Savannah Griffith Blog Post 4

Group Contracts - How they worked for my Students

      Group contracts were a reoccurring topic that we talked about in our PBL class. We were able to see them first hand when we went to Emerald High school. I distinctly remember a science class we observed where the students had to assign their own role, etc. for the project. I remember one student agreeing to take on two roles because he wanted a good grade. This showed me that students would take ownership over their work and step up when necessary. 

      When I introduced group contracts to my class we did not have a formal contract that each student signed but they met in groups and had to decide who would be responsible parts of their sign designs, etc. This worked for my students because their peers held them accountable. They did not let anyone get by with not completing a certain part because they knew their sign would suffer. They also knew they would be receiving two grades. One group grade, where they all would receive the same grade based on their sign, then one individual grade based on their peers review of their work. This gave them choice on when they wanted to work and how hard. Some students were very concerned about this but through hard work they realized they could all achieve high grades if they gave their best. 

      I am a firm believer in-group contracts now and have shared this idea with several colleagues. There are already teachers using these in their classrooms. When I talked about them with my students most of them had used one of some kind before.

      I tried to establish contracts with my students last year but I did not know how to hold students accountable if they did not complete what they signed etc. Since taking PBL I now have a much better understanding of how to make contracts that encourage students rather than pushing them away. 

    I will use group contracts for group projects/PBL projects from now on