Feature Article
Recipe for Designing a Successful Collaborative Project:
Pedagogy First - Then Technology
Introduction :: The Recipe :: Final Results
The Recipe
1. Examine the previous assessments required in the course.
* Shannon: "I was unhappy with the heavy weighting of traditional assessments such as tests and an essay in this course which I'm convinced give a limited picture of what students have learned and whether they can apply the knowledge and skills."
* Gail: "We discussed how important it is for novice learners to have experiences early in their program where they practice integrating knowledge and skills using real-world contexts."
* Gail: "So, we decided they would complete an assignment that includes the elements of authentic assessment defined as "A form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills."
Jon Mueller, jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm* Shannon: "I have, of course, a clear vision of the real practice world they are going to work in, so it was easy to fashion an assignment that brings them there."
2. Align the project with the course learning requirements.
* Gail: "Since all assessments in a course are designed against one or more course learning requirements (CLR), we spent a fair bit of time deciding how all of the CLRs would be assessed across the semester."
* Shannon: "As we examined the knowledge and skills relative to each CLR, there were chunks related to each that students could easily combine into an overall project."
* Gail:" We also worked on the re-wording of the CLRs which will be considered for next year since a published course outline is what we had to work with."
Here is a link to the Lifesaver on Writing Course Learning Requirements which was very helpful at this point in the project.
3. Design the group project
* Shannon: "How can we expect Level 1 students to work collaboratively on this project given that it is their first experience?"
* Gail: "Two key ingredients will help them succeed: (1) a clear set of step-by-step instructions mapped against their course learning requirements and (2) a detailed front-ended orientation to the project so they can ask questions and get direction from the get-go."
* Shannon: "I want to use a tight tracking method so they meet the deadlines as they build the project. I think the trick is to get them into their groups within the first 2 weeks of the course which will give them at least 10 weeks to work on their individual pieces and put the whole project together."
4. Select an assessment tool with an outcomes focus
* Shannon: "I want to use a grading tool that is simple and easy for the students to understand.”
* Gail: "The I.C.E. approach to assessment and learning is one of the best fits with an outcome-based curriculum. ICE represents the 3 stages of learning: Ideas where the knowledge and skills are acquired as the building blocks of learning, Connections where learners establish and articulate the relationships among the ideas, and Extensions where the learning is internalized and used in novel ways.
* Shannon: "Would we assess their learning in all 3 stages?”
* Gail: "Given the course learning requirements and their level in the program, I think we would assess their Ideas (knowledge and skills) and some evidence of beginning to make Connections (seeing relationships among the components and concepts learned in this survey theory course). Certainly the design of the project leads them to begin making such connections.
View how we used the I.C.E. rubric
5. Feedback from colleagues on the project design
Shannon: "I discussed the project with my colleagues to make sure what we are expecting is realistic. We know that the expectations are aligned with the course learning requirements, but I wanted to make sure firstly that the team knows what the students will be doing in this course and that they aren’t overloaded with similar projects in other courses for that semester.”
Gail: "It really is a good idea to blueprint the types of assessments students are facing in a semester, not only the types but also where they fall in the 14 weeks. Students do appreciate that faculty work as a team when planning how a semester will be delivered.”
6. Orientation to the Project and Group Sign-Up
Shannon: "Since they are new to this type of assignment at Algonquin, I want to do the orientation in class with time to sign up for their groups right then and there.”
Gail: "I can be there to help with the logistics of getting the groups organized and I can remind them of the help they can get in the Online Learning Center and Student Support Lab with constructing PowerPoints, etc.
View the Orientation PowerPoint
7. Students sharing their presentations in Blackboard
Shannon: “Since the presentations actually replace my teaching that content, students should share their presentations, resources, etc. by posting them in Blackboard.
Gail:"They could post them as attachments in a general discussion forum where we would set the threads using the Groups’ project names.”
8. Submitting individual project portfolios
As one of the requirements for the assignment, students generated their individual learning portfolios throughout the project. Shannon periodically spot-checked these to make sure they were staying on track and meeting the expected benchmark deadlines.
Another requirement was that they use the group area in Blackboard to exchange files, discuss the development of the project, etc. This provided another medium for Shannon to monitor the groups’ activities.
Introduction :: The Recipe :: Final Results