is, and hopefully, be reminded why we LOVE group projects!!!
Format
Concurrent Session
Institutional level targeted
Higher Ed
Moderator
Victoria Brown, FAU
Learning to Love Group Projects
Waldorf
Why would I do group projects? What’s in it for me? (I feel that it’s not worth the time and effort I put into creating them). Group work cuts down on grading time. It’s a robust active learning activity. It provides an internal peer review mechanism. What is there not to love about that?
My students don’t like it. It makes them uncomfortable. Why should I want to make my students uncomfortable? Well, working in groups is what they are going to do in real life. There isn’t a job out there where there won’t be cooperation. Now or later: I can make this clear to my students - Do you want to learn this now (when there’s someone to teach you and the stakes are relatively low) or later? I can add scaffolding, modeling and structure to this to make it less threatening but the bottom line is making them uncomfortable now prepares them for the future. Isn’t that what my role as an educator is all about?
Group work is like drums in a drum set. All drums come together in a musical piece. Groups are the same, each individual drum contributes something to the general beat and rhythm of the song. A single drum by itself cannot accomplish what they can all do together. They need to be in sync with each other, while at the same time, each one has an individual sound. It’s a beautiful example of cooperation that looks effortless what requires a lot of effort.
Summary Our presentation talks about why group projects are a great tool for learning and practicing life-skills. It explores some principles of effective group work and cooperation, namely Positive Interdependence and Individual Accountability.
Participants will gain new insight as to what our role as facilitators is, and hopefully, be reminded why we LOVE group projects!!!