Welcome to the twenty-first issue of The LTO Best Practices. Each
month, the Learning & Teaching Office will be spotlighting a timely topic in
education. This October, our topic is "Using Group Work." The information in this issue of Best Practices has been prepared by Dalia Hanna, PMP®, Program Coordinator, and Michelle Schwartz, Research Associate, for the Learning & Teaching Office
For more related tips, check out our page of resources on collaborative learning. This month's podcast is about using social networks to create a collaborative learning environment.
This issue is also available as a PDF [pdf]
In this issue:
This issue has been developed to help Ryerson instructors integrate project management techniques into their group work assignments. These methods can help instructors design projects that encourage collaboration rather than conflict, and help students understand and define their roles in a group.
Common Problems
The prospect of group work in class often earns a negative reaction from students and instructors alike.
The most common problems for students using group work in the classroom are an absence of leadership and coordination, an inability to communicate effectively, difficulty defining and assigning tasks, trouble maintaining equal participation, and frustration with setting and achieving group goals.
When asked about the implementation of group work in the classroom, instructors have expressed frustration with choosing an assignment well-suited to collaboration, dividing students into groups, and dealing with student conflicts or disruptive group members.
Why Use Group Work
The Association of American Colleges and Universities have identified group work as a high impact educational practice. “Collaborative learning combines two key goals: learning to work and solve problems in the company of others and sharpening one’s own understanding by listening seriously to the insights of others, especially those with different backgrounds and life experiences” (Kuh, 2008).
In “Strategies for Energizing Large Classes: From Small Groups to Learning Communities”, over 100 faculty using small group activities in large classes were interviewed on their rationale for such practices (Macgregor, Cooper, Smith, Robinson, 2000). The responses clustered into the following categories:
- Promoting cognitive elaboration
- Enhancing critical thinking
- Providing feedback
- Promoting social and emotional development
- Appreciating diversity
- Reducing student attrition
The National Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE) identified Active and Collaborative Learning as one five benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice. The 2009 report explains, "Students learn more when they are intensely involved in their education and are asked to think about and apply what they are learning in different settings. Collaborating with others in solving problems or mastering difficult material prepares students to deal with the messy, unscripted problems they will encounter daily, both during and after college" (NSSE, 2009).
The University of Wisconsin conducted a survey of over 800 students for their Technology Enhanced Collaborative Group Work Evaluation Report
- 86% of students agreed that group work is valuable.
- 63% of students agreed that they learn more effectively in groups.
The research on group work of various sorts confirms that group can offer students powerful learning experiences. But without a basic understanding of small group dynamics, it is unlikely that those in groups will accrue the potential benefits of collaboration. For instance, in a survey done on 700 students taking an introductory biology course, 55% of students reported never participating in study groups because of the perception that it was easier to work alone. However, of the students that utilized study groups, 85% believed their participation in a study group helped improve their exam grade (The Teaching Professor, August-September, 2011).
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Project Management
One method of helping students work effectively within groups is through the application of project management techniques.
According to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, a project "is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result." Project Management is "the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements."
Project management is accomplished through the application and integration of the project management processes of:
- Initiation
- Planning
- Executing
- Monitoring and Controlling
- Closing
Through the use of these processes, project managers are able to mitigate the effects of the triple constraints faced by all projects – scope, cost, and time.
Initiation
All projects should begin with a project charter. The project charter "is a statement of the scope, objectives and participants in a project. It provides a preliminary delineation of roles and responsibilities, outlines the project objectives, identifies the main stakeholders, and defines the authority of the project manager. It serves as a reference of authority for the future of the project"(Lehmann)
"The purpose of the project charter is to document:
- Reasons for undertaking the project
- Objectives and constraints of the project
- Directions concerning the solution
- Identities of the main stakeholders" (Lehmann)
To help students get off to a good start, provide them with a project charter template to fill out before beginning work with their group. Having a project charter reduces the possibility of conflict. A good charter also helps set the groundwork for successful conflict resolution. A sample project charter template can be found on page six of "Guiding Group Work".
Planning
While planning the project, the project team should involve all appropriate stakeholders (PMBOK, 2004). After creating the group charter, clear goals and responsibilities should be assigned to each member. Details about each goal should also be identified. For each goal, students should ask "Why are we doing this?"
This list of goals and responsibilities is called a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). A WBS can take a number of forms, from a spreadsheet to a flowchart. Each group should have a work breakdown structure outlining the members' responsibilities. A sample WBS can be found in the PDF version of this issue. Students can also make their own WBS using Excel or Vue, an open source visualization tool.
Executing
Forming Groups
There are three general types of student groups:
- In-class groups
- Study groups
- Project groups
These groups can be either student-formed or instructor-assigned. Students often prefer forming their own groups, while as instructors often want more control. When deciding which method to use, keep in mind that "although students-selected groups perceived they produced higher-quality work, the actual grades assigned to the group projects did not differ between group formation conditions" (Hilton and Phillips, 2010). What's more important is that the groups, no matter what their makeup, are taught how to communicate with each other.
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Managing Project Meetings Effectively
One area where communication often breaks down is during group meetings. To help avoid this, provide students with a framework for project meetings. For example:
When planning a project meeting:
- Identify the purpose of the meetings
- Agree on the frequency of meetings
- Before the meeting:
- Determine the purpose
- Distribute an agenda in advance
- Start and end on time
- During the meeting:
- Confirm the time limit and stick to it
- State the objectives
- Keep things moving (be the one who gets things back in track)
- When further work is needed assign action items
- Use votes or consensus to agree on actions
- Summarize
- After the meeting:
- Follow-up
- Send notes from meetings
(Verma, 1996)
If students commute to campus and are finding it hard to meet, there are several methods for setting up virtual meetings. They can meet and share their work via document sharing programs, and discuss their project using instant messaging and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) programs.
Free communication tools include:
Leadership
Effective groups must be able to decide if they need a leader and, if so, how to select their leader and what the leader’s job will be. Gary (1981) defined leadership as "the process of influencing other team members toward a goal" (Verma, 1996).
One possible suggestion for students is to use self-managed work teams. In self-managed work teams, the leadership role rotates, with a different member chairing each meeting. The leader is responsible for setting an agenda and outcomes for the meeting, and for sending them to members ahead of time. The leader is also responsible for encouraging team members and keeping the group on track.
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Designing Group Work
The success or failure of group work rests largely on careful planning and design. For instance, Barbara Gross Davis stresses the importance of:
- Creating group tasks that require interdependence.
- Making the group work relevant.
- Creating assignments that fit the students' skills and abilities.
- Assigning group tasks that allow for a fair division of labor.
- Setting up "competitions" among groups. (Davis, 1993)
When preparing for group work, keep in mind that "research indicates the manner in which an instructor facilitates a group project has a significant impact on the success of the group project" (Engage). Often, when group work fails, it is because tasks weren’t well-suited to group work, deadlines were unrealistic, or there was no peer support (Freeman, 2011). It is important to prepare students with strategies for collaboration, to design assignments to meet specific learning objectives, and to be clear about how collaborative work will be graded. Conduct regular assessments of the process to see what is and isn’t working (Engage).
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Tools for Group Work
 Blackboard provides instructors with some tools to use when implementing group work in the classroom. The DMP and Blackboard Support have created a page of instructions to help you get started.
Instructors can use Groups in their course to:
- Create study groups or project groups.
- Give select members of the course access to unique areas to the course.
- Create a sign-up so that students can add themselves to presentation groups or topic groups.
Learn more about using Blackboard for group work.
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A Guide to the project management body of knowledge. (2004). Newtown, PA: Project Management Institute Assessment for improvement: Tracking student engagement over time. (2009). National Survey of Student Engagement. Davis B. G. (1993). Collaborative Learning: Group Work and Study Teams. Tools for Teaching. Engage. Technology-Enhanced Collaborative Group Work. University of Wisconsin. Freeman, L. and Greenacre, L. (2011). An examination of socially destructive behaviors in group work. The Teaching Professor, 24(4). Hicks, C. (2011). Guiding group work: Activities to maximize student learning from group projects. Teaching Innovation Projects, 1(1). Hilton, S. and Phillips, F. (2011). Instructor-assigned and student-selected groups: A view from the inside. The Teaching Professor, 25(6). Kuh, G.D. (2008). High-Impact Educational Practices. Association of American Colleges and Universities. Lehmann, O.F. Project Charter. Canadian Management Centre. Verma, V. K. (1997). Managing the project team. The human aspect of project management (v. 3). Newtown, PA: Project Management Institute
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"The LTO Best Practices" is produced monthly by Michelle Schwartz, Research
Associate at The Learning & Teaching Office of Ryerson University. Our next
issue will be on "Engaging Your Students."
Do you have any thoughts, suggestions, or best practices that you would like
to see appear in this newsletter? Please send all submissions to michelle.schwartz@ryerson.ca. We
look forward to including your contributions in our next issue!
Location: Kerr Hall West, room KHW373.
Phone: 416.979.5000 x6598
Email:
lto@ryerson.ca
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