The materials for the collaborative process paper can be found here.
Take five minutes to discuss what attitudes or activities are productive and lead to successful group work, and which ones are not productive and lead to less satisfactory group work. How could group members improve their groups? Draw from your assigned readings and your own experience. Be ready to report to the entire class.
Case Study #1
George, Luis, and Maggie are writing a product description together. The day they are assigned the paper, Luis has a great idea for a mechanism they can describe. He is excited about it, and he brings it the next time they meet. George agrees that it would be a good mechanism to describe for their paper. Maggie disagrees, but she sees that George and Luis already agree, so she is quiet about her hesitations in using Luis’ idea. She tries for consensus by agreeing with George and Luis.
Case Study #2
Orlando, Julia, and Crystal are working on a process paper. Orlando wants to get the paper finished so he can enjoy the weekend without any homework. Julia wants to finish, but she wants the paper to be perfect. She has noticed that Crystal doesn’t have a lot of ideas to offer when they discuss the paper. She knows Orlando wants to work, but only during the week. Julia knows that if this project is going to get done and be “A” work, she will have to do most of the work herself, so she writes a lot of it over the weekend herself. Julia moans that group work always means she does the work and others just ride on her efforts.
Case Study #3
Matt, Pui, Liz, and Gabriella are working on a research paper together. Liz does not want to be doing a group paper, so whenever they meet, she moans about the project and about how hard it is. She skips a few meetings because they don’t seem to get much done, and she knows she didn’t miss much anyway. Gabriella will catch her up on what she missed. She detects feeling of resentment from the other group members, but she attributes it to overly uptight people who have no life.
Case Study #4
Sherrie, Malcolm, Duane, and Suzanne have spent hours on their research project. They are still writing the proposal, and they have met many times already. Each time they meet, they seem to go over the same problems they encountered the last time. They end up brainstorming for new ideas, but they end up with the same list they came up with last time. They never get past the idea stage. They seem to be making no progress.
Case Study #5
Tina and Jennifer are tired of being in a group with Martine and Paul. They think that they waste time at meetings and get nothing done. Instead, Tina and Jennifer meet on their own, make some quick decisions, and write half of a draft of a paper. When they all meet again, Tina and Jennifer present what they did on their own. Martine and Paul are mad Tina and Jennifer went off on their own, but they don’t say anything because they want to have consensus.
Case Study #6
Jamaal, Steve, and Andrea are supposed to write instructions for how to make an elaborate paper airplane. When they meet, they jump right into the task. They divide up the steps and leave. When they meet again, they start immediately into the project. They put the steps all together in one document. Then they are done. By the end, Jamaal, Steve, and Andrea end the project not knowing a thing about each other, but they have finished the paper in record speed, and they were very efficient.
Case Study #7
Natalie, Yolanda, Ping, and Michael are working on a process paper. Yolanda has a lot of experience in graphic arts, so, when they are adding the pictures, she shows Ping and Michael how to scan a picture in and add it to the text. Natalie is good with words and is a good editor. She edits the paper with Yolanda so Yolanda can learn more about punctuation rules. The process is not very efficient, and it takes a longer time to produce the paper than if they did only what they were good at.
Case Study #8
James, Nathan, and Allie need to schedule a time to meet with each other. James works nights, and Nathan works afternoons. Allie has two night classes. There doesn’t seem to be any time they are all free except Friday from 7:30-8:30 A.M. This makes all of them very frustrated because the paper is due soon, and they can’t get together.
The following assessment refers to your latest group writing assignment. Please write your responses to #1 and #2 in paragraph form, and record your numerical ratings as demonstrated below. Email your assessment to me. Write “Collaboration Report” on the subject line, and send your responses to rachael.d.bailey@gmail.com. Please send only your responses and not the questions.
Evaluative and Reflective Essay
Group Rating Assessment
Read through the following criteria. Assign a rating from each category for each student including yourself. Follow the format given at the end.
A. Rate each person’s attendance at meetings.
0=Student did not come to meetings.
1=Student came to some meetings.
2=Student came to all but one meeting.
3=Student came to all meetings.
B. Rate each person’s quantity of work on this project.
0=Student made no contribution.
1=Student made a small contribution to this project.
2=Student made a medium contribution to this project, but other students carried the main load.
3=Student made a large contribution to the project.
C. Rate each person’s quality of work on this project.
1=Contribution was of such low quality that it had to be rewritten substantially. Student contributed few ideas and made little impact on final product.
2=Contribution was of medium quality and some had to be rewritten. Student contributed some ideas and made a medium impact on final product.
3=Contribution was of high quality, and student helped with rewriting. Student also contributed many good ideas and made a substantial impact on final product.
D. Rate the person’s interpersonal skills.
1=Student caused unnecessary personal or procedural conflict that negatively impacted the group.
2=Student had little impact on interpersonal relationships.
3=Student cultivated supportive and respectful relationships.
E. Rate the person’s conduct in the group process.
1=Student did not become actively engaged in collaborating with the group as a whole.
2=Student took over the group and made this more of a solo effort rather than a group effort.
3=Student allowed and encourage all members to participate. Student encouraged an exchange of ideas.
F. Rate the person’s contribution towards making this a learning group, where students help each other learn, not just a production team, where students contribute only their expertise.
1=Student did not teach others new skills.
2=Student contributed his or her expertise, but made a small effort to teach others new skills.
3=Student took time and effort to teach his or her skills, such as editing, creating graphics, designing documents, organizing, etc. to other group members.
G. Rate the person’s contribution in making this a learning group, where students try new skills, rather than a work team, where students contribute only their expertise.
1=Student did not try learning a new skill.
2=Student made a small effort to try a new skill.
3=Student took time and effort to try a new skill, such as editing, creating graphics, designing documents, organizing, etc.
Reporting format
Give first name and at least an initial of the last name. Report the numbers in this format, listing each member of your group, including yourself.
Steve N.
Attendance 2
Quantity 3
Quality 2
Interpersonal skills 2
Conduct 2
Learning 2
New skills 3
The first tasks are as follows. You have fifteen minutes.
Each group will recieve a resume, letter, and memo. You are to read them, then write a two to four paragraph critique. You should discuss the strengths and weaknesses of only the resume. The audience is the person writing the resume. Tell this person what he or she is doing well, and suggest possible places for revision.
You should keep track of your own group process. What various things do you do individually and as a group?
Instructions Assignment
Description
You are assigned to write a collaborative paper giving instructions to another group in the class. You need to choose a process that can be completed during class on the due date. At the beginning of class on the due date, your group will supply the paper and any materials to complete the process. These instructions should describe a process that is not familiar to most people in the class. The process should be complicated enough to warrant a paper explanation. Please choose only processes that are legal and appropriate for campus! Remember, another group in our class has only the class period to complete the process and write a usability memo about the instructions.
Audience
You have two audiences: the teacher and another group in the class.
Specifications
The process should represent enough of a challenge that it should take at least three double-spaced pages to describe it. The final copy, however, need not be in standard double-spaced format. Use good document design and use spacing to fit that design.
I require that your paper include at least one useful graphic. Of course, you may use more (and I encourage you to do so!) Place the graphic in the document so that the reader can find it and use it easily. Label graphics as Figure 1: Side View of a Fork, or something similar.
Organization
Introduction:
Give an overview of the paper so the group knows what it is getting into. Describe the general process and list the steps.
Materials/Equipment:
Describe the materials or equipment. Use visuals if needed. Be sure to bring all the materials your process requires so a group can perform the process.
Steps:
Describe each step. Organize the steps chronologically. Visually organize the steps so the reader can follow easily.
Warnings:
Include any safety warnings prominently in the text at the time the reader needs them.
Summary:
Don’t just end with the last step—give an ending to your paper. Summarize the process or give purposes to the process or say one last word. Tie it up.
Graphics:
You must use at least one graphic. Make it clear and useful. Make sure that graphics are labeled and referred to in the text where appropriate.
Language
Use the command (imperative) form of verbs to avoid wordiness.