Week 7 - Chapter 6 Student Activities

This chapter was of particular interest to me as I am planning to create a lesson plan about collaborative, group learning in the online environment. I don't have it all planned out yet, but this chapter in Ko's and Rossen's book, Teaching Online A Practical Guide has helped me start planning my lesson. Group work can be designed to be a lot or a little work for the participants, but it must be guided very specifically by the instructor. For example, the instructor must prepare the way by getting the class to introduce themselves early on. Then the instructor should choose the groups to work together (considering things like time zones and interests) and leave specific instructions and rubrics for the group to work together. (For rubrics see http://www.sjsu.edu or http://webquest.sdsu. ed u/rubrics )The instructor should make sure they are evaluated separately as well as evaluating the group work. Reflection of the group assignment is also important for the individual's learning process.