Exploring Group Projects
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This article explores the use of group projects in online learning. |
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What Are Group Projects?
A group project is an activity involving two or more students working together on a common deliverable or set of deliverables, often over a period of time.
Why Use Group Projects?
Collaborative projects are opportunities for students to complete assignments that may be too comprehensive for them to accomplish on their own. Group projects also provide for real-world experience, since teamwork is commonplace in the work environment. The social nature of group projects also make them especially helpful for building a sense of community in an online course.
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Best Ways to Use Group Projects?
Not surprisingly, many students dislike group projects for a variety of reasons ranging from interpersonal issues to concerns about fairness in grading. Thus, any group activity in your course should have a solid purpose aligned to one or more particular objectives that you convey to students with absolute clarity.
Planning for Group Projects
Because group work tends to have much at stake for students--a greater involvement of time and effort and, typically, a larger portion of one’s overall grade--you will want to invest a fair amount of time to plan the project well. Based on the results of their study involving collaborative work in online graduate courses, Brindley, Walti, and Blaschke (2009) recommend considering these seven elements:
Facilitate learner readiness for group work and provide scaffolding to build skills.
Establish a health balance between structure (clarity of task) and learner autonomy (flexibility of task).
Nurture the establishment of learner relationships and sense of community.
Monitor group activities actively and closely.
Make the group task relevant for the learner.
Choose tasks that are best performed by a group.
Provide sufficient time.
Designing for Group Projects
The following suggestions from Johnson and Miles (2004) will help you design an effective team project:
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Promoting Collaborative Learning in Online Courses
- A brief article in Faculty Focus by Rob Kelly that includes good ideas for project organization
Is ‘Teamwork’ an Oxymoron for Online Learning?
- A blog post by Sharon Guan of DePaul University
References
Brindley, J. E., Walti, C., & Blaschke, L.M. (2009). Creating effective collaborative learning groups in an online environment. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 10(3). Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/675/1271
Guan, S. (2009, July 31). Is “teamwork” an oxymoron for online learning? Message posted to http://www.iddblog.org/?p=216
Johnson, L., & Miles, K. (2004). Building community in the online classroom through group work. [Slide Presentation] Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/lisamariejohnson/building-community-in-the-online-classroom-through-group-work
Kelly, R. (2009, June 5). Promoting collaborative learning in online courses. Faculty Focus. Retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/promoting-collaborative-learning-in-online-courses/
Morrison, D. (2012, March 24). Why we need group work in online learning. [Blog Post] Retrieved from http://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/why-we-need-group-work-in-online-learning/
Examples of Group Projects
Example 1
Group Project Set-Up for HLTHST 101 Medical Terminology Course at Boise State University
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Whether you plan to participate in Zoom sessions (live sessions using a microphone/headset combination), or in Discussion Boards, you need to join a group. You will note that the groups were selected based upon the first letter of your last name as it is listed in the user's portion of the site. Groups are listed in the syllabus. Please make sure that you enroll yourself in one of these groups during the first week of class so that your participation points can be counted. These groups are also used to determine which week your project is due (by Saturday at 11:59 p.m. Mountain time of that week).
Example 2
Example of Group Assignment for HLTHST 300 Pathophysiology Course at Boise State University
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