By Daryl Swartzentruber (Centre College)
Information
Group projects can undoubtedly strengthen a classroom community and develop skills that students need to succeed professionally (e.g., communication and time management). However, a “group grade” can be difficult for faculty to determine and for students to accept, especially if group members are not equally contributing to the project at hand. Individually graded components of the project can help mitigate this struggle and encourage individual accountability. Bowe et al. (2016) provide a review of different ways to incorporate such components. We have incorporated several of these ideas in our introductory statistics group projects. This has allowed for a more accurate assessment of whether students are meeting the desired learning outcomes, and, if they are not, where they may need some additional direction. It has also encouraged a more collective sense of responsibility among our students. We teach at a small liberal arts college and have now used this “hybrid” project model for multiple semesters, for students from all grade levels, many backgrounds, and various majors—our class sizes typically hover around 24 students. We will discuss pros and cons of the project model, as well as specific techniques that have worked well for us, the impact on grading, and evidence of classroom efficacy via comments from our Student Reflections on Learning (SROLs).
Bowe, L., Delaney, M., Fitzgerald, B., MacCann, P. & Ryan, C. (2016) Methods for deriving individual marks from group work. Dublin: Technological University Dublin.