Having just completed my PBL unit with a third grade class,
these articles and rubrics about collaboration were very timely. Eight
and nine years olds struggle with collaborating effectively to reach a common
goal. With the class that I just worked with, I would say that
“commitment to shared success” was very difficult. What I observed was
that groups spent a lot of time arguing about the way they wanted to do the
presentation and were not as concerned about what would be best for the
presentation, but were more interested in getting their own way. Also,
groups that struggled with this often were off track and had difficulty
completing the work by the deadline. What I also noticed was that these
same students were able to give good feedback to other groups about their
projects, but had a hard time looking critically at their own project and
working together for the best product. I also think that it would have
been important to help students assign tasks that would be group and tasks that
would have been individual prior to beginning the work. Allowing time for
this communication could have solved some of the problems that arose during the
project work. Last, I think it would be good to practice interpersonal
communication outside of projects. Students did well in addressing
others, but listening to others when discussions were occurring was
challenging. When I sat in on group discussions, I noticed that there were
several ideas thrown out by students and others just talked over them or took
over and dictated the direction of the group. I think working with
students on listening to all group members and making decisions as a whole
would be a good skill for life, as well as group work.
Hi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI found myself nodding at your description of how the eight and nine year olds you are working with typically react in collaborative groups - fighting for their way even if it is not what is best for the project or the group. You shared how ironically students were adept at providing accurate and appropriate feedback to their peers but struggled to determine what they needed to do in their own project. I have found in working with multiple grade levels that these same behaviors emerge in collaborative opportunities regardless of age. You explained how having students get started individually and invest in the learning prior to the group work may be helpful as well as determining up front which tasks were group and which were individual could help provide opportunities for ownership and opportunities for collaboration that wouldn't all require a group consensus. My favorite suggestion you made was to intentionally teach listening to your students. I think active, intentional listening is a life long skill for all learners and when we prioritize teaching it and applying it we can help students value it and work to use it in their collaborative work. I think adding this to a group contract and/or making it part of a visible anchor chart we co-construct can help keep it at the forefront of collaborative work.
Sincerely,
Dawn