Group work online can be tricky but it can be done if it is
well organized and if the rubrics are clear to the group.
I have found that online groups of 2 do not work. They work
in a face-to-face class because if somebody is absent you can switch group members.
You cannot do that online, and, in an online class, even very good students
have times when they must be absent. I like groups of 4-5.
It does take more
time to do group work online than it does in a face-to-face class. I usually
give at least two weeks, preferably 3-4 weeks. What I do is put those who post
early in the week in the same group, and those who post latter in the week in a
different one. I do not think it is fair that students who complete their
work early in the week should be in a group of others who are always “Last
minute.” That means that I do not start group work in week 1 of the class
unless I have had the same students before. It also means I monitor the
interaction among students.
I also put myself as
a member of each group and monitor the group. The students know they can ask me
a question at any time. I keep refining my directions for group work every time
I use it. “Social Loafing” can be a problem if you give everybody in the group
the same grade.
Group work should be done to achieve an educational
objective. It should not be a way for the teacher to do less work. One teacher
in a class I taught mentioned she would use all group work as a way to cut down
on her time. When she was assigned group work herself in the course she said:
“I hate to do group work” and was not a good teacher. When she started teaching
an online course the students complained so strongly about her that she had to be
replaced. Students know when you are not involved in the course.
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