# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Many faculty now have students do some graded work in groups. The task may be, for example, preparation of a paper or report, collection and analysis of data, a presentation supported with visuals, or creation of a website. Faculty make these assignments with high expectations. They want the groups to produce quality work-better than what the students could do individually-and they want the students to learn how to work productively with others. Sometimes those expectations are realized, but most of the time there is room for improvement-sometimes lots of it. To that end, below is a set of suggestions for improving group projects. A list in the article referenced below provided a starting place for these recommendations.

1. Emphasize the importance of teamwork-
Before the groups are formed and the task is set out, teachers should make clear why this particular assignment is being done in groups. Students are still regularly reporting in survey data that teachers use groups so they don't have to teach or have as much work to grade. Most of us are using groups because employers in many fields want employees who can work with others they don't know, may not like, who hold different views, and possess different skills and capabilities.
2. Teach teamwork skills-Most students don't come to group work knowing how to function effectively in groups. Whether in handouts, online resources, or discussions in class, teachers need to talk about the responsibilities members have to the group (such as how sometimes individual goals and priorities must be relinquished in favor of group goals) and about what members have the right to expect from their groups. Students need strategies for dealing with members who are not doing their fair share. They need ideas about constructively resolving disagreement. They need advice on time management.

3. Use team-building exercises to build cohesive groups-Members need the chance to get to know each other, and they should be encouraged to talk about how they'd like to work together. Sometimes a discussion of worst group experiences makes clear to everyone that there are behaviors to avoid. This might be followed with a discussion of what individual members need from the group in order to do their best work. Things like picking a group name and creating a logo also help create a sense of identity for the group, which in turn fosters the commitment groups need from their members in order to succeed.

4. Thoughtfully consider group formation-Most students prefer forming their own groups, and in some studies these groups are more productive. In other research, students in these groups "enjoy" the experience of working together, but they don't always get a lot done. In most professional contexts, people don't get to choose their project partners. If the goal is for students to learn how to work with others whom they don't know, then the teacher should form the groups. There are many ways groups can be formed and many criteria that can be used to assemble groups. Groups should be formed in a way that furthers the learning goals of the group activity.

5. Make the workload reasonable and the goals clear-Yes, the task can be larger than what one individual can complete. But students without a lot of group work experience may struggle with large, complex tasks. Whatever the task, the teacher's goals and objectives should be clear. Students shouldn't have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out what they are supposed to be doing.

6. Consider roles for group members-Not all the literature recommends assigning roles, although some does. Roles can emerge on their own as members see what functions the group needs and step up to fill those roles. However, this doesn't always happen when students are new to group work. The teacher can decide on the necessary roles and suggest them to a group with the group deciding who does what. The teacher can assign the roles, but should realize that assigning roles doesn't guarantee that students will assume those roles. Assigned roles can stay the same or they can rotate. However they're implemented, roles are taken more seriously if groups are required to report who filled what role in the group.

7. Provide some class time for meetings-It is very hard for students to orchestrate their schedules. Part of what they need to be taught about group work is the importance of coming to meetings with an agenda-some expectation about what needs to get done. They also need to know that significant amounts of work can be done in short periods of time, provided the group knows what needs to be done next. Working online is also increasingly an option, but being able to convene even briefly in class gives groups the chance to touch base and get organized for the next steps.

8. Request interim reports and group process feedback-One of the group's first tasks ought to be the creation of a time line-what they expect to have done by when. That time line should guide instructor requests for progress reports from the group, and the reports should be supported with evidence. It's not good enough for the group to say it's collecting references. A list of references collected should be submitted with the report. Students should report individually on how well the group is working together, including their contributions to the group. Ask students what else could they contribute that would make the group function even more effectively.

9. Require individual members to keep track of their contributions-The final project should include a report from every member identifying their contribution to the project. If two members report contributing the same thing, the teacher defers to the student who has evidence that supports what the student claims to have done.

10. Include peer assessment in the evaluation process-What a student claims to have contributed to the group and its final product can also be verified with a peer assessment in which members rate or rank (or both) the contributions of others. A formative peer assessment early in the process can help members redress what the group might identify as problems they are experiencing at this stage.

Students, like the rest of us, aren't born knowing how to work well in a group. Fortunately, it's a skill that can be taught and learned. Teacher design and management of group work on projects can do much to ensure that the lessons students learn about working with others are the ones that will serve them well the next time they work in groups.

Reference: Hansen, R.S. (2006). Benefits and problems with student teams: Suggestions for improving team projects. Journal of Education for Business, September/October, 11-19.

Reprinted from Improving Group Projects. The Teaching Professor, 27.6 (2013): 4-5. © Magna Publications. All rights reserved.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Recommendations for Improving Group Work

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Many faculty now have students do some graded work in groups. The task may be, for example, preparation of a paper or report, collection and analysis of data, a presentation supported with visuals, or creation of a website. Faculty make these assignments with high expectations.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Often, students do not have the skills or expertise needed to work effectively in small groups (Shimazoe and Aldrich 2010). By applying facilitation strategies such as those described below, instructors can help students learn to work collaboratively and ensure that group work improves learning for all.

Establish classroom ground-rules or expectations that can promote respectful, inclusive interactions in the classroom. These ground-rules or expectations should be determined at the start of the semester and guide students' interactions in groups. Groups that develop shared expectations on how to approach and accomplish a task tend to have higher levels of helping behaviors (Gonzalez-Mulé et al., 2014).

Define group member roles and rotate these frequently. Groups often function most effectively when members have designated roles (such as recorder, manager, or reporter) which can promote positive interdependence among group members, as well as maintain individual accountability. Roles are also critical in minimizing the possibility that students will take on, or assign one to another, roles that adhere to gender and racial stereotypes. For example, Hirshfield and Chachra (2015) found that in first-year engineering courses, females tended to undertake less technical roles and more communication roles than males. By having students' alternate through different roles, you can help students learn the value of each role.

Develop and communicate a set of clear instructions. Explain why and how students are completing the activity.

What are the content knowledge and skills that this assignment is designed to help students learn and practice?

Explain how to accomplish the activity in a PowerPoint slide or handout. Set time limits, e.g., 5-7 minutes for shorter activities, or 10-12 minutes for longer, multi-step activities. Breaking up a complex task into smaller pieces with timed checkpoints helps groups better understand how to work on complex problems and make sure they are on track to finish during the allotted time.

Indicate group size and composition. Should students work with two or three neighbors? These instructions help students better understand how they will work in groups (Barkley et al. 2014).

Provide careful discussion prompts. Ask students to answer specific questions but also to focus on the rationale behind their answers and be prepared to share the rationale. This prompt influences the quality of student discussions by creating a "reasoning-centered class" where students employ more reasoning rather than just trying to achieve the correct answer (Knight et al. 2013).

Maintain your role as a facilitator and be an active listener during the activity. Move throughout the room to monitor group conversations without interfering or participating in the groups' conversations. Watch for uneven participation in a group. What common mistakes are you observing in groups? Silently note these, but do not interfere or interject. Groups need time to develop group norms (i.e., their group work behavioral style) and allowing them to work this out is an important learning step. Therefore, let groups negotiate their own group dynamics.

Be flexible. You don't need to wait until everyone has finished the assignment before asking groups to report out. If necessary you can ask managers how much additional time is needed for their group. If students are struggling with the assignment, stop and provide assistance or direction to help them get back on track with the assignment.

Provide closure. Bring the groups back together as a whole class to report out and discuss the results of the activity. Use your previous observations of groups to determine which groups you might ask to report out. Ask a group's spokesperson to report on one piece of information or an idea generated during the group work.

Follow up by asking the spokesperson to explain their reasoning behind the group's response.

Promote participation by asking other groups to respond as well. Ask questions to help the students connect and understand the ideas brought out during the discussion.

Write the ideas generated by group work on the chalkboard so that all students can learn from the contributions of each group. Doing so underscores the importance of the knowledge generated by group work and encourages everyone to pay attention and record this knowledge in their notes.

You may not have time to hear from all groups but can then call on those groups who did not have the opportunity to report that day during the next class period.

Include time for reflection and feedback. Acknowledge the progress made and good group behaviors observed. Discuss opportunities for improving group dynamics. During the semester, occasionally ask students to reflect on their learning experience in groups. You can use these responses as feedback to assess and revise group work as needed. For example, you can ask students to answer the following (Ash and Clayton 2014):

I learned....,

I learned this because (what aspect of this experience helped them learn this)

This learning matters because (how might knowledge or skill help them in the course or in a larger context?)....

Issues that might arise during group work. Working in groups can be a particularly challenging experience for students who are introverts or dominating types (Taylor 2011). Having clear ground rules to explain the process of group work and instructions on how to accomplish the assignment can help alleviate angst in both groups. It can also be useful to remind students of their roles to help ensure that all group members are fully engaged.

Questions to help facilitate groups:

Does your recorder have questions from the group that you need to address?

Does the manager have ideas that were suggested but not yet discussed?

What will the spokesperson report for their group progress at this point?

Ask the reflector for each person's contribution or what the consensus is on their progress so far.

Creating successful group work activities in your class requires some preparation, but the benefits to you and your students can be gratifying. Check out our workshop schedule for more information on teaching with group work.
References
Ash, S. L., & Clayton, P. H. (2004). The articulated learning: An approach to guided reflection and assessment. Innovative Higher Education, 29(2), 137-154.

Barkley, E. F., Cross, K. P., & Major, C. H. (2014). Collaborative learning techniques: A handbook for college faculty. John Wiley & Sons.

Gonzalez-Mulé, E., DeGeest, D. S., McCormick, B. W., Seong, J. Y., & Brown, K. G. (2014). Can we get some cooperation around here? The mediating role of group norms on the relationship between team personality and individual helping behaviors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(5), 988.

Hirshfield, L., & Chachra, D. (2015, October). Task choice, group dynamics and learning goals: Understanding student activities in teams. In Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2015. 32614 2015. IEEE (pp. 1-5). IEEE.

Rienties, B., Alcott, P., & Jindal-Snape, D. (2014). To Let Students Self-Select or Not That Is the Question for Teachers of Culturally Diverse Groups. Journal of Studies in International Education, 18(1), 64-83.

Shimazoe, J., & Aldrich, H. (2010). Group work can be gratifying: Understanding & overcoming resistance to cooperative learning. College Teaching, 58(2), 52-57.

Sweet, M., & Michaelsen, L. K. (2012). Team-based learning in the social sciences and humanities. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Taylor, A. (2011). Top 10 reasons students dislike working in small groups... and why I do it anyway. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 39(3), 219-220.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. © 2016, Washington University.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Often, students do not have the skills or expertise needed to work effectively in small groups (Shimazoe and Aldrich 2010). By applying facilitation strategies such as those described below, instructors can help students learn to work collaboratively and ensure that group work improves learning for

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Two widely accepted principles about learning-learners construct their own knowledge and learning is an inherently social phenomenon-support the use of group learning. Working in small groups provides learners with opportunities to articulate ideas and understandings, uncover assumptions and misconceptions, and negotiate with others to create products or reach consensus. Group activities enable students to discover deeper meaning in the content and improve thinking skills. The most effective use of group work is that which engages students with higher-level content that is thought-provoking, difficult to understand, or has multiple interpretations.

The terms collaborative learning and cooperative learning are often used interchangeably, but a distinction is helpful. Collaborative learning highlights the contributions of individual group members, stresses the sharing of authority, and leads to dialog and consensus building on topics without a clear right and wrong answer. Group governance and group processing remain in the hands of the students (Panitz, 1997). Cooperative learning is often thought of as a subset of collaborative learning that involves more teacher intervention. The instructor designs the task and a group structure for accomplishing the task, including the assignment of roles to group members. Students then interact under specific conditions set up by the teacher: positive interdependence, face-to-face interaction, individual account ability, collaborative skills, and group processing (Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1998). Both collaborative and cooperative learning can take place with informal and formal groups, however both settings will require that the instructor plans carefully how the assignment is designed, monitored, and assessed.
Short-term groups
These are temporary groups, with little or no time spent on assigning people to groups, getting into groups, or assigning roles. They last one session or less and are used to ensure cognitive processing and engagement in learning. Some informal short-term group activities include the following:

Think-Pair-Share: Students are given a prompt (a question, problem, visual, etc.), and asked to think about the prompt individually and jot down ideas. Students then form pairs, talk about their responses, and formulate a joint response. Some pairs are called on to summarize their discussion for the class.

Think-Pair-Square: Same as above, but two pairs of students join together to share and compare the results, rather than moving to a whole group discussion.

Turn-To-Your-Neighbor Discussions: Students "turn to a neighbor" and brainstorm answers to a question or discuss a solution to a problem. Call on students for answers. Ask the class for a show of hands of who agrees or disagrees with an answer.

Pair-And-Compare: During a two to three minute break in lecture, students form pairs and compare notes, rewriting the notes by adding information or correcting as needed.

Small-Group Homework Check: Have students do their homework individually outside of class. During class on the day the assignment is due, have students form groups and then compare their answers to the assignment. The students in each group must agree on answers and turn in a group solution along with their individual work.

Some short-term group activities require a bit more structure and planning. These include the following:

Jigsaw: This structure is useful when a topic or problem is complex and involves multiple perspectives. Each group member takes responsibility for one part of the problem, meets with students from other groups who have the same responsibility (expert group), and then teaches his or her part to the members of the original group.

Roundtable: After the group is given a prompt, the group members take turns recording a response to the prompt on a single page that is quickly passed from one member to the next for a specified amount of time.

Send-A-Problem: Problems or issues are identified by the groups or by the instructor. Each group proposes solutions to these problems or issues.

Dyadic Essay Confrontation: In response to an assigned reading, each student writes an essay question and model response to that question. During class, students pair off, exchange essay questions, and each writes a spontaneous response to the question he or she receives. The pairs compare the spontaneous responses with the model responses for the two questions.

Long-term groups or teams
These groups are formed by the instructor and may stay together for an extended period of time (weeks or even the entire semester) to work on a broader task or project. One type of formal group is the student team-a stable group that works on major course projects and often involves peer evaluation. Some specific suggestions for getting started with organizing long-term group projects include the following:

Develop a clear description of the project and what you expect.

Decide what kinds of team compositions are critical for the project.

Break the project down into smaller pieces, establishing a timeline, and having the teams submit progress reports on their learning and how they are working as a team.

Provide students with a rationale for the team project. Include an explanation of the value and purpose of working as a team, and establish guidelines for how the teams should work together.

Establish clear and fair guidelines for how the team project will be graded.

This depends on your purpose for using groups. Teams usually have three to five students who are assigned to the group randomly or purposefully by you. Capstone projects may require a larger number of students. Student-selected groups are not generally recommended.
Random selection
You can form random teams by any of the following methods:

Simply having students "turn-to-your-neighbor" or "form teams of three."

Counting off-24 students would form groups of four by counting off from one to six. All of the ones would become a group and so on.

Using color-coded cards or playing cards-students pick up cards as they enter class and all students with the same color (or same number) work together.

Instructor-selected teams
For longer or more complex projects, instructors may want to create heterogeneous teams that distribute students into different groups based on ability, strengths, experience, gender, ethnicity, or some other characteristic. Instructors first learn about the students and then form teams according to the plan. You can learn about your students in one or more of the following ways:

Collect student data sheets that include the following:

Course-related information: Major, courses taken in the discipline

Experience: Work, travel

Personal information: Where they live, phone number, e-mail address, interests

Administer questionnaires with questions relevant to the project:

Strengths: Self-rating on ability with computers, writing, organization

Learning styles

Have students prepare a resume. Doing this may be most appropriate when the students are likely to have a resume already prepared.

Cooper, J. (2003). Group formation in cooperative learning: What the experts say. In J. L. Cooper, P. Robinson, & D. Ball (Eds.), Small group instruction in higher education: Lessons from the past, visions of the future (pp. 207-210). Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.

Cuseo, J. B. (2002) Igniting student involvement, peer interaction, and teamwork: A taxonomy of specific cooperative learning structures and collaborative learning strategies Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.

Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. A. (1998). Cooperative learning returns to college: What evidence is there that it works. Change, 30(4), 27-35.

Millis, B. J., & Cottell, P. G., Jr. (1998). Cooperative learning for higher education faculty. Phoenix: Oryx Press.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Two widely accepted principles about learning-learners construct their own knowledge and learning is an inherently social phenomenon-support the use of group learning. Working in small groups provides learners with opportunities to articulate ideas and understandings, uncover assumptions and misconceptions, and negotiate with others to create products or reach consensus.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
For many instructors it is, understandably, challenging to create a lesson plan that assumes students will have the basic knowledge needed to go deeper into course content when an instructor has previously found that students don't complete the assigned reading. For a flipped classroom to achieve its goals, students need to be held accountable for completing the pre-class work. This accountability can take many forms: quizzes (announced or pop), "entrance-ticket" assignments that students have to hand in before coming to class, graded in-class activities that cannot be successfully completed unless students arrive prepared, among others. The accountability mechanism used by Deslauriers, et al. (2011), was a series of short true-false quizzes assessing students' understanding of the reading. These quizzes were completed online prior to the face-to-face class meetings. Faculty members at U-M are using an array of accountability measures in their flipped classes, ranging from paper-and-pencil quizzes to requiring students to submit questions on-line through CTools prior to coming to class. A summary of different low- and high-tech ways of ensuring accountability can be seen below.

Many faculty worry that flipping their class will mean that the grading demands of the course will increase. While this concern is understandable, this may not necessarily be the case. One way to manage the time/effort demands of a flipped classroom is to critically examine which assignments need to be indvidually evaluated for quality of student work and which can be used in aggregate to assess student understanding. Several specific strategies for managing the grading workload include:

Completion points: Instructors can grant a few points for having answered brief questions about the assigned pre-class work or getting a certain number of questions correct on a quiz; this also provides students an incentive to complete the assignments prior to class.

Peer review: Pairs or small groups of students can provide feedback on their work especially when they are able to use a rubric or guiding questions to structure their feedback. Details on how to use peer review with Google docs can be found at the link.

Self-evaluation: Students can reflect on their own learning by taking an ungraded quiz and checking their responses, reviewing a checklist of ideas to determine their understanding of the subject, or by writing a reflective statement describing the concepts that are most clear and confusing to them.

In general, frequent low-stakes assessments of student understanding benefit student learning while keeping the instructor apprised of what concepts or skills are particularly challenging for students to master ( Ambrose et al., 2011).

Paper quizzes

Reflective in-class writing (at the beginning of class)

Journal entries

Submitting discussion questions on index cards as students enter

CTools TestCenter

Google forms

Interactive modules

Blog posts

Online forums

Submitting discussion questions electronically

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For many instructors it is, understandably, challenging to create a lesson plan that assumes students will have the basic knowledge needed to go deeper into course content when an instructor has previously found that students don't complete the assigned reading. For a flipped classroom to achieve its goals, students need to be held accountable for completing the pre-class work.

# data[].attributes.headline
3 Group Work Strategies That Help Hold All Students Accountable

# data[].attributes.subject
3 Group Work Strategies That Help Hold All Students Accountable

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
3 Group Work Strategies That Help Hold All Students Accountable

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
From delegating roles to involving students in rubric design, here are group work strategies to help hold all students accountable.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teaching reciprocity - you teach, you learn  - The Academy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teaching reciprocity - you teach, you learn is an approach where re-engaging and re-igniting the passion for learning is just as important for the teacher as it is for the student. As a learning and teaching institution there are many opportunities to learn from our student body who bring their own experiences, interests and knowledge.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Reimagining Classrooms: Teachers as Learners and Students as Leaders | Kayla Delzer | TEDxFargo

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Active Learning Classrooms: Sharing responsibility for learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Allport, Watson, Shaw, and Mead were the social theorists that established cooperative learning prior to WWII, suggesting that group work is more effective and efficient, than working alone. However, it was 1937 when researchers Mark Arthur May and Leonard William Doob collected all the principles behind the Cooperative and Collaborative Learning Theory.

Cooperative and Collaborative Learning is a learning situation that involves two or more individuals who are attempting to have a shared educational experience. In these environments, students are able to learn from each other, utilize each other's skill sets and resources, and share experiences that may benefit the entire group. As a theory, it suggests that learners who are educated in a group setting and cooperate in order to achieve a set of common goals are more likely to be successful in doing so, while those who work autonomously are more likely to exhibit competitive behaviors.

Cooperative and Collaborative Learning benefits not only the academic, but also the learner's social persona, since it emphasizes on teamwork and team spirit. In a classroom this means higher levels of achievement, potential cross-ethnic friendships, life-long interaction, enhanced communication and cognitive skills, and critical thinking.

The 5 Basic Principles of Cooperative and Collaborative Theory

1. Interpersonal and collaborative skills
Students learn how to work together and support each other. Instructors should encourage brainstorming, reflection, and participation.

2. Face-to-face interaction
With face-to-face interaction learning becomes dynamic. Students discuss their ideas and make oral summarizations, while comprehending the value of individual differences and critical thinking.

3. Beneficial interdependence
Students learn the value of collaboration for the successful completion of a task, and the usefulness of team roles, and effective representation.

4. Individual responsibility
Collaboration aside, students should sense their responsibility towards the group and comprehend the value of their contribution for the successful completion of a task. Slacking, hiding behind someone else' work and simply following instructions won't work.

5. Group interaction processing
Groups should learn how to interact and then evaluate their effectiveness and skills. Instructors should give students the time to reflect on the group's collaboration level, i.e. if everyone participated, if they supported and listened to each other, if everything went smoothly, etc.

Join us at the Instructional Design History Journey
A New Instructional Design Model Will Be Added Every Week! You are more than welcome to let us know if you would like us to cover an instructional design model and theory that is not included at Instructional Design Models and Theories. Simply leave a comment at Instructional Design Models and Theories.Last but not least, you are more than welcome to embed the Cooperative and Collaborative Learning Theory presentation at your site of blog. If you have a question that needs an answer concerning the Schema Theory do not hesitate to leave a comment and I will reply you as soon as possible.

References:

http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001348633

http://www.learning-knowledge.com/teachlearn.html

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v7n1/gokhale.jte-v7n1.html

http://www.co-operation.org/home/introduction-to-cooperative-learning/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_learning

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative_learning

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v7n1/gokhale.jte-v7n1.html

http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/strats/coop/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instructional Design Models and Theories: Cooperative and Collaborative Theory - eLearning Industry

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Allport, Watson, Shaw, and Mead were the social theorists that established cooperative learning prior to WWII, suggesting that group work is more effective and efficient, than working alone. However, it was 1937 when researchers Mark Arthur May and Leonard William Doob collected all the principles behind the Cooperative and Collaborative Learning Theory.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lev Vygotsky and Social Learning Theories

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Social learning theories help us to understand how people learn in social contexts (learn from each other) and informs us on how we, as teachers, construct active learning communities. Lev Vygotsky (1962), a Russian teacher and psychologist, first stated that we learn through our interactions a…

# data[].attributes.headline
Implementing Group Work in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.subject
Implementing Group Work in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Implementing Group Work in the Classroom | Centre for Teaching Excellence

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Group work can be an effective method to motivate students, encourage active learning, and develop key critical-thinking, communication, and decision-making sk

# data[].attributes.headline
5 Strategies to Deepen Student Collaboration

# data[].attributes.subject
5 Strategies to Deepen Student Collaboration

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Use these five best practices to help your students build a valuable 21st-century skill.

iStock.com/Christopher Futcher

Most of us who teach believe in the power of collaboration and frequently engage our students in collaborative activities. But how many times have we put students in groups only to watch them interact with their laptops instead of each other? Or pursue their own individual goals instead of consult with one another? Or complain about a lazy teammate?

Promoting real collaboration is hard to do well-and it doesn't just happen on its own. If we want real collaboration, we need to intentionally design it as part of our learning activity. These are five strategies to encourage effective collaboration.

Create Learning Activities That Are Complex

Students need a reason to collaborate. If the assignment is too simple, they can more easily do it alone. At most, they may check in with each other or interact in superficial ways. The real reason to collaborate is because the task is complex-it is too difficult and has too many pieces to complete alone.

Complex activities are challenging, engaging, stimulating, and multilayered. Complex activities require "positive interdependence" (Johnson, Johnson & Holubec, 2008), a situation in which attaining the goal, completing the task, being successful, and getting a good grade require that the team work together and share knowledge.

One way to do this is through rigorous projects that require students to identify a problem (for example, balancing population growth in their city with protection of existing green spaces) and agree-through research, discussion, debate, and time to develop their ideas-on a solution which they must then propose together.

Prepare Students to Be Part of a Team

Help students understand the benefits of collaboration and what successful collaboration looks like.

Guide students through the stages of team building (forming, storming, norming, and performing).

Give students time and opportunities within the activity to develop leadership, decision-making, trust-building, communication, and conflict-management skills.

Establish expectations and norms for working together.

Design, or have students design, protocols for handling conflict disagreement so they can resolve issues within their teams.

Teach students active listening skills.

Collaborative groups can't be assigned-they have to be built and nurtured. Students often need to learn how to work effectively with others and as part of a team. We have to help students understand the what, why, and how of collaboration. We can do this in several ways:

Minimize Opportunities for Free Riding

Create small groups of no more than four or five people. When there is less room to hide, nonparticipation is more difficult.

Ensure a high degree of individual accountability (Johnson, Johnson & Holubec, 2008) by assessing students both individually and as a group. For example, at the end of the day give students an individual quiz based on the intended outcome of their collaborative activity.

Design meaningful team roles that relate to the content and to the task. Roles like time keeper are episodic and don't intellectually engage students in the content, and this can encourage free riding. In contrast, more meaningful roles such as manager, monitor, and leaders for each subtask of the activity give students ownership in the process and allow the teacher to assess students based on successful completion of these roles.

Have students evaluate their own participation and effort and that of each team member and triangulate those assessments with your own

When students complain about collaborative groups, it often has to do with the free riding of one member who lets others do all the work and then benefits from the group grade. We can eliminate free riding in a number of ways:

Build in Many Opportunities for Discussion and Consensus

Many group projects are based on efficiency, dividing labor to create a product in the most effective way possible. This focus on the product means that we often ignore the process of collaboration. Rich discussions that connect students with the experiences of others, that engage them deeply in a shared intellectual experience, and that promote coming to consensus are essential to collaboration.

For instance, students can come to consensus around a solution or decision where they must defend or propose a common vision or develop a set of beliefs or principles. This focus on discussion and consensus builds both academic and social skills-students learn to defend their ideas through evidence and analytical reasoning, to negotiate meaning, and to argue constructively.

Focus on Strengthening and Stretching Expertise

The challenge of designing good collaborative activities is ensuring that all students, even those who struggle, play an important role. Collaboration should not just strengthen students' existing skills but ensure that their interactions stretch existing knowledge and expand one another's expertise. If, for example, a student is much stronger in one skill than her peers in her group, she can teach others and her grade can be contingent upon how much her peers learn.

In collaborative activities, we want to ensure that students don't just occupy the same physical space but that they share an intellectual space-that they learn more, do more, and experience more together than they would alone. As teachers, we can promote real collaboration by shifting our role from instructor to coach-promoting team autonomy, checking in on students and providing instant feedback, and helping them increasingly learn to work together productively to attain a common goal.

Reference:

Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R., & Holubec, E. (2008). Cooperation in the Classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Strategies to Deepen Student Collaboration

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Use these five best practices to help your students build a valuable 21st-century skill.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
While increasing participation is an obvious goal in courses that include frequent discussions and small-group work, it is also important in a lecture course. In short, if only a few students participate by volunteering answers, asking questions, or contributing to discussions, class sessions become to some extent a lost opportunity to assess and promote learning. You can improve student participation in your course by devoting time and thought to shaping the environment and planning each class session. Furthermore, the way in which you interact, both verbally and non-verbally, communicates to students your attitude about participation.

Ideally, the goal of increasing participation is not to have every student participate in the same way or at the same rate. Instead, it is to create an environment in which all participants have the opportunity to learn and in which the class explores issues and ideas in depth, from a variety of viewpoints. Some students will raise their voices more than others; this variation is a result of differences in learning preferences as well as differences in personalities. For example, some students who do not speak often in class are reflective learners, who typically develop ideas and questions in their minds before speaking; others are shy students who feel uncomfortable speaking in front of groups (at least initially). Many students who frequently volunteer to contribute are active learners, who typically think while they speak. The instructor's goal is to create conditions that enable students of various learning preferences and personalities to contribute. To reach this goal, you will need to take extra steps to encourage quiet students to speak up and, occasionally, ask the more verbose students to hold back from commenting in order to give others a chance.

This handout is divided into the following sections:

Shaping the Environment
Planning
Listening and Responding
Links and References for Increasing Student Participation

Reserve a classroom that will accommodate the kind of participation you have in mind. Starting on the first day of class, arrange the room in a way that encourages active engagement. When it is time to reserve a classroom, keep in mind not only the number of student chairs you will need, but also whether these chairs should be moveable. If you lead frequent discussions, consider moving the chairs into a circle or "U" to ensure that students can see, and speak to, one another. If you are teaching in a large lecture hall, consider asking students to move so that they are concentrated near the front of the room. Move the chairs back to their standard configuration at the end of class (in University-managed classrooms, see the diagram posted near the door).

Make clear from the beginning your expectation that students will participate. On the first day of class, explain what you see as valuable about class participation. Indicate that you want to do all you can to ensure that the classroom dynamics and activities support full participation, including calling on students who do not raise their hands and sometimes asking frequent contributors to allow others to have a chance. Ask students to inform you if you can make any changes to improve the classroom dynamics and rates of participation.

On the first day of class, give students a clear idea of what to expect regarding participation. If you plan to lecture each day with pauses for questions and discussion, do so on the first day; if you plan to lead more extended discussions, then do so on the first day.

Consider whether you will assign a grade to students' performance in discussions so that they understand the importance of participating. If you do plan to grade participation, inform students of the specific criteria that you will use. For example, will you evaluate the frequency and quality of their contributions, as well as how effectively they each respond to others' comments? Will you include in each participation grade the student's performance on informal writing, online discussions, minor group projects, or other work? Grading student participation is especially important, and usually essential, in discussion courses (see Teaching with Discussions).

Learn and use students' names. Students will be more engaged if they believe that you perceive them as individuals, rather than as anonymous members of a group. Encourage students to learn one another's names, as well; this strategy will increase the possibility that they will address one another by name and direct their comments to one another, not just to you.

In a discussion course, assign to your students some of the responsibility for increasing participation by all. For example, on the first day of class, you might tell students your goals for class participation (e.g., informed and lively discussions in which everyone participates) and ask them to come up with a list of guidelines that will help the class reach this goal. Typically, they will generate excellent guidelines such as "do not interrupt others when they are talking" and "critique the ideas; don't criticize the person." Post this list on the course Web site and hand it out in class. Students who feel invested from the beginning in making the discussions successful will be more likely to work together to increase participation.

Consider requiring students to lead discussions or to submit discussion questions before class. Provide guidance and assess student performance on these tasks (assigning a score, for example, that forms a part of the class participation grade.)

In discussion courses in which you are having trouble getting students to participate, consider asking students to submit anonymous comments on class participation as well as suggestions on how to get more people involved; often, they will let you know that there are problems with the classroom dynamics that you may not see yourself (such as that some students resent the "domination" of discussion by one or two others) or that the structure of the discussions has become too predictable or formulaic.

Use a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, discussions, and small-group work. If you are teaching a lecture course, set aside time during each lecture to ask and answer questions, to ask students to solve a problem, or to discuss an issue. Pause every 15-20 minutes for this purpose. When students learn to expect these opportunities for discussion or questioning, they will listen more actively to the lecture. If you lecture for 45 minutes before you pause for questions or discussion, your students will have been taking notes for so long that they may find it difficult to switch modes quickly. Furthermore, they may well have forgotten questions, comments, or unclear concepts from the earlier parts of class (see Teaching with Lectures).

If you are teaching a discussion course, integrate short lectures into the lesson plan in order to introduce concepts, clarify and order ideas, and help students make connections. Use small-group discussions, informal writing assignments, and online discussions before or at the start of class to prompt student thinking about the discussion topic. These strategies can be effective ways to provide reflective learners and shy students a means of developing ideas that they can then contribute to the class discussion. Commenting on the insights that quieter students contribute in small-group discussions and on informal writing assignments and online discussions can encourage them to speak up in the larger group; you might comment on a student's written work, for example, "this analysis is insightful; the entire class would benefit from hearing your ideas more often" (see Teaching with Discussions).

Organize each class session to include opportunities throughout to ask and answer questions; prepare initial and follow-up questions ahead of time. Use questions to assess student learning, to signal to students which material is the most important, and to help students advance their knowledge and thinking. (For a discussion of strategies for formulating questions, see Asking Questions to Improve Learning). Encourage students to ask questions throughout the class (approximately every 15 minutes), not just at the end.

If grading student participation, plan to give students a preliminary participation grade, as well as a brief written evaluation of their performance. If you will grade class participation, give students preliminary grades as early as 3-4 weeks into the semester and at midterm so that they will know where they stand. Your written evaluation can be designed to encourage the quiet students to talk more often and the verbose students to hold their comments to give others a chance to participate).

Use verbal and non-verbal cues to encourage participation. Do not rely on the same volunteers to answer every question. Respond to frequent volunteers in a way that indicates that you appreciate their responses, but want to hear from others as well. Move to a part of the room where quiet students are sitting; smile at and make eye contact with these students to encourage them to speak up. By the same token, when frequent volunteers speak, look around the room rather than only at them to encourage others to respond (see below).

Reduce students' anxieties by creating an atmosphere in which they feel comfortable "thinking out-loud," taking intellectual risks, asking questions, and admitting when they do not know something; one of the best ways to do this is to model these behaviors yourself.

Give students time to think before they respond to your questions. Do not be afraid of silence. Give students 5-10 seconds to think and formulate a response. If 10-15 seconds pass without anyone volunteering an answer and the students are giving you puzzled looks, rephrase your question. Do not give in to the temptation to answer your own questions, which will condition students to hesitate before answering to see if you will supply "the answer." Patience is key; do not be afraid of silence. The longer you wait for students to respond, the more thoughtful and complex those responses are likely to be.

Often, there is at least one student in every class who will quickly raise her or his hand to answer nearly every question. If you consistently call on this student, those who require more time to formulate answers will simply learn to wait for this student to answer. (See Asking Questions to Improve Learning.)

Listen fully to your students' questions and answers; avoid interrupting. Resist the urge to interrupt when you think you know what the student is going to say or ask. Often, well-meaning and enthusiastic instructors make incorrect assumptions and leave their students' actual questions unanswered or misrepresent what the students had planned to say.

Provide specific, encouraging, varied responses. Point out what is helpful or interesting about student contributions. Pick up on comments that were made but not discussed. Do not use the same, standard praise to respond to every comment. When students hear "good point" again and again, they start to lose motivation. Ask follow-up questions to prompt students to clarify, refine, and support their ideas. When a student gives an incorrect or ill-conceived answer, respond in way that challenges the student to think more deeply or to reconsider the evidence. The best way to shut down participation, and learning, is to embarrass a student.

Repeat student responses to summarize or clarify ideas. Use this strategy when a student's comments are vague or "all over the map," but do not over-use it, leading students to rely on you to "translate" or validate their ideas.

Redirect comments and questions to other students. Encourage students to respond to one another, rather than merely to you. When a student is speaking, look around the room, not just at the student who is speaking; making eye contact with other students lets them know that you expect them to be listening and formulating responses. Provide students with a model of civil discourse by demonstrating respect for, and interest in, the views of others. Learn to limit your own comments. Particularly when facilitating a discussion, hold back from responding to every comment; otherwise, students will learn to wait for you to respond rather than formulating their own responses.

Place the emphasis on student ideas. Encourage students to share their ideas and use those ideas (with attribution) whenever you can. Referring back to a comment made by a student in an earlier class demonstrates that you have thought about and appreciated what your students have to say.

Active student participation does not happen naturally in university courses; it must be carefully planned and encouraged. Set aside time throughout the semester to assess student participation in your course and to develop strategies for improvement; administer midterm student evaluations to help you with this process. Consider asking a colleague to observe your class; often, outside observers can discern patterns that hinder participation but that may not be apparent to participants. Take notes during and after a semester so that you have a record of what went well and what you would like to change the next time you teach the course in order to increase student participation.

Davis, Barbara Gross. Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.

"Questioning Strategies." Center for Teaching Excellence. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. http://cte.illinois.edu/resources/topics/methods/strateg.html.

"Encouraging Interaction in Science and Engineering Classes." The McGraw Center. Princeton University. https://mcgraw.princeton.edu/node/661.

"Facilitating Discussions in Humanities and Social Science." The McGraw Center. Princeton University. https://mcgraw.princeton.edu/node/656.

McKeachie, Wilbert, et al. McKeachie's Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. © 2009, Washington University.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
While increasing participation is an obvious goal in courses that include frequent discussions and small-group work, it is also important in a lecture course. In short, if only a few students participate by volunteering answers, asking questions, or contributing to discussions, class sessions become