How Do I Assign Students to Groups?

According to numerous research studies, group work is one of the best ways to help students learn.

Group work helps facilitate active involvement in learning.

It’s been shown that students learn more and retain content longer through group work compared to other teaching methods.

It also helps students develop collaborative working skills, which are highly valued by employers.

Despite the widespread acceptance and demonstrated success of group learning, many teachers do not know how to create small groups effectively.

In this Magna 20 Minute Mentor, Ike Shibley, Ph.D., discusses key factors involved in successfully facilitating group learning.

You will learn

The benefits of group work for learning course material.
How to differentiate between formal and informal groups.
How to follow a decision tree to decide on group composition, number of group members and group grading policies.

Supplemental materials:

Detailed feature on the five essential components of group work.
Link to resources for finding assessment instruments.
A group work decision tree.
Rubrics and recommended resources.

Learning outcomes

At the conclusion of this program, you will know how to:

Clearly establish goals for group work.
Create appropriate groups.
Ensure that your grading policy is aligned with your goals for group work.
Involve students in grading their group mates.

Make this program available for ongoing training

Order the CD with the Campus Access License and load the CD onto your institution’s internal web site for unlimited, convenient, on-demand access for all members of your campus community. Click here for more information and to see all the benefits of the Campus Access License.

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