Re: Making group work palatable

[Deborah Holmes <dholmes -at- BOSTONTECHNOLOGY -dot- COM>]

Mary -

I think this is an excellent assignment for students. They have to learn
how to work in groups, how to agree to disagree and still make
deadlines, and how to negotiate. They also need to learn how to maintain
civil relations with people during conflict and under stress. These are
the issues that drive all workers crazy. Practice, coaching and self
assessment are great ways to face them. Maybe you should co teach with a
career counciling person :-)
Palatable? No. Crucial? you betcha. I'd speak to your current students
about what they need to take away from this experience.

Tell them they'll thank you when they're older!

Deb Holmes
dholmes -at- bostech -dot- com
>----------
>From:  Mary Massirer[SMTP:Mary_Massirer -at- BAYLOR -dot- EDU]
>Sent:  Tuesday, December 03, 1996 4:26 PM
>To:    TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
>Subject:       Making group work palatable

>My technical writing students are griping about the collaborative work we're
>doing at the end of the semester.  I have grouped them in threes based on
>similar majors and have asked them to choose 3 web sites to analyze, compare,
>and contrast according to some criteria I suggested.  They're welcome to add
>their own criteria.  They are handing in a written report from the three of
>them, and each is doing an assessment of how the group functioned (who did
>what, did everyone share equally, etc.)

>I think this is a worthwhile project because of its emphasis on evaluation
>and
>comparison/contrast, not to mention the collaboration and the exposure to the
>WWW.  How can I make this a more attractive project next semester?  I would
>appreciate any and all suggestions.  Thanks, Mary Massirer
>(mary_massirer -at- baylor -dot- edu)