Students who lack adequate problem-solving skills often perform poorly. This session will involve a discussion of the instructional strategy adopted at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia to improve students’ problem solving-skills in general chemistry. Participants will then form discipline-specific groups to discuss the effectiveness of the instructional strategy in their own disciplines and [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Group Work Strategies’
An Instructional Strategy to Improve Problem Solving Skills
Posted Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 by maryannDealing with Free Riders
Posted Thursday, September 10th, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerWhat makes students hate group work? A 2003 study found that getting a poor grade on a group project and having a free-rider in the group were the two factors most highly predictive of negative attitudes toward group work. Students want to be in groups where the work is shared equally—don’t we all? So what [...]
Designing Group Work
Posted Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerOn one of my recent road trips, I had a stimulating conversation with two colleagues during which we discussed group work and the challenge of designing good activities for groups. Although the problems that emerge when students work in groups cannot be completely prevented by well-designed activities, they can certainly be made to occur less frequently or to lesser degrees. Let me offer some examples.