They Say That….

A student’s ability to express themselves in an academic situation is all but reliant on the papers they produce.

All of us are familiar with the tried-and-true method of the research paper.  A student picks a topic, picks a variety of sources and cobbles together some hopefully eloquent presentation on the subject.  While arguably easier to grade based on limited scope of the genre and media, there is another, lesser chosen attempt at establishing retention: the group project.

Peer projects: Useful or Useless?

Mention a group project to any class of students and the results will usually be the same: split between the people that think they won’t have to do much work and the people that know they’ll be doing most of the work, either due to their group’s work ethic or not.  However, group projects actually have a lot going for them from a teaching perspective.

According to Carnegie Mellon University, some benefits of group projects include:

Break complex tasks into parts and steps

Plan and manage time

Refine understanding through discussion and explanation

Give and receive feedback on performance

Challenge assumptions

Develop stronger communication skills.

Speaking as a Longwood student who’s very familiar with both sides of the argument, I can attest to the fact that for as much as I enjoy working alone being in a group project for the better part of a semester has allowed me to flex my communication skills, hold myself accountable for my actions, and learn to take feedback better.

So, should you risk it?

Well, I can’t decide that for you.

It’s easy to stand by the tested methods of the paper and ignore the idea of creativity and accountability presented in group projects.  However, give your students the ability to hone their own skills and showcase their talents creatively and with others is — in one student’s opinion — always worth the risk.

 

For more articles pertaining to pedagogy, please see Cult of Pedagogy: A Blog

For more information on crafting digital texts, please consult Crafting Digital Writing by Troy Hicks