In a message dated 4/24/01 9:19:16 AM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
writes:
<< 1. impossible to get al the projects done that the instructor wants
assigning them to individuals?
2. it is the training on a cooperative effort to get a task done that,
would be difficult to do alone?
3. it is the cooperative effort that will make the overall results
(product) BETTER than if a person did it alone? >>
This should be a very interesting thread.
Any of you who have worked in business, outside of the educational
environment, know that the trend in most companies is to have teams of
individuals work on projects. Although years ago tasks may have been
assigned to one individual by a supervisor, today the group approach is more
common.
All though school (elementary, junior and senior high as well as in some
undergraduate college courses) we tend to discourage competition. In the
real world things are driven by competition but this is not the approach
taken by public schools. Group work is now becoming more common in the
public schools, for a number of reasons that I will not address. How to
grade students who work in groups has always been a problem. It would seem
that the grading of the students is not as important as the experience the
student gains in working in a group to accomplish a given task.
I'd like to know how to grade students on group projects since, in most
educational settings, grades may seem more important that actual learning
experiences.
In replying to Dennis, it would seem that his #2 and #3 statements (above)
are what companies are looking toward.
Education has always been behind the times, sometimes more that at other
times, but always behind the times, when it comes to teaching what is
happening in the outside (real) world. We seem to argue on little things
that really have little impact on what the student faces upon graduation.
Everything from tests that are taken to get into an institution of higher
learning, to types of grades given in courses, to what is required for
graduation (note: I don't say successful learning).
I'm not even sure that most instructors really know what a student should
master in order to be able to say that the student "has learned the material"
since we often do not even give a practical final examination.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Dr. Robert C. Knodt
4949 Samish Way, #31
Bellingham, WA 98226
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"I hear, I forget. I see, I remember. I do, I understand" Chinese proverb
(teaching/learning)
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