Post #3
Video 1: "Group Contracts For Collaborative Work"
1. Some problems students might encounter when working with a group on projects is some students may not fulfill his/her role. This can cause the group to have a lot of trouble completing the project, or 1 or 2 group members may end up doing all of the work.
2. Contracts can definitely help mitigate these problems because the responsibility of each group member is in writing. Contracts are even more effective when the students have a chance to help construct the contract.
3. In order for contracts to be effective, all group members need to be in agreement on everyone's role. The contract may need to be flexible because changes may need to be made as the group moves along with the project.
Video 2: "Structured Groups: Making Group-Work
1. Assessing how students perform their group roles is very important because it shows the teacher each student's strengths and weaknesses.
2. The teacher checks in with each group. He makes comments on their work and gives them specific feedback. He gives the students praise for their work and encourages them.
3. When peers are doing the assessing, students tend to put more effort into their work. They usually don't want to look bad to their peers.
Hi Tieraney,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your thoughtful reflection on collaboration in this post and I am glad the specific videos on group contracts and peer assessment were helpful to you. I know with your students at 2 and 3 and 4 years old these strategies will need to be modified and believe that an oral version of students discussing how they will complete a task and who in the group will get to do what task will help promote student engagement and reinforce their sense of fairness while also teaching them communication and negotiation skills.
Thanks,
Dawn