Group projects are a great way to help students learn to collaborate. They also allow students to learn skills of communication, teamwork, leadership, and responsibility. Please post either one or some of the most effective group projects you have experienced in the classroom.
I have used Snapchat as a tool for group projects, and the students really enjoyed it! In one Spanish unit, we learn about daily routines (brushing one's teeth, getting dressed, etc). I have students take Snapchats of students with their daily routines captioning the Snaps in Spanish. We all watch them in class afterwards, and the students very thoroughly enjoy seeing each other's Snap stories.
ReplyDeleteI use chart paper for a lot of my math projects, such as what we are doing this semester - finding perimeter and area of different geometric figures. I have found that this is a good tool to use when approaching group projects. I use it a lot.
ReplyDeleteFor example, as we prepare for EQT's in the coming weeks, I have designed an activity that separates my students into groups of 3 students per group. As I teach small group remedial math classes, this is a very feasible number to have in each group. Each group is given a sheet of chart paper and asked to design a specific problem that relates to finding area or perimeter of a figure. Each group is responsible for deciding who will do what "job" in the group, which includes the speaker (for presentation), design leader (the layout of the project) and mathematician (one who actually works out the math problem presented). Everyone is responsible for the final answer, but the mathematician writes the final results on the presentation. Each group is given a large sheet of chart paper for their presentation. This allows for a larger drawing area and room for each person to contribute. This type of activity allows me to pair students based on abilities. For example, a student who is struggling can be paired with a stronger math student without being singled out. I have found that the students really enjoy the freedom in learning through this type of project. They also like it when I tell them they get to be the "teacher" for a day and can take over the classroom and the world! This activity also easily allows for the accommodations and modifications designed for some of the special education students. It is also a good way to teach students about working together toward a common goal, the finished product and the presentation.
Another great EQT review activity is to put the problems on chart paper and post them around the room. Ask the students to work using the "buddy system" to solve the problems, share findings with each other and discuss the various strategies they used to solve each problem. This is a good pairing activity that involves peer tutors. It also frees me up to move about the room and see how well the students are working together as well as gives me to opportunity to work with small groups/pairs as needed on specific skills and objectives where weaknesses are seen.
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