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ANOTHER Group Project Plea!!!
To any teacher out there contemplating assigning your students to a group project where the students must reach consensus on a common "deliverable" ... STOP ... consider all that is sacred about our abilities and rights to think and learn as individuals and DO NOT FORCE YOUR LEARNERS TO WASTE THEIR VALUABLE TIME AND ENERGY so that you can pat yourself on the back and call yourself a constructivist, a connectivist, or any other "ist" that floats your boat. THIS HAS GOT TO STOP! A group (common deliverable) project is a ridiculously inefficient and ineffective "instructional strategy" that does not support the learning of all INDIVIDUALS in the class. While you will end up with fewer papers to grade, you have cheated the few who pulled their hair out trying to get some half-assed watered down "socially negotiated" piece of crap to you and there is NO WAY you can say with confidence the INDIVIDUALS walking out of your class did anything to achieve the grade you are assigning. If you feel students need to build skills in team building, then TEACH A CLASS WITH THAT AS A SUBJECT ... I will be sure not to sign up for it.
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While I have had an abundance of crappy group projects to endure, this post has to do with my ever growing belief that group work (that requires learners to come to consensus on a common outcome) is a crappy instructional strategy. While we all must learn to work together in life, I am growing ever more possessive of the my educational experience. I want to control it and I want the outcome to be my own. It is mine and I've grown weary of sharing it and socially negotiating it with others. I am in it to maximize my understanding of the material. Clearly, I benefit from sharing ideas with others and (with hope) my perspective adds to the learning of others, but I do not want to waste my time socially negotiating my experience in a consensus building free-for-all. Looking back at those I've hired and down the road to those I will hire in the future, I want to hire an individual who has the skills and knowledge to do the work on his / her own. While I want them to play nice with others and seek input and advice from others, I want them to be able to individually survey a problem, tackle it, and explain the solution their own words. I do not believe typical group project strategies come close to fostering these skills.
Part of the problem is that not every student approaches a subject with the same motivations. Why should the motivated students prop up and drag along those who are not as motivated? Likewise, why should those less motivated be hidden behind the work of others? It seems a disservice to both groups of students.
I'm guessing that in your group project scenario by the facilitator / instructor assigning specific roles and then having the students connect to discuss individual contributions, the strategy avoids a lot of dysfunctional team dynamics and places greater emphasis on individual contribution than the group strategy (requiring consensus) that I typically encounter. However, what if the individual learner doesn't want to "refine" his / her presentation and feels his or her idea is better than what the group socially negotiated? Is there opportunity for the learner to screw the group and do what he / she feels is best? If so, that is strategy I support ... and the kid I want to hire.
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