WK 5 - Making Together Better: Guiding Effective Group Work for All Students

Session Description: Collaboration is vital to tackling the complex ecological problems we face as a society. In addition, effective collaboration skills can lead to higher learning gains for our students, greater motivation to learn, and stronger positive feelings about the subject matter. However, many of our students have had limited or negative experiences with group work before coming to our classes, and would benefit from explicit instruction on effective collaboration skills. Furthermore, relying on our students’ prior experiences with teamwork in our classrooms can have the unintended consequences of perpetuating the systemic biases that our society has against marginalized identities, such as students who are neurodiverse or who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).

In this workshop, we will introduce participants to guiding principles and resources for scaffolding inclusive and effective group work experiences for our students. Participants will explore evidence-based components of effective group work, including group formation techniques, development of trust within groups, design of group assignments, assessment of group products, and evaluation of growth in collaboration skills. Participants will also discuss how students can learn to regulate their own group dynamics to navigate common problems that can arise during teamwork. By intentionally teaching our students how to work in teams, we offer our students an opportunity for deeper learning as well as the development of fundamental skills that are applicable beyond college. When we cultivate classroom teams in which all members can thrive, we contribute to advancing social justice and equity in the community of ecologists.