Accountability: Use a team points sheet (pdf), participation quiz (pdf-legal size paper), or tap into a school wide reward system if you have one. Make it explicit that following the team roles and doing math in the group is why teams are together and that the grade book will reflect effective teamwork. Distractible or overly social teams can be pulled apart into pairs (pdf) in order to enforce the message that teams are required to fulfill the expectation of effective groups.
For some, a sense of accountability, as in "yes, I am grading you on this" is needed to lower resistance and increase participation.
In grading systems where participation points are still in use, the following can be entered into the grade book. In settings where this is not the norm, students can just be given the score as a means of feedback. The reward in this case is in increased content knowledge and higher test scores that comes from authentic teamwork. Below are 2 forms of accountability, each of them including a points system to quantify the level of participation.
In grading systems where participation points are still in use, the following can be entered into the grade book. In settings where this is not the norm, students can just be given the score as a means of feedback. The reward in this case is in increased content knowledge and higher test scores that comes from authentic teamwork. Below are 2 forms of accountability, each of them including a points system to quantify the level of participation.
Participation QuizSeating Chart/On-the-Fly Method
In its simplest form, the teacher writes plus, check, or minus on each student's section of a seating chart during quick observation of each team. Maybe 3 or 4 times a period, between circulations of the class. Marks can be talllied and the students can get feedback on what the teacher observed in terms of engagement easily, with little prep. Some teachers put the seating chart on the overhead projector as they write, others wait till the end of the period to cut up the paper into the groups and hand them out. There are many permutations of this idea, and students are accountable for effective team work in each of them. |
Individual Team Member points
On the right side of the Team Work Job's paper (see team tab) is a rubric where all students assess their own performance. This can be used whenever teams need a firm tune-up. Weekly is not too often in classes that need a lot of guidance.
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