Group Work

July 7, 2021

Getting Started

1. Group Work Evidence-Based Teaching Guide Map

Interactive guide map where each node leads to 'additional specific recommendations, published papers, and resources.'

2. Group Work Evidence-Based Teaching Guide Article

A brief accompanying article to the group work evidence-based teaching guide map.

3. Effective Group Work Strategies for the College Classroom

A Faculty Focus Special Report that contains a collection of short reads on group work strategies.

4. Eli Review at URI

Writing Across URI has an institutional license for Eli Review, a web-based platform that emphasizes peer learning through a straightforward process of implementing reviews and delivering feedback to each writer.

Outcomes

When considering group work, always start from the outcomes – what are the goals of the group project in terms of students’ learning? Do they include specific skills that the students are developing in terms of team-work? How will those be assessed? How will the experience be scaffolded via opportunities for self- and group- reflection and feedback?

Depending on the goal, it might be preferable to group students according to affinities or differences (background, discipline, intended major, etc) – catme.org can be a helpful tool to figure out groupings, especially in large classes.

Below are tools and resources that might be helpful for assessing as well as simply helping students navigate in their teams/groups. These instruments can be used as formative opportunities throughout rather than “simply” evaluative checks, a.k.a. focusing on the process rather than the result and on helping students have productive experiences.

Collaborative Learning Techniques

This excerpt from Barkley et al. (2005) contains sample self-evaluation, peer-evaluation, and group-evaluation forms.

Levels of Collaborative Activity – Benefits, Requirements for Success, and Negatives

From the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative (CWSEI), their piece on student group work in educational settings contains a synthetic breakdown of 'different levels of group work.'

Successful Strategies for Teams: Team Member Handbook

Developed at Clemson University, this handbook has a section called 'When Something Goes Wrong' that contains a useful Team Assessment instrument (Part 6, p. 81).

Student Resistance

With group work, resistance will more than likely be there due to possible previous negative experiences, etc – expect it and plan for it.

Enhancing Learning Interactions by Reducing Student Resistance

This handout by Tolman et al. (2017) includes a list of tips & strategies and a Resistance Reduction plan.

Roles and Accountability

Have roles in place and center accountability. Are the group assignments designed and sequenced with attention to recurring checks for both individual and group accountability (see “Outcomes” 1 for tools)? What pieces of each submission should have a specific team member’s name associated with it? Does it make sense for those roles to rotate?

Facilitating In-Class Group Work

A resource form the Washington University in St. Louis with 'concrete tips and strategies to make group work a success.'

Helping Students Work in Groups Remotely

This is a collection of suggestions from Tufts University for group work that focuses on 'remote' more specifically.

Using Roles in Group Work

This resource from Washington University in St. Louis explains 'how using roles can improve group work in your class.'

Co-Creating Norms and Contracts

With group work, inviting students to participate in the planning increases buy-in and responsibility; see links above in “Roles and Accountability” for more detail.

Progress and Process

Focus also on progress and process rather than only on results. As possible, reduce the attention on the grade (a check for submission or not might be enough, for example, instead of a full grade) and move the focus towards the reception and integration of formative feedback – a.k.a. receiving points/credit for the implementation of input received from self (metacognitive reflections), peers and group reflections/forms, and instructor as the project progresses.

Process Oriented Guided Learning (POGIL) Implementation Guide

This guide provides detailed information on utilizing process skills in the classroom.

Transparency

Have transparency of expectations and process. Spell all of the above with clarity and early on! Regarding outcomes: WHY are the students asked to work in groups? Explain the rationale behind these learning design choices (the WHY), the task at hand (the WHAT), and the process to achieve success (the HOW). See tilthighered.com for more information

Engaging Students in Deep and Transparent Learning Experiences

Slides on Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT).