Examples of Carefully-Structured Group Assignments
- Groups are given a list of plants to identify and an outdoor field marked off with a section for each group. They have a limited amount of time to find and tag examples of each kind of plant. After the tagging session, groups then look at the plants other groups have tagged and can "challenge" the other group's tags. If the challengers are right, they get extra points and the challenged group loses points. If the challengers are wrong, they lose points and the challenged group gains points. This reward structure encourages every group to work with the finest of distinctions among plant types, hoping to "trick" other groups into challenging them.
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- A class is covering how location, demographics and traffic patterns effect the success of small businesses. Each group is given a numbered thumbtack and 30 minutes to decide where in the city they would open a small dry-cleaning business, and must write a half-page justification of their decision. At the end of the time, one representative from each group must approach a large map of the city hung on the wall and put their thumbtack in the map where they would open their business. They must simultaneously turn in their written justifications. Class discussion then ensues, comparing the decisions among the groups, and the written rationales are graded for the amount and specificity of citation from the reading they incorporate
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- After studying various disorders that occur in early childhood, groups are required to design diagnosis procedures for a given disorder before learning how these procedures take place in the "real world." They are to write a half page list of diagnosis steps, with rationales for each step taken from their readings. They turn in their diagnosis plans (which are graded for the amount and specificity of citation from the reading they incorporate), and then they hear how these diagnoses take place in the "real world" and discussion ensues over the advantages and disadvantages of various methods.
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- In the discussion sections of a large lecture class, students work frequently
in teams on in-class activities. The only out-of-class activity is a term-long
project in which they are given a list of geological features to identify
in the local area. They check out 35mm cameras that the teacher has loaded
with slide film and they must take the best (most illustrative) picture of
each geological feature that they are able. (For financial reasons, they are
limited in the number of frames they can use up on the roll of film-allowed
only 1 or 2 more than the number of features they are to photograph.) On the
last week of class, the teacher shows the slides from one discussion section
to the other, and the students vote on which pictures best exemplify each
of the geological features represented. This reward structure prevents groups
from only voting for their own slides.
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- Student groups are required to examine several different college-level student
newspapers (or specific student newspaper websites.) They are to choose the
one they feel best exemplifies specific journalistic principles being studied,
and turn a short written justification for their choice. The groups simultaneously
report back on their choices and class discussion then ensues about the relative
merits of each candidate. The written rationales are graded for the amount
and specificity of citation from the reading they incorporate.
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64 PLC
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Last Modified:
05/22/08
