Are groups a good option?
In my experience in both the work place and the military, there are few projects that require group participation where all voices are considered equal. With different leadership styles learners may assume command of the group or attempt to. One learner may try to take charge in a Democratic leadership style and others will assume an autocratic style. Other learners will take a group project as an opportunity to skip out on work forcing the others to pick up the slack. The lacking work will bring the group grade down. How is that fair to the other students? In a learning environment each student is responsible for their own education and actions. As for diversity, I feel that no matter how diverse a group is you will not always have full participation due to leadership styles or students taking advantage of the multiple worker situation. On the opposite side of the coin working with groups is an important aspect in life. groups help communication skills, networking and brainstorming. I think a good compromise is to allow group activities in moderation but instead of grading the group, grade the individual.
Peter,
these are good points, however in many work settings we work as groups or on group projects where nearly everyone in the group does have an equal voice (I've been on many such projects in my career both corporate & educational) & the success of the individual (performance reviews, raises, promotions, etc) are often tied to the success of the group. To me the compromise is to grade both the group & the individual. If I only grade the individual, I may be promoting a withholding of knowledge, abilities, etc in order to increase my own grade rather than the groups.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Im still trying to wrap my head around the way the civilian world works when it comes to working in groups. Military life is mostly autocratic style of leadership and im not used to having equal input by all. any advice for a beginner in the civilian world?
Peter,
probably the biggest advice I can give is recognizing that all do have equal input (in many groups, not all). When you recognize this, then you are ready to engage in actual dialogue which opens the floor for all to speak, rather than all communication flowing through the designated leader.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Peter, you are right. In the military, there has to be a person in command, but in a student situation in the classroom, they should all come together as equal members. Usually there will be a natural leader or 2 that will emerge but it shouldn't be by force or rank.
im still new to the professional instructor world, only 4 months. Any ideas that might help with the balance?
It encourages team work .
Shuhdi,
and so many careers today are based on groups or teams that this is an important skill for students to learn.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
We have labs in group you just have to make sure everybody is engaged with project.
Tim,
yes, making sure that everyone is engaged is key.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
