For an informal, nongraded group activity, I always liked games or contests. What I would do was lecture for the first 1/3rd of the class time. I would then break them up into groups of four. Then they would get into their groups and pick team names, as Davis suggests. For the actual contest, I would have premade, somewhat hard, open-ended questions. They would then have three minutes to come up with an answer and hand them in. We would then spend some time discussing the merits and failures of each group’s response, allowing the group to defend their answer or argue against another group’s response. A winning group would be awarded a certain amount of points and at the end of the class time the group with the most points would win a prize.
For a formal group project, I would want to have the groups solve a controversy. That is, in groups of four, each group would be assigned a chapter, within which there may be some debate in the field. I am thinking of a Social Psychology course here. The group would then have to split into two, two presenting one side and the other two presenting the other side. Each subgroup of two would have to write and present their side and then together as a full group come to a consensus which they have to write and present at the end of their paper and presentation. They would also have to create a short answer question for the final exam.
One of the main ways in which I am utilized information in the readings is in regard to group sizes. First, I kept them small enough that it does not really allow for an individual to just sit back and watch. More to the point, in the formal group project, the groups are subdivided so that they are working in pairs and as an entire group. I would think this would further circumvent slackers.
In the informal group activity, I think that creating a game is always a fun way to test the knowledge. Then by adding in the ability to decide which group had the best answer by letting them debate their answers makes sure they invest the effort to come up with something important.
In the formal group project, I would also have the group members grade each other’s participation. As an overachiever, I always felt like I took on the brunt of the work and always appreciated the chance to evaluate my group members. I particularly liked the idea presented by Lang about giving both a group and individual grade. I think that is something that I would incorporate as well. Finally, Lang also mentioned having the groups create an essay question for the final. I think this is another idea I would use as well. That way, the other students pay attention to the presentations.
Adam, for your informal group activity, I like that you will have them answer hard questions about the material you just lectured. Because of this idea, I think I will do something similar for an informal group activity when I teach. Specifically, I will ask the class very difficult example exam questions based on the current lecture material. Students will then debate informally about the correct answer in small groups. In addition to getting experience working informally with other students, this would give students the chance to see how difficult exam items can be.
ReplyDeleteOne other issue with your game: What will you do if you can’t settle the debate about which group answers the question best?
I completely agree that putting any activity into a game/contest format is one of the best ways to increase participation, understanding and retention of the material….. and let’s face it, it’s fun! I teach nutrition to elementary-aged students and I always try to incorporate this type of activity into the lesson. I just had one suggestion that may help alleviate some of the debate over which group actually won. After the groups had finished debating their answers, display a rubric for each question. That way, you could go through and check off the points that were or were not covered and score the teams accordingly.
ReplyDeleteI also really like the idea of having the groups create a short answer question for the exam. Sometimes the best questions come from a point of confusion about the material. You could use the last few class periods before the test to thoroughly cover that material before the test.
I like your idea of using a game and the idea of discussing the merits and failures of their response for an informal, non-graded activity. This allows them to get practice working in a group, writing down responses, analyzing them and debating them before submitting them, and then defending/debating once again with the larger group. I have always found that most students respond fairly well to the game atmosphere and that it increases their motivation, even if there isn't a reward for them doing well or winning. It might also help to make some blatant statements as to how the activity/game will help them on the test . While it might be fun they may be less enthusiastic the next time if they don't see how it will help them be successful in the class.
ReplyDeleteYour ideas for a formal group project are good. Specifically, the idea of splitting up of groups into smaller subgroups "to circumvent slackers". You could also add an individual component because you could still have slacking or disagreement with a group of two. You might consider the individual component as a third level of control to make sure that each student does the appropriate work. The benefit to the students is that requiring individual, subgroup, and larger group components actually is very similar to many "real-world" job situations.