Ashley's Reading Notes #4

I enjoyed the readings for this week about working in groups. I think teachers shy away from collaborative learning because they think it creates chaos and students do not learn. Lang (p.106) stated that many classes are reading, writing, and reporting back because that is how the faculty learns and students are comfortable with this method. Davis points out that when students participate in collaborative learning they retain the information and are satisfied with the class (p.190). I agree with this because I feel like the classes where I just have to report the information back, I do not remember it the next semester. I feel like I did not learn the material and I think many students feel that way. Knowing this, why do instructors continue to teach the same way and not try new methods (group work)? What are some of the reasons why instructors do not use collaborative learning?

Both authors provided good insight in forming groups and handling evaluations. Lang cites ways of forming groups in a classroom (p. 112). What are some methods that work the best? He discusses the concept of homogenous and heterogeneous groups (Lang, p. 120). I think there are pros and cons to each type of group. A homogenous group will probably get work finished quicker, but they are not learning how to work with different personality types. I think the instructor should have some say in organizing the groups because students will stay within their comfort zone and choose to work with friends. What group type is the best to use in a large classroom and should instructors allow students some freedom in choosing?

I see how collaborative learning can be difficult because of trying to grade students and handling situations where groups will not work together. Davis (p.196) pointed out that instructors should try to keep groups together and not let them split up. How do you get them to work together? What if there is one member that will not cooperate with the group, do you make them work alone? I think this is a tricky subject and every instructor will handle it differently. Having groups evaluate the members and their own contribution will help with slackers (Davis, p. 199). It will also help you as an instructor to give them a final grade.

Group work is really interesting and a great method of instruction to use in the classroom along with all of the other options that Davis mentioned in the assigned chapters. The chapter about Web 2.0 was interesting, especially the section about social networking. I think we have discussed this before, but what is a proper protocol for facebook? Should teachers friend students or use this social media as a method of communication?