Resources on Using Groups in the Classroom

The following resources have been gathered by Rosemary Joyce, Anthropology

Using Small-Group Development To Facilitate Cooperative Learning Base Groups
This article crystallizes what I experience working with groups, and helps give me a place to start in thinking about the challenges of promoting group work.

Coping With Hitchhikers And Couch Potatoes On Teams
This article deals with the critical problem that in my experience is hardest for students in my groups to deal with: freeloaders who don't put in the effort but get the advantage of the work of the group.

Further Comments On Coping With Hitchhikers And Couch Potatoes On Teams
This article articulates positions a few students over the years have proposed to me-- that learning is solitary, that students cannot fairly be asked to work in groups because they cannot punish bad behavior, and that ultimately, they are competitors and should not be expected to collaborate. The author of the original piece has a response that is less convincing than I think it could have been.

Integrating Team Exercises With Other Course Work
This article gives an account that I think resonates best with my rationale(s) for group work, and strategies I have found helpful myself in working with groups.

Managing assessment so that group members feel they have a real say in how group members are evaluated is difficult. Peer grading in group projects, the generally supported option, remains tricky for me. The best accessible piece I can point to is the following:

Group Projects and Group Grading: Work in Progress by Roger Arango