Following from the Rice Center for Teaching’s recent workshop about Approaches to Meaningful Student Group Work, Academic Technology Services is offering virtual consultation sessions to discuss the technology resources available to both instructors and their students in support of student group work.
Please bring your group work ideas or sticking points to discuss in detail. To get you started, please refer to this brief planning guide from Cait Kirby, Assoc. Director of the Rice Center.
Please feel free to join our open discussions on any of the following dates:
If you prefer to schedule a one on one discussion to discuss a private or sensitive topic, please email your department ATC or [email protected].
Additional Context
Academic Technology Consultants are available to help you identify tools or techniques to support your group work planning or to overcome current challenges. These could range from the various facets around structuring group work activity to the conditions under which group work is performed, such as:
| Communicating Expectations | Tools/techniques for reliably communicating your expectations (e.g. goals, methods, etc.) to students. |
| Connecting Expectations to Assessments | Tools/techniques for evaluating student achievement toward your expressed goals, and distinguishing between individual and group assessment. |
| Student Group Formation | Tools/techniques for creating student groups that best meet your expectations or goals (e.g. random vs affinity). This may be especially helpful when planning for courses with large student enrollments. |
| Group Dynamics & Role Playing | Tools/techniques for managing group membership and activities, as well as quickly adjusting these as needed. |
| In-Class vs Out of Class Tasks | Tools/techniques for managing or supporting student work in the classroom or outside of class (e.g. tools for collaboration, scheduling, etc.). |
| Supporting Effective Group Work | Tools/techniques for addressing the hidden curriculum of group work, including group work skills not expressly taught in class and making group work accessible to your most vulnerable students. |
| Providing Feedback | Tools/techniques for ensuring that students receive meaningful and timely feedback on their group and individual work. |
| Supporting Group Work Longevity | Tools/techniques for group work that may span several classes or a whole semester. |