Before the Team Project Cultivate a Community of Collaborators Deb LaBelle

Team Projects Environments Face-to-Face, in class only Online, never meet Face-to-Face Hybrid, meet in class and use online tools This talk is about the team projects in the Hybrid environment, and my attempt to prepare new* students to be good collaborators on team projects in this environment My class size is 24 max

The Team Project Is Important because Research shows students learn more, and retain more Students are more satisfied Should be constructed to meet the educational needs of the student and the course requirements

Background Key to forming functional learning groups is social interaction Non-task conversations provide opportunities for building socio- emotional connections “Working collaboratively is a skill and a perspective.” Guzdial (1997)

Background - continued Kreijns (2003) – Two Pitfalls in CSCL environments: Social interaction is taken for granted Social interactions are restricted

Team Building Exercises Plethora of Team building exercises have been designed to help students prepare to work together Drawbacks of TBEs Most require F-To-F interaction Take class time Are often separate from the project itself Take place at the beginning of the semester when everyone is excited to be here

My Observations Students new to the concept of teamwork are not “prepared” to “collaborate” on a team project They do not have a good working knowledge of the available collaborative tools They do not have socio-emotional connections with fellow classmates Most are comfortable communicating in an online environment

More observations/assumptions Students are working for a grade, not pay or promotion Students who want the grade will work to achieve it Many students have a grade in mind and it’s not always an A Students do not typically understand the benefits of team work until it’s over

Successful collaborators Enjoy working with team members Are able to reflect on their teamwork Are aware of progress made by self and others Are committed to self, others and the project Build “lasting” relationships with fellow students

Skills of successful collaborators Good Relationship skills Understand what it takes to be a good team member Able to share information, and ask questions Good Communication skills Online – practice good communication protocol in chat, message board, and May vary with age and experience* Face-to-face – speak to each other by name Good Technology skills (Working together as a class helps “new” students build these skills)

Strategies that worked for me Couple the task and off-task activities Work with the teams to build a relationship - be a good team member Design projects that get their focus off “the grade” Design the project so that all students have equal responsibilities Integrate the use of the Collaboration tool whenever possible

Structure the assignments to foster social interactions and build history Assign projects that focus on process, not outcomes – end product is fuzzy Assign projects that require members to rely on each other for technological information (show and tell) – challenge the students Assign structure not specifics – students will ask each other “what does she want?”

Encourage Social Interactions Create a discussion board topic just for social interactions Create a chat room for Off-task discussions Interject questions about hobbies and interests outside of class that may relate to the project assignment Why this topic? How can it be used IRL?

Encourage sharing of technical and problem domain knowledge Design discussion questions to include everyone’s skill level Get involved in the discussion, ask questions, ask for feedback Tell students you are tracking them Share tracking stats with students Show them how you use the tools

Provide time for reflection In class reflection sessions Inter-group discussions Class briefings Highlight contributions of individual team members Recognize groups that are performing well, and ask groups to talk about their teamwork

Evolution of Project assignments From One project to Many; from Many Teams to one.

Random Groups – students were asked to form groups, they usually asked the person sitting next to them to be their partners. Each group produced one project. I created discussion boards on which students could contribute and share ideas.

Random Groups Group 1 Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Group Assignment Group 2 Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Group Assignment

Interest Groups – students devised an idea for a project individually, students with similar project ideas formed a group and worked together to produce one project. I generated small group discussion boards on the CSCL tool.

Interest Groups Group Assignment Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Group 1 Group Assignment Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Group 2

Loose Groups – students devised an idea for a project individually, students with similar project ideas formed a group to discuss issues involved in developing their individual project. I mandated the use of discussion boards for students to share ideas. I took suggestions from students to create additional discussion boards and “drop boxes”.

“Loose Groups” allowed the Class to be a Team The Class Group 1 Member 1 Assignment 1 Member 2 Assignment 2 Member 3 Assignment 3 Shared Ideas about Assignments Group 2Group 3Shared Ideas

MethodTerm Approx % Completed Projects Student Issues/CommentsMy Observations Random Groups One assignment per group FA0260 -Coasting -major contributor wanted to “fire” their partners – do all the work his or her self -Little discussion between groups -Only a few groups used the CSCL tools - Students did not enjoy “teamwork” Interest Groups One assignment per groupSP0375 -Coasting -Minor contributor felt they did not have enough opportunity to contribute -Students lost interest, diverged from group work, -Convened with me more then their partners Loose Groups Each member had own assignment FA0390 -No Coasting -Student liked working on something of their own interest to help them learn the material -Liked sharing ideas with others -Students learned each other’s names quickly -Communicated within and outside of own group -Requested additional discussion boards Loose Groups Each member had own assignment SP0490 -No Coasting -Were encouraged by other’s ideas - Told me “You made us think” -Several groups expressed interest to continue their project in future, many did. - used discussion board frequently

Sample Projects that help students become good collaborators (that worked for me!)

The Research Paper Each student post his/her interest on message board – share ideas Require students to comment on other’s interests – reflect online Hold in class briefings to discuss progress on research paper – build socio-emotional ties* Post comments/interesting references on message board – share, reflect

Take advantage of the CSCL Tools Convert discussion board into HTML page, print and bring it to class for further discussion Link together all F-to-F -> ONLINE -> F-to-F back and forth Hold informal chat sessions out side of class time Hold chat sessions In class!

Programming Project Each student choose a topic of personal interest – develop a vested interest Teams are formed by related topic of interest – similar problem domain Teams help each other complete the programming assignment – share design ideas, but the project is “their own”

Outcomes Students begin to rely on each other for technical knowledge as well as problem domain knowledge I too learn about their personal interests Students learn each other’s name Students want to show each other their work

What happens? Students come to appreciate the wide range of programming skills available in class Teacher helps with scope, (feature creep is common) but specifications are student driven The Class is the super group, broken into smaller groups, broken into individual projects. Most Everyone gets the work done and they’ve learned to work with others to accomplish their own tasks

Conclusions More projects to grade Works best in small classes Everyone has a task to complete Students learn the difference between sharing and copying The class becomes a community of learners, better prepared to collaborate in the future