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Challenging problems Any task or problem given to the group should be difficult or time-consuming enough so that it will be too much for a single student, so group problems or tasks are necessarily different from those given to individuals. (This is sometimes overlooked by instructors who give groups problems that each person can solve quite easily. This can result in members working independently rather than cooperatively.) Problems that have no unique solutions or require divergent thinking are also preferable. In the business world, groups are formed to take advantage of different background knowledge and skills. This may not be possible in the classroom except for certain kinds of tasks that require (say) writing, mathematics, graphics, and computer skills and you have a good mix of such skills among the students. Mutual goals This means that the groups must have common goals so that there is
a benefit to having each student in the group learn and make sure
all others in the group also learn. In other words, students must
be placed in a situation where they all sink or swim together and
there is no advantage in one person abandoning the others. Joint rewards An individual bonus can be awarded to each member of the group if
all members of group succeed in achieving a predetermined level of
performance. Another method is to give a single grade to all members
of the group for the group effort (i.e., group grades). Restricted or shared resources Students can be made to collaborate if they are restricted in the
resources made available to them. This happens naturally in the case
of expensive laboratory equipment. But it can also be done deliberately
by giving just a single handout to the group or by giving different
information to different members of the group. Designated roles By making different people responsible for different tasks or aspects of the problem, you can prevent one student from trying to do everything. Students learn how to take on responsibility and how to depend on others. Context-rich problems These are problems in which the main idea of the problem is embedded
in a complex story line that features the reader in a problem-solving
role. They are preferable to the more traditional bare-bones problems
which have been stripped of all but the most essential elements needed
to solve the problem because students learn what to do by discussing
what the problem is all about. This involves having group members edit or correct the work of other
group members before it is handed in. Jigsaw Each member of the group is assigned a different task but is required to teach every other member what he or she has learned. Eventually, every member of the group is responsible for knowing all the material. |
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