{"id":16678,"date":"2022-10-14T16:17:27","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T05:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/educational-innovation.sydney.edu.au\/teaching@sydney\/?p=16678"},"modified":"2022-10-17T09:18:03","modified_gmt":"2022-10-16T22:18:03","slug":"group-work-rich-meaningful-and-transformative-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educational-innovation.sydney.edu.au\/teaching@sydney\/group-work-rich-meaningful-and-transformative-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Group work – rich, meaningful and transformative learning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Group learning\u00a0is an increasingly popular\u00a0approach to assessment; it provides opportunities for collaborative and authentic learning experiences. However, it is not without controversy; teachers report that group tasks\u00a0have the potential to provide rich, meaningful and transformative learning about course content and teamwork but\u00a0can be fraught with challenges of equity and engagement. Students often report that group tasks\u00a0can be overly onerous for the allocated assessment weighting and consequently\u00a0they look for ways to minimise the workload or rely on others to carry them, missing the collaborative learning experience.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Prompted by the need\u00a0to support the delivery of group work within the faculty, FMH Education Designers conducted field research to understand current practice. One of the outcomes was the development of some Canvas Group Work Teaching and Learning Resources<\/strong> that can be added to your unit site to support your next group assessment. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why group tasks?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Group tasks and assessments are typically chosen because they are an authentic learning experience; they reflect real work practice<\/strong>. Today, learning and working effectively as part of a team is a common experience that contributes to developing an invaluable skill set.\u00a0Students will continue to develop and refine these skills throughout their academic and working life. We should<\/span> reframe group work in terms of teamwork and peer review as peer feedback.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Group projects should be among the most valuable and rewarding learning experiences. However, they can also be some of the most frustrating experiences for some students; <\/span><\/p>\n

it is important to\u202f<\/span>take time to consider our role as educators<\/b> in contributing to positive experiences and successful learning outcomes when designing and implementing group work for our students.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We recommend supporting group work by using the following strategies:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before: Designing Group Tasks<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n