IICE is pleased to present a blog by Dr. Errin Heyman, IICE Fellow. While the following article applies to all modalities of education, in this coronavirus / covid-19 context, it should help those transitioning to an online format. Enjoy!
In his recent (March 23, 2020) blog ,Online Learning for People who Dislike Online Learning, Dr. Jeff Borden had as Tip # 4, Don’t shy away from collaboration. He also had the important tip to help students through collaboration every step of the way…
As a fellow “old-timer” in online education (I taught my first online course, too, in 1997, for University of Colorado), I do sometimes forget that not everyone has at least given an online course a try—either as an instructor or as a student—but this isn’t the case! Well, maybe it is now, but…
The institution for which I currently work already has most of its courses fully online, but there are several courses that are offered in a hybrid fashion—some of the course is online, but students also physically come to class for about half of the course time. In these courses, the students conduct consulting projects, and much of the face-to-face (f2f) time is spent on group work as the student consulting teams prepare for their final consulting reports and presentations. This current crisis is forcing us to move the f2f portions to online as well.
One question I got was, “how do I form groups solely online?”
Instructors generally allow for groups to form in the first f2f class. They usually allow students to form their own groups. The initial general consensus was that this couldn’t be done online, asynchronously.
I offered a few ways to assign groups in a fully online setting:
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During the first week (usually one learning module of content and assignments), it’s important to have students spend some time introducing themselves in a threaded discussion. If you are interested in forming groups, then some questions should be directed toward that end; you might ask to students:
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When do you do most of your school work (morning, evening, etc.)?
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What type of person are you (very detail oriented, more laid-back)?
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In group settings, do you: take the lead or follow directions?
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Are you comfortable with managing projects?
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Do you like to write and edit?
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Do you prefer communication via phone, text, or …?
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Etc.
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·Based on some of these answers, then, you can form groups in a few different ways (although the third option here is likely the best choice):
1. (good) You can randomly assign students (based on last names, for instance, and just count “down the roster” or let the LMS auto-shuffle students). The biggest downside is that this method does not see distribution of skills throughout teams without quite a bit of luck. As well, teams in the workplace never form like this, so it’s not an ideal lesson. But just as with #1, be sure to prepare students for the roles, tasks, and due dates component of a group, possibly acting in a role that they are not accustomed to nor desirous of. As well, be prepared for some mediation.
2. (better) You can allow students to form their own groups. The caveat to this methodology is that you help them understand what to look for in a group (or better yet, a team). What is a leader or an editor or a project manager? Why is it better to work with people who have talents and abilities beyond their own? What is it to work with people who are not afraid of conflict or who have a stake in the outcome (vs working with a friend who has similar talents to your own or is afraid to disagree with you)? While this can work, you’ll probably have to be ready to mediate some problems. As well, you may need to assign “stragglers” to groups if they are left out.
3. (best) You, as the instructor, can use the responses (mentioned at the start of this blog) to form groups. This is likely the most effective method as it reflects how teams are typically formed in the workplace, sees distribution of skills / talents, and potentially allows for groups who work similarly (getting work done early vs late, etc) to be clustered together. This method will also likely see the least amount of necessary mediation by the instructor throughout. But it can obviously also be time consuming.
Each approach will have its pros and cons, of course, and you’ll need to expect that not every student will be happy, no matter which approach you take! You’ll want to give tips for working in groups and be ready to jump in and facilitate and/or mediate in some cases.
And, and Jeff noted, once groups are formed, then there are other concepts you‘ll want to work on with your students to help their groups succeed. But, getting the groups formed is the first step!
–Dr. Errin Heyman
IICE Fellow