General Education Group Projects
What types of group projects have you found to be most successful?
I have found that group projects in Math are most successful .
For some reason when students work together on math they make each other understand a lot better and grasp the steps.
Walter,
Group work can be very helpful to students. Sometimes just seeing another student grasping a concept can give a struggling student confidence to keep trying.
Jae Gruber
I have found that group presentation projects are very sucessful in teaching the students how to collaborate with each other, how to tolerate different personalities and lifestyles, and how to prioritize work responsibilities.
Mary,
You make some very good points here Mary. Group presentation projects also help build confidence as well as leadership and teamwork skills.
Jae Gruber
I've found that group presentations are really good for encouraging student accountability, especially when they have a shared grade and an individual grade. They realize that others may suffer based on their lack of committment. by the same token, they encourage other group members to increase their committment so that their own grade won't suffer. It's great for team building and it will translate to the workforce.
Stephanie,
I agree that group presentations can be great for teambuilding. At times, everyone joins in the effort. On other occassions, I've found that one or two members of the team carry the group. What are some methods that you have used to grade individuals who are working within groups?
Jae Gruber
When we make a class batch of dough. I assign a leader and then they increase the recipe size as a class with the leader then assigning "jobs" for each student. This helps them to see the difficulty in managing people. We rotate this weekly and always discuss the next day
Cara,
This is a great idea. I bet the students are grateful for the opportunity to try their hand at managing others, but are probably also grateful for when it is not their turn!
Jae Gruber
In nutrition the students have a menu project to be worked on in groups;creating a menu and then modyfying to a healthy menu. It a great way for them to take something culinary and apply nutritional concepts to it.
Karen,
That truly is a good project. When students apply their culinary creativity to nutrition, it can help them understand that nutritious food is not boring and when using the right cooking techniques and concepts, can be loaded with flavor and very delicious.
Jae Gruber
The most successful group projects are the ones in which students can be as creative as possible. When a group of three or four students collaborates to design a wedding cake with specific required elements, as they would in a real world scenario, they come up with some amazing designs. The best part is that they're always so impressed with themselves they can't wait to start working on their individual cakes.
In the Sanitation and Food Safety class, the students are assigned a foodborne illness or food issue project.It includes a visual and oral presentation with power point slides. The students research their subject and present using a lecture, game show,or situation re-enactment format. They are every creative with their presentation and are encouraged to make it interesting, educational and entertaining.
Dorothy,
I agree! Students can really show their creative side when encouraged to do so and most especially when they can translate a drawing or a written project into something they can manifest with their own hands. Some are even inspired to go above and beyond the parameters of the project!
Jae Gruber
Designing and constructing a menu concept allows students to think critically and explore their creativity.
I have the students write a paper about a particular food item or product and give an oral presentation. This helps me work with their written communicative skills and their ability to communicate in front of a group. It must be kept relatively short and be fun. I encourage them to use powerpoint presentations as this also assists them with their computer skills.
I have my final project focus on Offal in teams of 3-4 students. I assign them a product that is a standard cut of meat and have them find and present a dish using this cut. Usually there is a lot of grumbling about how icky the product is but after seeing it through to the final stages and tasting it, the students discover the value in it.
I have my student reaserch in groups a herb or spice they are not familiar wiith and do a PPT based on tell me a interesting fact, cultural uses, flavor profile,what is the culinary application, and creat a dish highlighting that ingredient. It gives everyone a opportinity to learn something new and aside from product I.D. it gives them a chance to get creative.
I assign a project where students have to come to class the next day with 3 different discriptions of hamburgers, one vegetarian, one low fat and one full fat version. I then break up the class into groups and they work on it as a menu developement meeting. It gets them thinging of how to develop flavors.
david,
This is a great idea that can be applied to both individual and group work!
Jae Gruber
