Assigning Group Projects: Teacher Tips

Yes, our students hate it, and sometimes we hate it, too, but assigning group projects gives students an excellent advantage in the real world over others who have never (or are less frequently assigned) group projects. Students who complete group projects learn to how to compromise and they learn how to deal with people who may think in ways contrary to their beliefs. These are skills necessary to becoming responsible adults and key leaders in the workplace.

However, the burning question for teachers of all levels is not whether group work is beneficial, but how do we, in assigning group work, keep one student from doing all the work? How do we adequately distribute credit to students without giving one or the other an advantage over his or her group mates?

The answer, quite simply, is to assign a series of rubrics along with the overall project. This idea works well for students whether they're in second grade or graduating seniors. The reason it works-each child knows what is expected of him or her and each child knows what he or she will be graded on. Thus, those students who consistently do their work and turn it in on time will be rewarded for their efforts, and those students who do not will have their grades marked down accordingly.

The system is not perfect. It does mean more work for teachers. However, the hassles you avoid in dealing with "Ms. So-and-so, John won't do his work. He's just over here playing." are priceless.

Keep in mind that assigning rubrics with group projects is different from assigning rubrics with projects that will be completed by students individually. In independent projects, each student is responsible for the research and design of the project from start to finish. Students are not expected to receive help from their peers.

Take a look at the sample rubric to the left for a project testing a student's understanding of Native American culture.

Now consider this same rubric in light of how it might appear with a group project. Rather than have the group responsible for identifying 3 explorers, for example, you would have each student in a group of 3 or 4 be responsible for identifying just one. What makes this different from an independent project is the tie-in activity that requires everyone's participation.

In the individual rubric above, the presentation task would be an excellent tie-in activity. With this activity, students would need to brainstorm ways to bring their individual efforts together to produce a report, poster, PowerPoint, etc. that is aesthetically pleasing and makes logical sense. As a group project, each student would be graded only the contributions he or she made. Yet the group tie-in makes more than just an independent project.

As a rule of thumb, you should consider making your tie-in activities something that is relatively easy. Do not make the tie-in something that requires hours of work, long-term planning, or in-depth preparation. You do not want to have as one of the core pieces of the project something weighty that students would mind having to do all on their own.

There will always be a time when a student or a group of students from a particular group do not feel like participating in the group aspects of a project. That is inevitable. However, at least by assigning individual rubrics to each member of a group, you eliminate having one student do all the work while the rest reap all the benefits from his or her efforts.