Group Work

In English 11 students are working on a two day short story project. The project description and evaluations are here. Many student hate group work while others find it helpful. I built this project closely to this article called "Productive Group Work in Middle and High School Classrooms" by Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher and Aida Allen. 

The article describes five principles that are needed for effective cooperative learning: 

1. Positive interdependence of group members such that they need to rely on

one another to solve the problem successfully—a sink-or-swim approach.

2. Face-to-face interaction to promote the personal investment group members

have in one another, both academically and as people.

3. Individual and group accountability focused on goals and outcomes, so

members are acknowledged for their individual contributions and their

ability to be collectively responsible for the results.

4. The teaching of interpersonal and small-group skills to foster the social and

academic skills needed to work together.

5. Group processing so members have opportunities to evaluate their products

and determine how they might improve the ways they work together.

Just a note to those who are absent:

If you are absent during a group project, it is your RESPONSIBILITY to contact a group member that can catch you up. This is not only an assignment on short stories, it is a test of maturity. In college or the work force you must always stay in contact with your group/team.  If there is not contact your peers may use that as a mark on the peer evaluation.