The purpose of this activity is to show you how to go about setting up group projects and assignments to avoid the common pitfalls of traditional group work. Effective group work requires careful structuring and planning on your part. You must think through and outline every step, task, and detail of the process before communicating the assignment to students. Select one of the learning outcomes you developed in the instructional design of your project. Think of a possible learning activity, assignment, or project that students could do in small groups to help them achieve the learning outcome you identified above.
Students then apply what they have learned by designing their individual examples.
Finally, students compare examples and assess each other's work to ensure that all three required components have been included in each example. Each group should have at least 3 members and no more than 6. Distribute the work load evenly among group members. Pay special attention to the parts marked with stars. Half of each student's grade will be an average of the grades earned by all members of the group for their sample cooperative learning activities.