Using group projects or student learning teams: Some questions to prompt effective practice

The decision to use student learning teams or group projects

Why is a team or group project being used? Will it advance the unit objectives? Will it enhance student learning? How will it affect student and/or instructor workloads? What is your understanding on how teams work, the potential issues that might arise and how to deal with them?

Constructing the teams

What is the optimum size of the teams? What do individuals bring to a team? How is diversity reflected in the teams? Are the teams self-selected, assigned randomly by the instructor or assigned by the instructor to account for diversity (gender, skills, cultural background, experience, age, etc)? Where there is a minority in the class, should members of this minority group be spread around the groups?

Preparing students for working in teams

Do students understand what is meant by cooperative/collaborative learning? Do they know how working in teams might be beneficial? Do they understand the resistance to working in teams and the problems that arise in working in teams? Will the students be given information on team building and group processes? Will the teams be provided with team operating guidelines or encouraged to develop their own? Has in-class time been set aside for team work on the project, especially for each team's first meeting?

Monitoring the team process

How will the teams be monitored? Will there be regular peer/feedback on the team process? Will progress reports be required (assessed, not assessed)? How will internal team conflict be dealt with? What will be the last resort for team failures? Have you thought about the unforeseen and how you will deal with it?

Assessing student learning

How will the project be presented - oral presentation, poster, written submission, other? How will the marks be assigned between team members? Will they be able to have input into the allocation of marks? Will there be peer- and self-assessment in addition to instructor assessment? Will there be a mix of instructor-assigned marks and student-assigned marks? Will the team process and student understanding of teamwork be assessed? How is collaboration distinguished from cheating?

Evaluating the team process

What mechanism is in place to evaluate the team process and give feedback to the students? How will the feedback be incorporated into future team projects?

Previously published in The Challenges of Group Assignments. (2000). Issues of Teaching and Learning, 6(10)