A Model for
Collaborative
Projects in
Online
Learning
Wanda Walker
Celeste Scholz
University of Oregon,
American English Institute
Objectives Take
a look at the particular difficulties of
online collaborative projects
 Share
a model for solving these problems
 Discuss
and troubleshoot some of the
rough spots
Activity~
Can We Agree?
3 Volunteers Please
What the research tells us…
3 Key Problems1.
2.
3.
Lack of group cohesion
Lack of effective communication
Perceived lack of instructor support
Capdeferro & Romero (2012). Nam & Zellner (2011). Oliviera,
Tinoca, & Pereira (2011)
Our Class…
 20-25
participants from multiple regions of
the world
 10 weeks of teacher in-service training on
teaching English to young learners, using
Blackboard
 Capstone Project = a collaborative Unit
Plan to demonstrate course concepts
Project Organization
Mid-point check in
 Establish
submission forum.
 The
groups submit a rough draft of their
project for peer review.
 Essential
feedback for the editing process.
Group Cohesion
 After
spending the first week doing
introductions and “Get to know you”
discussion, the groups are formed by the
participants based on interest
Effective Communication
 Special
group forums are utilized to
structure communication and interaction.
Each group has their own “space” within
Blackboard to post ideas and documents.
Group Discussion Forums
Instructor Support
 As
instructors, we can actively observe in
the group forums and help/intervene
when needed.
 We
can see
EVERYTHING!!
Outcomes…
An average of 1/6 groups collapse
Survey results- 11/21 P’s responded



Participants like the special forums
Strong sense of support
Participants not crazy about forming the
groups
Finding teammates
80
60
40
Finding
teammates
20
0
Very easy
Somewhat
easy
Needed
help
Was the planning forum a helpful tool
70
60
50
40
Was the planing
forum helpful
30
20
10
0
Very
helpful
Somewhat Not helpful
helpful
How well did your team work together?
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
How well did your
team work
together?
Instructor Support
100
80
60
40
Instructor Support
20
0
Very
Somewhat Needed
supportive supportive more
Suggestions:
 Form
smaller groups (2-3 instead of 3-4)
 The
instructor should assign groups and
group member roles
 “There
must be a way to make sure
everyone acts responsibly and the work is
equally shared.”
Lessons Learned & Looking to
the future…
 There
is no cure-all!
 Key feature is the instructor observation
 Possibly
adding a specific “Ice Breaker” to
the introductions?
 Groups that do not form on their own
have high risk of collapse.
 Should we include peer grading?
Questions, Comments,
Suggestions?
Thank you!
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