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5 Ways to Keep Students on Task During Group Work

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How do you keep students on task during group work? Check out these classroom-test strategies from Jackie in Room 213.

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Setting the Stage for Success in Group Work

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Once the group roles have been established, work towards building a community for cooperation and collaboration. Devote a segment during class for groups to interact, define group norms, and explore potential challenges. Cooperative activities require students to engage in learning together. Typical structures for cooperative activities are:

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Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning

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The idea for sharing this post came from a session I recently conducted at the annual teaching conference organized by my university. A pedagogical conundrum was raised by a colleague whose enthusiasm and question stayed with me and inspired me to write this post. The question posed by this colleague is relevant to all instructors who have ever used group work to assess their students: How should one deal with the issues that arise when members of a group are not picking up their share of the responsibilities during a group work project?

The benefits of group work are well recognized (e.g., http://goo.gl/N8kqhy), as are the reasons students don't like working in groups (Taylor, 2011). We have all had groups that operated magically, when group members brought out each other's strengths and helped each member shine; but we have also had groups that failed miserably when members did not get along or did not pull equal weight in completing a group project.

Although much has been written about group work and its benefits and challenges, as well as variables, features, or components that can contribute to positive learning outcomes (Tomcho, & Foels, 2012), issues of implementation seem to pop up every time instructors get together to talk about their teaching challenges. In this post I focus on the persistent challenge of imbalance when not all group members contribute equally. What follows are a few simple ideas you might wish to consider that have worked well for me during years of trial and error in my teaching, as well as insights from my research.

1. Design a group project in which the students work in phases.

For instance, starting with a project idea, then moving to project development, followed by preliminary project outcomes - and requiring students to "check-in" at each phase before delivering the final project. Not only does this help ensure that the groups won't wait until the final deadline is upon them to work on their project, but it also enables the instructor to touch base with every group and to offer guidance, support, or mediation, if needed, during the process.

2. Develop an element of the project that allows group members to make their own choices.

In my teaching, I usually give students the freedom to choose a topic area that interests them within the scope of the course or that is the most relevant or meaningful to the team members. This decision helps create a sense of ownership and enhances the students' level of engagement, both of which are crucial for working on large group projects, and especially for those requiring students to carry out the work in phases throughout the term (see, for example, Enghag & Niedder, 2007, on the theoretical basis for student ownership of learning).

3. Within a group project, include a component requiring individual students to submit non-onerous individual work.

For example, the project could include a personal reflection piece (e.g., e.g., Huang, 2011a), in which each member individually reflects on the process and product of his or her own portion of the group work. Apart from the pedagogical benefits of learners engaging in individual reflection (Pavlovich, Collins, & Jones, 2009), this task or component will inevitably provide insights about the division-of-labor issue commonly raised by instructors and students alike. Both learners and the instructor can glean a great many insights from those individual reflection pieces, which instructors can take into account when assigning either project or final grades, depending on their individual approach to assessment. This process also enables students to gain greater understanding about what worked well and what could be improved.

One important matter to keep in mind when implementing the reflection component is the need to ensure that we, as instructors, clarify what we mean by "reflection" in order to minimize a potential mismatch between our expectations about reflective learning and our students' understanding of what it entails. What we'd like our students to do is to engage in critical reflection - that is, thinking that involves different levels of reflection, rather than simply restating or describing what they did, or what I have called "non-transformative" reflection.

The goal is to encourage students to move beyond simply recalling what they did either individually or together within the group and instead to reflect on their personal discoveries about their own learning and the process of working collaboratively (i.e., understanding, analyzing, and evaluating the process and the product of their group efforts), and, importantly, to "verbalize" what they would do differently the next time around (i.e., pointing to the future).

This component is an example of what is called "writing/speaking to learn" (Manchón, 2011). For this task, it's important that students not be required to follow any formatting or style guidelines. The reflection should be an informal piece of writing, much like a diary entry, and can be in any modality (e.g., writing, audio recording, video clip) that suits the characteristics or preferences of individual students to allow for their individual expression. For some additional simple guidelines about implementing learner reflection, refer to Huang (2011b).

4. Devote a segment (30 minutes or so) during class before all group projects begin to implement two important steps.

Step 1: Get to know each other. The first 10 minutes can be a period for all students to find and meet with the group members they have either been assigned or have self-selected. They should then spend some time exploring each other's communication styles, which may arise from personal or culture-related differences (Lewis, 2006), to help them better anticipate different communication preferences and approaches to group work. This time can be spent sharing responses to guiding questions or statements, such as "I would describe my communication style/personality as ...," "I tend/prefer to deal with conflict by ...," and "I would appreciate my team members doing/not doing ...." (Huang, 2014). Guiding questions are especially helpful for groups that are culturally and linguistically diverse.

Step 2: Establish group norms. During the next 20 minutes, encourage each group to negotiate its own group norms (derived from Step 1) and ground rules. During this time, members of each team should elucidate, negotiate, and establish roles, responsibilities, and expectations. This process makes explicit the specific contributions and ownership of responsibilities that each team member negotiates and agrees to.

Below is a sample checklist that instructors can modify and use to facilitate this process and help prepare each group project to succeed (Huang, 2014). You can revise the items to suit a project or provide the list as an example for each group to use in creating its own list. The list can also be revisited during each check-point mentioned earlier and adjustments made as needed. Upon completion of the project, instructors can request the checklist(s) to be submitted (but not graded), along with other deliverables that are due.

5. Prepare students to expect the unexpected.

Rather than directing their every concern to you, students should be encouraged to become problem solvers not only by identifying problems, but also by developing solutions and choosing and evaluating the best ones so as to balance personal learning with the group's project goals. At the same time, you'll want to create and maintain a culture of openness that lets your students know you are readily available to provide guidance when groups reach an impasse.

In any group work situation, it is always possible that compatibility issues will arise between or among team members, as well as conflicts or problems with unequal distribution of work. The pre-group-project considerations described above, however, can easily be implemented to help minimize the likelihood that conflicts will develop that could negatively affect learning and outcomes. They may also help instructors and students in dealing with the specific common challenge of students who are not pulling their own weight in group collaborations, while maximizing the benefits of a group project not only in terms of content, but more, if not most, importantly, in learning how to work with others - a valuable life lesson that's best learned through experience.

References:
Enghag, M., & Niedderer, H. (2008). Two dimensions of student ownership of learning during small-group work in physics. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 6(4), 629-653.

Huang, L.-S. (2011a). Language learners as language researchers: The acquisition of English grammar through a corpus-aided discovery learning approach mediated by intra and interpersonal dialogues. In J. Newman, S. Rice, & H. Baayen (Eds.), Corpus-based studies in language documentation, use, and learning (pp. 91-122). Amsterdam: Rodopi Press.

Huang, L.-S. (2011b, Fall). Key concepts and theories in TESL: Learner reflection. TEAL News: The Association of B.C. Teachers of English as an Additional Language, pp. 9-13.

Huang, L.-S. (2014). Lessons learned from team-facilitation in ELT: Strategies for navigating the challenges and making it work. IATEFL ES(O)L Newsletter, pp. 13-17.

Lewis, R. D. (2006). When cultures collide: Leading across cultures (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

Manchón, R. M. (Ed.). (2011). Learning-to-write and writing-to-learn in an additional language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Pavlovich, K., Collins, E., Jones, G. (2009). Developing students' skills in reflective practice: Design and assessment. Journal of Management Education, 33(1), 37-58.

Taylor, A. (2011). Top 10 reasons students dislike working in groups...and why I do it anyway. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 39(2), 219-220.

Tomcho, T. J., & Foels, R. (2012). Meta-analysis of group learning activities: Empirically based teaching recommendations. Teaching of Psychology, 39(3), 159-169.
Dr. Li-Shih Huang, Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of Linguistics, Learning and Teaching Scholar-in-Residence, Learning and Teaching Centre, University of Victoria, BC, Canada.

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Students Riding on Coattails during Group Work? Five Simple Ideas to Try

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How should faculty deal with the issues that arise when some students ride on the coattails of others during a group work project?

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https://www.peerassesspro.com/accountability-the-key-to-successful-group-assignments/

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Peer Assessment Tool for TBL and Group Projects

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When we first introduce the group assignment to our students we establish our expectation for professional teamwork delivered by all teammates. We emphasise that we will adjust individual grades fairly, proportional to the peer-assessed contribution of each teammate to their team's delivered outputs. In short, we let the students know that we will be holding them accountable for their actions in the team and their contributions to the work produced by the team. In addition to informing students of our expectations, educators must also provide them with the tools to help students hold themselves accountable.

There is a smorgasbord of tactics from which the teacher can select to raise a student team's effectiveness through improved accountability. These tactics for accountability include class policy, contracts, project plans, team roles, and responsibilities, mandated collaborative tools, journaling, and the writing of a concluding reflective essay.

Class policy for group assignments

Class policy refers to your institution's policies and your own expectations regarding teamwork. Relevant institutional policies include

Academic integrity

Peer assessment and self-assessment

Equity and diversity

Countering harassment

Student complaints resolution

Student disciplinary process

Your personal policy or expectations could include

Recommended process for managing and/or excluding teammates who freeloader.

Advice on managing personal workload and stress

Advice on keeping teammates advised of changed personal circumstances

A statement that you use teammate peer assessment as a basis for adjusting personal grades above or below the team result you will award for each team's delivered outputs. Later you'll explain how the peer assessment works and you'll give students practice at using the peer assessment process.

Examples of how these policies and expectations are presented in an extract from a course syllabus by Peter Mellalieu. Peter recalls
"I make it clear to students that they need not carry a freeloader in their team. However, they must first seek to manage the free-loader to give them the opportunity to contribute. If that fails, they can apply my 'three strikes' process. A strike against a student includes behaviors such as failing to respond to communications, failing to attend a scheduled meeting, or delivering unsuitable, unprofessional, or plagiarised material. However, I explain I must know in advance that a team is proceeding towards excluding a teammate. There may be a special circumstance of which the team might not be aware that requires my diplomatic intervention."
Teammate peer assessment, feedback, and grading

The ultimate accountability is awarding students individual grades based on their contribution to task and contribution to team harmony and performance. The process that we recommend begins with teammate peer assessment, proceeds to teammate peer feedback, and concludes with a personal result derived from teammate peer assessment.

Teammate peer assessment engages teammates using a form of peer assessment to rate each other's contribution to their team's processes, outputs, and outcomes as they pursue together a group assignment. The peer assessment typically includes quantitative ratings and qualitative evidence to support the awarded ratings. Based on each student's relative peer-assessed contribution, a personal (grade) result may be calculated and awarded.

Teammate peer feedback communicates to teammates in a personalised report the quantitative and qualitative results of teammate peer assessment. Ideally, the report includes developmental advice from each teammate directed towards raising the report recipient's individual effectiveness for their current and future group assignments. Typically, the communication of the peer feedback report is the first stage for constructive, courageous conversations between teammates as they clarify understanding of the feedback received, and the implications for the adjusted behaviours recommended by their teammates.

Personal result from teammate peer assessment is a grade awarded to one teammate calculated from the relative teammate peer-assessed score received by that teammate combined mathematically with the team result awarded by the teacher for that team's total outputs (essays, reports, presentations, software, designs, prototypes, posters...). Typically, the personal result is calculated automatically above or below the team result in proportion to the relative (peer assessed) contribution of each teammate.

Psychological contracts, project plans, and team responsibilities
Psychological contracts
Using Psychological contracts as part of your group assignments is a great way to hold students accountable. Psychological contracts allow students to take an active role in setting the tone for group interaction, group contracts can help "motivate ownership of learning" ( Hesterman, 2016, p. 5 ). Writing group Psychological contracts can also help students identify expectations of one another, communicate those expectations, and practice articulating their expectations.

The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center at UC Irvine has a great sample group psychological contract form as does the University of Waterloo . The important thing to remember is that you dedicate time in class for the student teams to craft their own contracts. Having students co-create their group contracts will result in better engagement and individual accountability.
Project plans
If you've got a real meaty project for your students, then requiring them to develop a simple project plan as part of the assessment is a fantastic way for students to understand all of the tasks that need to be done in order to complete the project. Once they understand the tasks and dependencies, then they can decide who is going to do what and the date that the task needs to be completed. Remember, a project plan is a living document. You will have teams that underestimate the time required to complete a task or discover that they left out a task. It's ok to amend and adjust as necessary.

Project management tools that we recommend are the following:

- excellent tool that integrates well with Google Drive.

- easy to use and integrates well with Slack

- easy to use and also integrates well with Slack

Team responsibilities
Some projects may lend themselves to have students mimic workplace roles such as project lead, project manager, writer, researcher, editor, and so forth. If this is the case, then it is a great opportunity to have rotating roles to ensure that each student in the group has a go at each of the roles, thus ensuring that all of the students have greater exposure to as many areas of the project as possible. Again, this tactic inhibits students pursuit of a 'divide and conquer' approach).

Rather than mimic workplace roles, students can choose from a list of general project roles such as facilitator, checker, explorer, Carnegie Mellon presents a list of possible roles for group projects that will get the ball rolling. You can even have students create their own roles.

Collaborative tools (Google Docs and Slack)

Having insight into the assessment groups' progress, processes and communication is critical. The level of insight to which we refer means that you would be able to quickly see when groups actually start working on their projects, the level of participation from each group member, and the quality of their communication. This can be realized if you use collaborative tools like Google Docs and Slack to which you are a shared viewer. We believe that it is important to note that it is not enough to simply require your students to use these tools. You must demonstrate that you are taking a hands-on approach. This need not be more complex than commenting on their communication in Slack or adding a comment to their Google Doc. For example, "It looks like you guys are running a bit behind schedule. You need to pick it up."

We wrote a detailed blog post on using Google Docs for group projects that will help you get started.

While Google Docs will give you insight into progress and processes, Slack is the tool that will provide insight into their communication. If you are not yet familiar with Slack, it is one of the most popular communications tools used in industry. Slack is also catching on with leading-edge tech adopters in education , as Professor Phil Simon of ASU reflects
As I entered my second year as a full-time college professor , I wanted to shake things up a bit inside the classroom. I had known for a few years about how was gaining traction as a new communication and collaboration tool in the private sector. I was intrigued. I did some and, this semester decided to give it a shot. My rationale here was straightforward. First, I was curious to noodle with a tool that has received so much hype . Second, in all likelihood, my students will not use a proper learning management system (LMS) such as Blackboard or Canvas after they receive their diplomas. On the other hand, they will almost certainly use a new collaboration tool at some point in their careers. Why not introduce one of the most powerful and ones while they are still in school?
We, too, came to the realization that learning management systems tend, in practice, to be little more than a one-way communications platform 'broadcasting' content and communications outward from the teacher. Specifically, Patrick adopted Slack as the communications tool of choice for all of his classes. He now has insight into all group discussions. He can see immediately if groups are struggling and can identify unconstructive communication. Another advantage of using Slack is that it connects seamlessly with apps that are already used to manage group projects like Google Docs, Trello, and Asana. Since adopting Slack, Patrick has found his students are much more engaged and productive in their group projects.

Conclusion

The foundation for every successful group assignment is student accountability. Set the expectation when you introduce the group assignment by including the class policy for group assignments. Once you've set the stage, then create student buy-in by letting them co-create their psychological contracts. From this point on it's about providing students with the tools to communicate and collaborate effectively and that provides the educator with the visibility to monitor group activity if needed. Having a formative peer assessment activity halfway through the project will allow students to see how their peers believe they are performing. If this is done at the midpoint of an assignment, then there will be enough time for students to get back on track if they did not meet their peers' performance expectations.

Though accountability is crucial to the success of group assignments, it is but one piece of the puzzle. To help you with the other pieces, we have written an ebook titled, "How to teach using team assignments: The 7 step formula for fair and effective team assessment."

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Accountability: The Key to Successful Group Assignments - Peer Assessment Tool for TBL and Group Projects

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When we first introduce the group assignment to our students we establish our expectation for professional teamwork delivered by all teammates. We emphasise that we will adjust individual grades fairly, proportional to the peer-assessed contribution of each teammate to their team's delivered outputs.

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https://noahwebstereducationalfoundation.org/what-can-schools-do-to-get-better-at-accountability/

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What Can Schools Do to Get Better at Accountability? - NWEF

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“Try to think of an education policy that 1) has been shown, in dozens of studies across multiple decades, to positively affect student outcomes; 2) has the overwhelming support of parents and voters; 3) reinforces many other policies and facilitates quality research; and 4) has been used widely at…

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https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/9609/chapter/9

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State education departments and school districts face an important challenge in implementing a new law that requires disadvantaged students to be held to the same standards as other students. The new requirements come from provisions of the 1994 reauthorization of Title I, the largest federal effort in precollegiate education, which provides aid to "level the field" for disadvantaged students.

Testing, Teaching, and Learning is written to help states and school districts comply with the new law, offering guidance for designing and implementing assessment and accountability systems. This book examines standards-based education reform and reviews the research on student assessment, focusing on the needs of disadvantaged students covered by Title I. With examples of states and districts that have track records in new systems, the committee develops a practical "decision framework" for education officials.

The book explores how best to design assessment and accountability systems that support high levels of student learning and to work toward continuous improvement. Testing, Teaching, and Learning will be an important tool for all involved in educating disadvantaged students-state and local administrators and classroom teachers.

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Read "Testing, Teaching, and Learning: A Guide for States and School Districts" at NAP.edu

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Read chapter 7 Accountability: State education departments and school districts face an important challenge in implementing a new law that requires disadv...

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https://youtu.be/4IEzjE6hquc

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by Matthew Levit, Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate, Class of 2018, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy

Traditional instructional models stress the importance of individualism, but many educators and schools have begun to emphasize cooperative learning methods. ¹ Cooperative learning is an integrative learning model that seeks to educate students through activities that promote social learning and leadership experiences. 2,3 Cooperative learning has its origins in social interdependence theory. According to this theory, the learning outcomes of an individual are determined by their own actions as well as the actions of others. 3 Cooperative learning builds on this theory by postulating that learning occurs best through social engagement. ⁴

Cooperative learning is more than just working together in a group. Students learn by using their social and interpersonal skills to achieve an academic goal. ¹ Cooperative learning is commonly used in a variety of practice-based settings including service learning, integrative internships, and continuing education (CE) seminars. ⁵ In some of these settings, students receive academic credit and solve real-world problems. ⁵ For example, students rotating on an interprofessional team may encounter a patient that suffers from multiple comorbidities (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, and neuropathic pain). One student in the group may be adept at diabetes management.Another may have experience managing patients with high blood pressure.And another may be very knowledgeable about neuropathic pain. Collectively, the students learn from each other and are more likely to successfully complete the academic exercise.

There are five key elements to the cooperative learning model. These include positive interdependence, individual and group accountability, face-to-face promotive interaction , interpersonal and small group skills, and group processing. ¹ Face to face promotive interactions require learners to share resources as well as support and encourage their teammates success. 1,6 Positive interdependence requires that every member of the group value each other's contributions. ¹ Interprofessional healthcare teams must have positive interdependence in order to fully utilize each member's unique contributions to the patient's care. Individual and group accountability requires that each member of the group is accountable for one's actions and all must contribute to the completion of the assigned task. ⁶ An evaluator should discipline students who do not contribute because it is detrimental to the group's overall success. Interpersonal and small group skills include effective leadership and communication, building trust, making clear decisions, and managing potential conflicts. ⁶ Group processing requires communication among group members. Members should be encouraged to express any concerns they have with each other for the overall benefit of the group. ⁶

One example of an instructional method that uses the five key elements of the cooperative learning model is the jigsaw technique. 3,5 In this method, students are assigned a topic and placed into two groups: a home group and an expert group. Students in the home group go to the expert group to learn a particular topic and then go to another group to teach that particular subject. ³ This technique promotes contributions from each member of the group (positive interdependence and face to face interaction) as well as accountability for each member's actions (individual and group accountability). Educators that use this model expect their students to support each other's learning as well as understand that each member of the group must be able to teach a piece of the subject matter to others. In addition, students are expected to communicate effectively with each other using verbal and non-verbal communication (interpersonal and small group talks and group processing). 3,5 This certain isn't the only example of cooperative learning.Several other cooperative learning methods exist [See previous blog essay regarding the Processed Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) method].

In healthcare today, interprofessional healthcare teams are practicing cooperative learning. During these clinical exercises, the instructor can require that each student to write a reflection on how they contributed to the group's work as well as evaluate peers (positive interdependence and individual and group accountability). This reflection will allow the educator to see how well collaborative learning is working and student comments can be used to make changes. In practice-based settings, preceptors and other healthcare instructors can encourage interprofessional healthcare teams to use this model of learning when "rounding" in the hospital or during interprofessional meetings in clinic. ⁷ In the past, different specialties would work independently and had little appreciation or understanding regarding the unique contribution that other members of the health care team could make.If students start collaborating in the classroom with their peers, then perhaps this will translate to working with other healthcare professionals. ⁷ Health professions educators have an important role in helping students become effective members of a team. In order to implement cooperative learning, educators must promote instructional methods that use the 5 key elements of the cooperative learning model. For example, in the classroom setting, an educator can design case-based group exercises (interpersonal and small group skills and group processing). Students should be encouraged to work in small groups so that everyone has a chance to participate ( face-to-face promotive interaction) and learn from each other. 4,7 Evaluations of their experiences can be used to individualize students' needs and provide an overall framework for future collaborative work. The ultimate goal every educator should stress when using cooperative learning strategies in healthcare is to promote optimal patient care.

Cooperative learning is a model for developing and implementing instructional activities that helps students to develop social learning and leadership skills. 2,3 Educators and students in the health professions must become proficiency in these skills in order to effectively manage complex patients through team-based collaborations. 4,7

1. Salam T, Greenberg H, Pitzel M, Cripps D. Interprofessional education internships in schools: Jump starting change . Journal of Interprofessional Care. 2010; 24(3): 251 - 263.

2. Johnson DW, Johnson RT. An Educational Psychology Success Story: Social Interdependence Theory and Cooperative Learning . Education Educational Res 2009; 38(5): 365 - 379.

3. Basak T, Yildez D. Comparison of the effects of cooperative learning and traditional learning methods on the improvement of drug-dose calculation skills of nursing students undergoing internships . Education Educational Res 2014; 73(3): 341 - 350.

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Teaching Team Work and Cooperation: Critical Skills in Healthcare Today

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by Matthew Levit, Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate, Class of 2018, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy Traditional instructional models stress the importance of individualism, but many educators and schools have begun to emphasize cooperative learning methods. 1 Cooperative learning is an integrative learning model that seeks to educate students through activities that promote social learning and leadership experiences.

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https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/technicalwriting/chapter/understandingteamdynamics/

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4. TEAMWORK AND COMMUNICATION

Suzan Last

An important aspect of effective teamwork entails understanding group dynamics in terms of both team situation and individual temperament. This section reviews a variety models often applied in workplaces that can help a team perform optimally and manage crises effectively.

"Tuckman's Stages of Group Development," proposed by psychologist Bruce Tuckman in 1965, is one of the most famous theories of team development. It describes four stages that teams may progress through: forming, storming, norming, and performing (a 5th stage was added later: adjourning). According to McCahan et al., the stages move from organizing to producing, and although the stages appear linear, in fact teams may move backwards to previous stages, depending on events that may influence the team and the communications strategies that they use. Some teams can also stall in a stage and never fully realize their potential. Figure 4.2.1 outlines these stages. Please refer to the McCahan et al. text for a more complete discussion.

Figure 4.2.1 The Stages of the Tuckman Model.

Note that at each stage, communication is a critical component of successfully moving to the next stage. The forming stage, when everyone is getting to know each other and are trying to make a good impression, is a good time to create a set of shared expectations, guidelines, or a Team Charter. A team forming activity is also a good idea to help build trust and get to know the various strengths and weaknesses of the team members. This is an orientation stage, on both an interpersonal and professional level, where preliminary boundaries and expectations are established.

The storming stage is the one most often characterized by group conflict. It is often where the preliminary expectations and boundaries are challenged as individuals learn more about each other's motivations. This coincides with the "brainstorming" stage of the design process, in which each member contributes ideas that could potentially become the focus of the project. It is also the stage where team mates learn about each others' strengths and weaknesses, and try to determine what their roles will be in the project. Learning to harness the constructive potential of conflict and compromise in this stage is important to progressing to the next stage.

During the norming stage, if conflicts have been resolved and team mates have proved flexible, all is going well, each team member knows their role and works on their part of the project. Sometimes, people work independently in this stage, but check in with team mates frequently to make sure work flow is efficient and effective. Group cohesion ensures that everyone is responsible to the task and to each other; Gantt Charts can be very helpful in keeping everyone on track during this stage. Problems might arise at this stage if teammates do not fully understand their role, the team expectations, or the overall goal; revisiting the forming or storming stage may be required.

Few first-time teams reach the performing stage, as this happens when teams have worked together well on several projects, have established a synergy, and have developed systems that that make projects go smoothly and efficiently. Less time is needed to form, storm and learn to norm; performing teams can move quickly and interdependently to tackling the task at hand. Adjourning and going their separate ways can often be somewhat emotional for these teams. Figure 4.2.2 depicts the trajectory of each team member during each stage.

DISC theory, developed in 1928 by Dr. William Moulton Marston (who also, as it happens, created the Wonder Woman comic series!), has evolved into a useful model for conflict management as it predicts behaviours based on four key personality traits he originally described as Dominance, Inducement, Submission, and Compliance. The names of these four traits have been variously revised by others over the decades, so you might find different terms used in different contexts. The four general traits are now often described as (1) Dominance, (2) Influence/Inspiring (3) Steadiness/Supportive, and (4) Compliance/Conscientiousness (see Figure 4.2.3).

Industries often use DISC assessments in professional contexts. Having some insight into your teammates' personality traits can help when trying to resolve conflicts. General characteristics of each trait are as follows:

Dominance

Characteristics: direct, decisive, ego-driven, problem-solver, and risk-taker; likes new challenges and freedom from routine; driven to overcome obstacles

Strengths: great organizer and time manager; challenges the status quo; innovative

Weaknesses: can be argumentative, disrespectful of authority, and overly ambitious (taking on too much); can be blunt, stubborn, and aggressive

Inspiring/Influential

Characteristics: enthusiastic, persuasive, optimistic, trusting, impulsive, charismatic, and emotional

Strengths: creative problem solver; great cheer-leader, negotiator, and peace-maker; a real "people person"

Weaknesses: more concerned with popularity than tangible results; lacks attention to detail

Steady/Supportive

Characteristics: reliable, predictable, friendly, good listener, team player, empathetic, easy-going, and altruistic.

Strengths: dependable, loyal; respects authority; has patience and empathy; good at conflict resolution; willing to compromise.

Weaknesses: resistant to change; sensitive to criticism; difficulty prioritizing

Cautious/Conscientious/Compliant

Characteristics: has high standards; values precision and accuracy; analytical and systematic; even-tempered, realistic, and logical; methodical; respect for authority

Strengths: great information gatherer/researcher; able to define situations precisely and accurately; offers realistic perspective

Weaknesses: can get bogged down in details; needs clear boundaries, procedures, and methods; difficulty accepting criticism; may avoid conflict or just "give in." May be overly timid.

Richard Beckhard's GRPI model, originally developed in 1972, has been widely adapted in sports contexts as the GRIP model (see Figure 4.2.4), outlining four interrelated components of highly effective teamwork:

Goals: everyone must fully understand and be committed to the goals of the team, and of the organization. Everyone's goals must be aligned in order to establish trust, make progress, and achieve desired outcome.

Roles: all team members must know what part they play, what is expected, and how they are held accountable and responsible.

Interpersonal: quality communication and collaboration require and foster trust among team members; sensitivity and flexibility needed to deal with conflict and make progress.

Processes: defined system for how decisions are made, how the team solves problems and addresses conflict; defines work flow and procedures to be followed in completing the project.

Thomas and Kilmann's model for handling team conflict outlines five main approaches to managing team conflict ( Competing, Accommodating, Compromising, Avoiding, and Collaborating), placed in a matrix of two scales: Assertiveness-the degree to which one tries to meet one's own needs; and Cooperativeness-degree to which one tries to satisfy the needs of other team members (See illustration).

Each approach can have both positive and negative impacts:

1. Competing: highly assertive, but uncooperative behaviour, characterized by the urge to "win at all costs," dominate, and engage in power struggles. This can result in animosity, but can also spur teammates to compete constructively, which can lead to interesting innovations if well managed.

2. Accommodating: highly cooperative, but unassertive behaviour. This may seem like a good way to avoid conflict, but it can also lead to self-silencing of good ideas in order to appease others, which may lead to feelings of resentment.

3. Compromising: this approach is the most moderate in both scales, and while it might seem constructive, it can lead to dissatisfaction and mediocre progress or results. Sometimes compromise is necessary, but often, the best solution comes from a single inspirational source.

4. Avoiding: being unassertive and uncooperative is generally the least effective way to deal conflict, as this simply avoids the problem and neglects the need for a solution. However, when a feasible solution to a problem seems impossible, sometimes ignoring it and focusing on what is good can be the best way to just get through it.

5. Collaborating: being highly assertive and cooperative is the best way to find solutions that benefit the whole team and build respect.

In his 2005 book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Lencioni outlines five common problems teams experience that impact their effectiveness:

1. Lack of trust: if team members do not trust each other, they are unlikely to take risks or ask for help. A lack of trust means a low level of comfort that makes it difficult to communicate and perform effectively as a team

2. Fear of conflict: avoiding conflict can lead to an artificial "peace" at the expense of progress and innovation. Conflict is a normal part of team work and can be very productive if managed effectively.

3. Lack of commitment: team members do not commit to doing the work, do not follow through on decisions or tasks, do not meet deadlines, and let their teammates down, ultimately affecting the success of the whole project.

4. Avoidance of accountability.

5. Inattention to results: when team members focus on their own personal goals instead of project goals, they lose sight of the expected results that actually measure the success of the project. Not focusing on the results during the process means that no one is planning how to improve those results.

Lencioni advises tackling each dysfunction, displayed in the pyramid in Figure 4.2.5, from the bottom up. Establishing trust is a crucial first step to being able to manage conflict, achieve commitment, create accountability and focus on results.

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4.2 Five Models for Understanding Team Dynamics

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4. TEAMWORK AND COMMUNICATION Suzan Last An important aspect of effective teamwork entails understanding group dynamics in terms of both team situation and individual temperament. This section reviews a variety models often applied in workplaces that can help a team perform optimally and manage crises effectively.

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Teamwork plays an important part in successful business operations. Definitions of teamwork include a group of people working together for a common goal with each member contributing to the project or program. Social scientists and group-theory researchers study teams to develop theories to define effective practices.

Business-administration programs teach team techniques, and employers ask management-job applicants questions about team-building techniques and practices. An understanding of teamwork theory helps impress job interviewers and also improves work management.

Productive teams help build businesses and create effective companies. Maslow's team building theory suggests that teams are motivated by opportunities for growth and actualization, as explained by Halo Psychology. Highly motivated teams tend to be more creative and productive. Firms focused on high production levels study teams and interpersonal interactions at the business with an eye on making changes to improve productivity.

Apple founder and former Pixar head Steve Jobs, for example, incorporated teamwork as an important part of his corporate operations. Jobs thought the key to high-performing teams involved frequent employee interaction, as described by Inc. He used teamwork theories in the construction of his corporate headquarters to increase worker interaction. Despite the fact that Jobs pioneered communication through electronic media, he also promoted personal interaction to fuel successful teams and workplaces.

The first scholarly study of teamwork took place in the 1950s under the direction of psychologists examining how humans relate to themselves and others. This group looked at how work influences team interactions and the actions team members take to tap the talents and skills of other members in solving a task or problem at work.

Additional studies explored the changes in teams over time and how teams integrate technology in completing tasks. The earliest formal studies of teamwork took place after World War II and focused on discovering the reasons for the failure of military teams.

Using a label to describe a theory allows easy recognition and a foundation to discuss the basic concepts. Major theories evaluating team-member role development include Interaction Process Analysis, a theory proposed by sociologist Freed Bales in 1950. Bale's theory evaluates individual members using a formal inventory system.

David Buchanan and Andrzej Huczynski published a major theory in the 1980s focusing on the elements of power and status in team management theory. Other important theories such as Meredith Belbin's theory of team roles also presented in the 1980s, propose ways to examine assigned team-member roles and compare these with the roles developed as a result of the individual team member's personality. More recently, John Adair's leadership theory emerged offerring a framework for team leaders that integrates tasks, managing the team and managing individual contributions, Mind Tools reports.

The major elements examined by teamwork studies include the team environment, member actions, communication used by the team, traits and roles of team members and the team work assignment. Scholarly studies also explore the attitudes and beliefs of the team members. In-depth team study also looks at the use of employer reward systems, both real and perceived by the worker.

Modern scholarly studies compare new teamwork theories with earlier theories, and also create mathematical equations to represent the behavior of individual team members and the group as a whole. The math equations attempt to predict team behavior under various employment conditions.

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Teamwork theory was developed by organizational psychologists and social scientists. Applying teamwork theory in the workplace can maximize team performance and overall productivity. Important theorists to know include Maslow, Bales, Belbin, Adair and others.

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Experiential Learning | Center for Teaching & Learning

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Throughout the experiential learning process, the learner is actively engaged in posing questions, investigating, experimenting, being curious, solving problems, assuming responsibility, being creative, and constructing meaning, and is challenged to take initiative, make decisions and be accountable for results.

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https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/catalogs/tip-sheets/implementing-group-work-classroom

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Group work can be an effective method to motivate students, encourage active learning, and develop key critical-thinking, communication, and decision-making skills. But without careful planning and facilitation, group work can frustrate students and instructors, and feel like a waste of time. Use these suggestions to help implement group work successfully in your classroom.

Preparing for Group Work

Think carefully about how students will be physically arranged in groups. Will it be easy for groups to form and for all students to be comfortable? Also think about how the layout of your classroom will impact volume. Will students be able to hear one another clearly? How can you moderate the activity to control volume?

Set clear guidelines on professional, civil conduct between and among students to respect people's differences and create an inclusive environment.

Talk to students about their past experiences with group work and allow them to establish some ground rules for successful collaboration. This discussion can be successfully done anonymously through the use of note cards.

Designing the Group Activity

Identify the instructional objectives. Determine what you want to achieve through the small group activity, both academically (e.g., knowledge of a topic) and socially (e.g., listening skills). The activity should relate closely to the learning objective(s) and class content, and must be designed to help students learn, not simply to occupy their time. When deciding whether or not to use group work for a specific task, consider these questions: What is the objective of the activity? How will that objective be furthered by asking students to work in groups? Is the activity challenging or complex enough that it requires group work? Will the project require true collaboration? Is there any reason why the assignment should not be collaborative?

Make the task challenging. Consider giving a relatively easy task early in the term to arouse students' interest in group work and encourage their progress. In most cases collaborative exercises should be stimulating and challenging. By pooling their resources and dealing with differences of opinion that arise, groups of students can develop a more sophisticated product than they could as individuals. See our teaching tip "Group work in the Classroom: Small-Group Tasks" for some ideas.

Assign group tasks that encourage involvement, interdependence, and a fair division of labour. All group members should feel a sense of personal responsibility for the success of their teammates and realize that their individual success depends on the group's success. Johnson, Johnson, and Smith (2014) refer to this as positive interdependence and argue that this type of cooperative learning tends to result in learners promoting each other's success. Knowing that peers are relying on you is a powerful motivator for group work.

Allocate essential resources across the group so that group members are required to share information (e.g., the jigsaw method). Or, to come up with a consensus, randomly select one person to speak for the group, or assign different roles to group members so that they are all involved in the process (e.g., recorder, spokesperson, summarizer, checker, skeptic, organizer, observer, timekeeper, conflict resolver, liaison to other groups).

Another strategy for promoting interdependence is specifying common rewards for the group, such as a group mark. See the CTE teaching tip "Methods for Assessing Group Work" for more information.

Decide on group size. The size you choose will depend on the number of students, the size of the classroom, the variety of voices needed within a group, and the task assigned. Groups of four-five tend to balance the needs for diversity, productivity, active participation, and cohesion. The less skillful the group members, the smaller the groups should be (Gross Davis, 1993).

Decide how you will divide students into groups. Division based on proximity or students' choice is quickest, especially for large and cramped classes, but this often means that students end up working together with friends or with the same people.

To vary group composition and increase diversity within groups, randomly assign students to groups by counting off and grouping them according to number.

For some group tasks, the diversity within a group (e.g., gender, ethnicity, level of preparation) is especially important, and you might want to assign students to groups yourself before class. Collect a data card from each student on the first day of class to glean important information about their backgrounds, knowledge, and interests. Alternately, ask students to express a preference (e.g., list three students with whom they would most like to work or two topics they would most like to study), and keep their preferences in mind as you assign groups.

Allow sufficient time for group work. Recognize that you won't be able to cover as much material as you could if you lectured for the whole class period. Cut back on the content you want to present in order to give groups time to work. Estimate the amount of time that subgroups need to complete the activity. Also plan for a plenary session in which groups' results can be presented or general issues and questions can be discussed.

Design collaborative work in multiple forms: pairs, small groups, large groups, online synchronously, online asynchronously, etc. Some students might be better at contributing after they have had time to digest material, while others might be better at thinking on the spot. Other students will defer to others in large groups but actively contribute in pairs. All roles should be valued and included.

Introducing the Group Activity

Share your rationale for using group work. Students must understand the benefits of collaborative learning. Don't assume that students know what the pedagogical purpose is. Explicitly connect these activities to larger class themes and learning outcomes whenever possible.

Have students form groups before you give them instructions. If you try to give instructions first, students may be too preoccupied with deciding on group membership to listen to you.

Facilitate some form of group cohesion. Students work best together if they know or trust each other, at least to some extent. Even for brief group activities, have students introduce themselves to their group members before attending to their task. For longer periods of group work, consider introducing an icebreaker or an activity designed specifically to build a sense of teamwork.

Explain the task clearly. This means both telling students exactly what they have to do and describing what the final product of their group work will look like. Explaining the big picture or final goal is important, especially when the group work will take place in steps (such as in snowballing or jigsaw). Prepare written or visual instructions (e.g., charts, sequential diagrams) for students. Remember to include time estimations for activities.

Set ground rules for group interaction. Especially for extended periods of group work, establish how group members should interact with one another, including principles such as respect, active listening, and methods for decision making. Consider making a group contract. See Group Decision Making, a CTE teaching tip prepared for students working in groups, and Making Group Contracts.

Let students ask questions. Even if you believe your instructions are crystal clear, students may have legitimate questions about the activity. Give them time to ask questions before they get to work.

Monitoring the Group Task

Monitor the groups but do not hover. As students do their work, circulate among the groups and answer any questions raised. Also listen for trends that are emerging from the discussions, so that you can refer to them during the subsequent plenary discussion. Avoid interfering with group functioning - allow time for students to solve their own problems before getting involved. You might consider leaving the room for a short period of time. Your absence can increase students' willingness to share uncertainties and disagreements (Jaques, 2000).

Be slow to share what you know. If you come upon a group that is experiencing uncertainty or disagreement, avoid the natural tendency to give the answers or resolve the disagreement. If necessary, clarify your instructions, but let students struggle - within reason - to accomplish the task (Race, 2000).

Clarify your role as facilitator. If students criticize you for not contributing enough to their work, consider whether you have communicated clearly enough your role as facilitator.

Ending the Group Task

Provide closure to the group activities. Students tend to want to see how their work in small groups was useful to them and/or contributed to the development of the topic. You can end with a plenary session in which students do group reporting. Effective group reporting "can make the difference between students' feeling that they are just going through their paces and the sense that they are engaged in a powerful exchange of ideas" (Brookfield & Preskill, 1999, p. 107).

Oral reports: Have each group give one idea and rotate through the groups until no new ideas arise. Or have each group give their most surprising or illuminating insights or their most challenging question. You can record ideas raised to validate their value.

Written reports: Have each group record their ideas and either present them yourself or have a group member do so. One variation on this is to have groups record their conclusions on a section of the blackboard or on flipchart paper that is then posted on the wall. Students then informally circulate around the room and read each other's answers. Alternately, you can ask students to move around the room in small groups, rotating from one set of comments to another and adding their own comments in response. Another variation on written reports is to have students write brief comments on Post-it notes or index cards. Collect them, take a few minutes to process them or put them in sequence, then summarize their contents.

Model how you want students to participate. When responding to students' answers, model the respect and sensitivity that you want the students to display towards their classmates. Be ready to acknowledge and value opinions different from your own. Be willing to share your own stories, critique your work, and summarize what has been said.

Connect the ideas raised to course content and objectives. Recognize that groups might not come up with the ideas you intended them to, so be willing to make your lecture plans flexible. Wherever possible, look for a connection between group conclusions and the course topic. However, be aware that misconceptions or inaccurate responses need to be clarified and corrected either by you or by other students.

Don't provide too much closure. Although the plenary session should wrap up the group work, feel free to leave some questions unanswered for further research or for the next class period. This openness reflects the nature of knowledge.

Ask students to reflect on the group work process. They may do so either orally or in writing. This reflection helps them discover what they learned and how they functioned in the group. It also gives you a sense of their response to group work.

Support

If you would like support applying these tips to your own teaching, CTE staff members are here to help. View the CTE Support page to find the most relevant staff member to contact.

References

Brookfield, S.D., & Preskill, S. (1999). Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and Techniques for Democratic Classrooms. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Gross Davis, B. (1993). Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Jaques, D. (2000). Learning in Groups: A Handbook for Improving Group Work, 3rd ed. London: Kogan Page.

Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. A. (2014). Cooperative learning: Improving university instruction by basing practice on validated theory. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 25(3&4), 85-118.

Race, P. (2000). 500 Tips on Group Learning. London: Kogan Page.

Roberson, B., & Franchini, B. (2014). Effective task design for the TBL classroom. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 25(3&4), 275-302.

Resources

CTE teaching tips

Other resources

Journal on Excellence in College Teaching (2014). Special Focus Issue: Small-Group Learning in Higher Education - Cooperative, Collaborative, Problem-Based, and Team-Based Learning.

Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., and Smith, K.A. (2006). Active learning: Cooperation in the university classroom (3rd edition). Edina, MN: Interaction.

Silberman, M. (1996). Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

This Creative Commons license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon our work non-commercially, as long as they credit us and indicate if changes were made. Use this citation format: Implementing Group Work in the Classroom. Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo.

This Creative Commons license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon our work non-commercially, as long as they credit us and indicate if changes were made. Use this citation format: Implementing Group Work in the Classroom. Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo.

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Implementing Group Work in the Classroom | Centre for Teaching Excellence

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Group work can be an effective method to motivate students, encourage active learning, and develop key critical-thinking, communication, and decision-making sk

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https://www.edutopia.org/article/8-strategies-improve-participation-your-virtual-classroom/

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In every classroom, there are students who always have their hand raised to participate, and those who are hesitant to engage. Whether they're introverted, tend to think awhile before they contribute, or are just having a bad day, it can be hard to bring kids into discussions who are reluctant to add their voices.

The challenges of getting students to participate have intensified during remote learning, we've heard from many teachers. Digital platforms can create added communication barriers by making it hard to know when to talk, for example, or how to read subtle but important elements of discourse like a person's body language and facial expressions. Additionally, online discussions are often hindered by variability in students' access to technology and by privacy concerns, and consequently many teachers have had to rely on students' submitting work over isolated channels like email, which can leave back-and-forth between peers (and between students and the teacher) by the wayside.

Getting kids to contribute in virtual classrooms takes some work, it turns out. "We keep calling this generation digital natives as if they are simply whizzes at everything computerized. They aren't," wrote Tim O'Brien on Facebook. "They need personal support, scaffolding, and reassurance that technology does not provide. It is simply a tool, not a teacher."

To find out how to improve student discussions and participation in online learning, we culled through hundreds of comments on social media and followed up with more than 20 educators to see how they tackled the challenge last spring. Teachers offered a range of smart strategies, both synchronous and asynchronous, to integrate the values and the voices of all kids-even the quietest or those with disrupted schedules-into their classes this fall.

Synchronous Strategies

For synchronous learning, some teachers said they translated traditional discussion strategies from the classroom to live video chats, while others found that digital tools helped boost classroom participation.

1. Spider web discussion: During remote learning this spring, students in Shai Klima's high school class led their own discussions over Google Meet. Before the live class, students answered questions independently, and then shared their responses at the start of the meeting as a jumping-off point for a broader class discussion.

While students conversed on video, Klima listened and drew lines on a sheet of paper tracking the flow of the conversation, resulting in a spider web. At the end of the discussion, Klima shared the drawing over video, and then asked students to reflect on the experience and what they learned about who talked, who listened, and who built on the ideas of others.

"It has been successful as a means to get kids to credit their peers with helping them come up with new ideas, which helps build rapport," said Klima, who let students struggling with bandwidth call in to the meetings.

2. Using chat to check for understanding: After giving lessons last spring, Paul France had his third-grade students use the Google Chat feature to ask and answer questions or type in emojis, like a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, to show whether they understood a concept. To create structure around the responses, he guided his students in creating norms around using the chat feature-they decided as a group to use only one emoji at a time, for example. France said the practice helped him check for student understanding and pushed students to engage more with the content.

Kindergarten teacher Ruth Calkins, meanwhile, used Zoom chat when holding live lessons with her kindergarten students. She said they enjoyed typing "T" or "F" for true and false questions while answering math problems in the chat box, and some even attempted to write sentences in response to her questions. Typing responses also provided a lot of keyboard practice for her young students.

3. Flip your classroom to stimulate deeper discussion: Forrest Hinton, a high school math teacher, says he found that a blend of asynchronous and synchronous instruction worked well to stimulate student discussion during remote learning.

First, he taught new content asynchronously through recorded videos and online activities. At the start of his live class, students briefly summarized the concepts they had learned together and then divided into breakout rooms to solve related problems in small groups. Flipping his classroom allowed Hinton to spend less class time in direct instruction-and listening to students at the start of class and in small groups helped him identify, and then address, where his students were struggling. "This has allowed me to clarify concepts in a more targeted way and better assist students," said Hinton.

4. Adapting think-pair-share to Zoom: Ryan Tahmaseb, director of library services, says he found that giving more project-based learning activities to his elementary and middle school students-and allowing them more autonomy over assignments-naturally encouraged richer discussions in virtual learning. "If we give students as much freedom as possible to experiment, research, and pursue interests within our content area, then they inevitably have a lot more to say," said Tahmaseb.

When it came to class discussions, Tahmaseb adapted think-pair-share to Zoom. Students were given a prompt, broken into groups, and then placed into breakout rooms to discuss and record their answers on a shared Google doc, which allowed students to share their thinking in writing or read aloud. Since Tahmaseb wasn't in each breakout room to listen to the conversations, the Google doc kept students accountable. Once they returned to the whole class, volunteers from each group shared their answers with everyone.

5. A new twist on show-and-tell: To get students comfortable with online participation, Brittany Collins, the teaching and learning coordinator at Write the World, a global online writing community for middle and high school students, converted the familiar show-and-tell activity into "think, write, share."

In one activity, Collins asked middle and high school students to find a photo, painting, or drawing that represented intergenerational connection and independently respond by writing to the following questions from the Making Thinking Visible Framework before discussing them over video as a class: What are we looking at? What makes you say that? What do you notice (see, feel, know)? What more can we uncover? What do you wonder? "It helps to break the ice in a virtual learning setting where unplanned participation can prove challenging for some students," said Collins.

Asynchronous Strategies

Although some teachers-and students-said that synchronous discussions were more engaging because they resembled a traditional classroom, many educators found that asynchronous discussions were more equitable because they opened up participation to students with low bandwidth, who had schedule limitations, or who were uncomfortable engaging with the full class.

6. Online forums create back-and-forth dialogue: Angelina Murphy, a high school English teacher, said she used Google Classroom's question feature to get her class to respond to readings and discussion prompts during remote learning this past spring. When each student commented, Murphy replied with clarifying questions to create a back-and-forth dialogue and also asked every student to respond to at least two of their peers' comments to create a broader base of discussion.

Fifth-grade teacher Raquel Linares said she used Nearpod Collaborate (Apple, Android), a virtual collaboration board, to get students to share images or write a response to show what they had learned about an article they read. To inspire connection and reflection among classmates, Linares also used Flipgrid (Apple, Android), so that students could hear their peers' voices even though they were remote.

7. Seeing and critiquing peer work through virtual gallery walks: Virtual "gallery walks" give students an opportunity to view their classmates' projects while learning from each other, according to Joe Marangell, a high school social studies teacher. After his students presented their own projects through five-minute screencasts, they were then required to give feedback to at least two other students on theirs.

Using Google Sheets, students provided feedback to their peers by answering the following prompts: What's something new I learned about this topic?; What's something that surprised me about this topic?; What's something I liked about this presentation? The online format gave every student the opportunity to see their peers' work and their assessment on theirs for deeper reflection, Marangell said.

8. Moving station brainstorming online: When carousel or station brainstorming activities are conducted in traditional classroom environments, small groups of students rotate around the room to different stations to answer prompts-and view and add to each groups' responses.

To translate this online, Marangell divided his students into groups online and created shared Google docs-or a series of Google slides-for the prompts/questions. Each group left their thoughts under the questions by the assigned date and then followed up by commenting on the other groups' responses the next day. "The strategy still allows them to maintain a sense of classroom community [in a virtual setting]," said Marangell.

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8 Strategies to Improve Participation in Your Virtual Classroom

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Educators share their best synchronous and asynchronous strategies to boost student participation during online learning.

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https://youtu.be/jt2q1cHsH6E

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Community Helpers for Kids | Jobs & Occupations for Preschool and Kindergarten | Kids Academy

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https://youtu.be/7ew6herS7Gg

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