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Designing group work that is both beneficial and meaningful to students is a challenging task for the majority of online instructors. Oftentimes instructors shirk away from assigning group projects, because they believe that group work in particular disciplines, such as mathematics, is greatly ineffective. In this presentation, we will discuss how assigning a collaborative study aid as a group project can help create and foster learning groups, which lead to greater student success.
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CREATING LEARNING GROUPS
FOR COLLABORATIVE
STUDY
Presented by Samantha Cash
OTC Online’s Annual Innovation Showcase Nov. 7, 2011
Overview – Group Work
Student PerspectivePointlessFocused on the productProduces anxiety
Instructor PerspectivePointlessFocused on the processProduces disappointment
The Idea!
Make group work meaningfulStudents make group study aids
○ Not just “effort points”○ Both the product and process are
meaningfulStudents receive individual and group
scores○ Less complaints from students
Practice Test: Answer#. Full directions Problem (Lots of Space) #. Full directions Problem (Lots of Space) Etc.
#. Full directions Problem Complete Solution Answer #. Full directions Problem Complete Solution Answer Etc.
Example:
Substitution Method
1. Isolate ‘y’2. Plug into other equation and solve
for ‘x’3. Plug ‘x’ into first equation and solve4. Write the answer as {(x, y)}
Practice Test
Flashcards
Chapter Summaries
What went wrong
Everyone chose practice tests!
Pros:Easy to split up contributions
Cons:Not all group members contributeLittle to no discussionImbalance of workloadProcrastination
Anxiety
Let’s Re-Think
How can we make sure…All members contributeGroup generates discussionBalance of workloadGroups stay on track
Collaborative Learning Group
Mental Cheat Sheet
Collaborative Learning Group
Textbook Summaries
Group Discussion Board
Group File Exchange
Mental Cheat Sheet
Each week, students read the textbook and individually write their own summaries on the material.
Math department policy beginning FA11The process starts outside of the groupsEnsures students are reading the textbook
before discussing the contentStudent <-> Instructor interaction
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Textbook Summaries
Back to main
Textbook Summaries
They are then required to post in their group what information from each of those sections they believe should be on their mental cheat sheet.
Graded weekly (Missing more than one week gives you an overall ‘0’ grade)
“All” members contributeKeeps the group on trackStudent <-> Student interaction
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Group Discussion Board
Back to main
Group Discussion Board
Back to main
Group Discussion Board
Students use a file exchange to update versions of their mental cheat sheet
Only “leaders” of the group compile the information
Don’t have to worry about whether or not others have participated
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Group File Exchange
Mental Cheat Sheet
One student posts the final product in the file exchange so their group members can benefit
Posting in the group instead of sending to the instructor ensures that everyone has access to it
Becomes a study aid for the exam
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Mental Cheat SheetBack to main
Benefits
Talk about math concepts (still needs work)
Share their struggles and their triumphs Make connections and create support
networks Study in smaller chunks before the
exam
