Teaching Tip #17: 7 things to keep in mind while assigning group projects

 

Assignment of group projects need clarity of planning and instruction. Here are 7 things you need to keep in mind while assigning them:

  1. Ensure that the task is challenging and interesting enough for the students.For example: “Prepare a travel brochure on any one fort of Rajasthan.”
  2. Set a clear goal. For example: “Each group should identify a fort and prepare a travel brochure based on information around that fort.”
  3. Divide the topic into specific sub topics. For example: “Your brochure should have the following information: the location, how to get there, the climate, history, architecture and the material used to build it, any other special attraction in the area, and the best time to visit the place.”
  4. Give clear instructions.For example: “Identify the fort you will choose to write about, do research and collect the information you need, divide your brochure into different pages based on the subtopics. Write the relevant information very briefly and draw maps or pictures where needed.”
  5. Distribute the students into groups with children having different skill areas. For example: “Rohit, Ananya, Priya, Ajmal, Shalini and Reena are in Group 1” (Rohit, Ajmal and Priya write well, Shalini and Ananya can draw well, Reena is good at research).
  6. Assign roles. For example: “All of you do the research. Each person can work on one subtopic. Rohit, Ajmal and Priya can do the writing. Ananya, Shalini and Reena can help with the art work. Choose one person from the group to present your project after it has been completed.”
  7. Set a time for submission. For example: “You are expected to present the project in four days. Let me know today which fort you have chosen to work on. Spend two days in doing the research and collating the information, and two days in preparing the brochure. You can present it on the fifth day.”

You may wonder: Why travel brochures? Asking children to make travel brochures is a good way to encourage them to do independent research work and apply their knowledge creatively.

 

Author: Sriparna Tamhane

 

© Oxford University Press

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