Saturday, March 21, 2015

What Makes a Group Project Work?



Most of us involve our students in group projects at some point, knowing that such projects promote active learning, student motivation, and enhanced retention.  The Galileo Educational Network has developed a comprehensive rubric teachers can use to evaluate group projects.  The rubric contains specific descriptors for each of the following eight general components:
  • Authenticity
  • Academic Rigor
  • Assessment
  • Beyond the School
  • Use of Digital Technologies
  • Active Exploration
  • Connecting with Experts
  • Elaborated Communication
As I read through the article describing this rubric, I was struck by how useful these eight categories can be for evaluating any class project, individual or group, reminding us of the how and the who and the why and the where questions we should be asking as we design learning activities.
Do you have a favorite group project that incorporates all eight components?  What does it look like? Or would you argue that not all of the eight are necessary?  What’s your assessment of this project assessment tool?

9 comments:

  1. I do not have a favorite group project that incorporates all eight components; but experience is the best teacher, and people may use whatever works for them.

    Safro Kwame

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    1. I agree that experience teaches but don't you think we educators have a role in shaping that teaching to make it more effective and efficient?

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    2. I do (think we educators have a role in shaping that teaching to make it more effective and efficient); but I also think that role, itself, will be influenced by experience (i.e. the experience of the educators).

      Safro Kwame

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  2. I am going to consider using some variation of this rubric. I teach one of my courses with the students placed in groups for the entire semester. I use a rubric that is designed for assessing their group interaction/communication, presentation skills, and writing skills.

    Great information.

    Jamila Cupid

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    1. Jamila, I'm glad you found the rubric useful. I found it helpful in showing up some aspects that I hadn't thought of previously.

      I just finished a group project which exceeded my expectations for one of the groups but was painful for another because two of the three didn't do their tasks. Any advice from your experience for how to get students to contribute as required? --Linda

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    2. Linda - I've been finding that placing them in "teams" instead of "groups" improves performance for many of the students. In the teams, one of the first assignments is to identify main strengths and weaknesses for each teammate and then establish formal roles for each teammate. This aids them in holding each other accountable. There also is a point in the semester that they publicly discuss group dynamics. Of course, there are still some students who don't jump on board. Overall, though, these components seem to be boosting student performance in group work.

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    4. What an interesting idea--the power of a label! I really like the idea of identifying strengths and weaknesses as well. Do you define the roles afterwards, or do the group members?

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  3. I have worked in groups before where each member had a role. One group we chose our roles and retained it throughout the project. This worked well. The next group I participated in, the professor wanted us to switch roles every week. This was a nightmare for the group. We ended up going against what he wanted and stuck we our original role.

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