My project centers around collaboration. To create the lit trip, students will not only have to work together in small groups, but will also have to collaborate as a class. I see incredible value in collaboration in the classroom, but it does not come without challenges. I struggle a great deal with assessment when students work together on a collaborative project. Many times, students have a difficult time delegating responsibilities and holding everyone accountable for those responsibilities. This problem even exists in adulthood and is difficult to overcome.
As a teacher, I struggle with the conversation that I often have to have about a group member not pulling their weight in the group. I try to counteract this problem by assigning members roles and responsibilities in the assignment, but that unmotivated student is always there. Trying to assess student understanding through this lack of motivation is a challenge that I am still working to overcome. Student surveys seems to be the best solution but even then products go unfinished. With every benefit comes a challenge, but in today's society, students have to learn to work together and unfortunately, they have to learn to work in a world where unmotivated workers exist.
Communication and Collaboration is something that only exists when students are genuinely motivated. If you have struggled with that, II would suggest you to have an icebreaker activity or something fun for students to do such as an arts & crafts activity, something that involves their preferences or even food. I think when we break those barriers at the beginning of a unit they respond much better by engaging and accomplishing required tasks. I agree with you when it comes to delegating different responsibilities to different students, just make sure you talk to the whole class and allow them to “supervise” each other.
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