Online Collaborative Group Projects
Project Design
Four part project design:
1. Individual Activity to Prepare for Group Work
2. Group Activity
3. Group Report
4. Individual Reflection
Creating Groups
Everyone has a different way to form collaborative groups. My preference early in the semester
is random. I like 5 people in a group. Later in the semester, when I know which students
participate and which don't, I create groups with 3-4 strong students per group and randomly
place the "non-participants" to fill-in groups as needed.
Student Grades
Each part of the project is directly graded, except for the group report. If no group report is
submitted, then you can take points of the "group activity" area. You can determine the point
values for each part of the task.
Example
1. Individual Preparation Activity – Read article, prepare a written response (what action
would you take), and submit to instructor. Due: Day 1 of project. Points: 20
2. Group Activity – Working in the group area, collaborate with your group to reach a
consensus action on the issue using the collaborative tools of your choice (discussion
board, chat, email). Working Time: Days 2-5 of the project. Points: 50
3. Group Report – One member of the group posts the group's response on the main class
discussion board. Due: Day 5 of project. Points: 0
4. Individual Reflection – Write a paragraph or two for each: how your thinking evolved
through the group discussion process, how your group process worked, and how your
group worked together. Due: Day 5 of project. Points: 30
Grading Tips
1. Make what is submitted for the Individual Preparation Activity short and easy to grade –
a paragraph or a self grading quiz.
2. Add your fictitious student in each group so that you will receive any emails that are sent
by the group. (I create a folder to store these emails until grading time.)
3. In ineffective groups, I grade each individual's group activity based upon how actively
the student attempted to get other members to participate.
4. Make sure you clearly articulate what the students' responsibilities are in the Group
Activity and for the Individual Reflection.
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Online Collaborative Projects
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© 2007, Distance Learning, Tulsa Community College
Collaboration 2: Group Activity – Response to Petition
Assignment Overview
We must do the things we think we cannot do.
- Eleanor Roosevelt
In Assignment 3, you read Gordon Adams’s petition to waive the university’s mathematics
requirement and submitted your response and reasons for it. This collaborative exercise will place
you and your peers in the role of the University Standards Committee. Together you will arrive at
a group decision on whether or not to exempt the student. You will also submit an individual
evaluation of the evolution your thought processes throughout the collaboration.
Objectives
 analyze argument from multiple perspectives
 evaluate strengths and weakness of an argument based upon multiple perspectives
 develop strategies for group processing
Assignment
1. Read the case study “Petition to Waive the University Mathematics Requirement”
(Writing Arguments, pages 17-20) and decide how you would vote on this issue. Should
the student be exempted from the math requirement? Write a 1 paragraph response
stating the reasons for your decision.
2. Go to the Group Work area of Blackboard (found on blue course menu). Your group
will be the only active link.
3. Using the Group Discussion Board, Collaboration, or Email to work with your group to
reach a group decision on whether to exempt Gordon Adams from the math requirement.
Here is how the above tools could be used:
 Group Discussion Board – can be used for discussions in which contributions occur
over time. Information is stored in threads for replies and review.
 Collaboration – can be used for “live” discussions or chats. A date and time will need
to be scheduled for the discussion.
 Email – email is similar to the group discussion board in that contributions occur over
time. When using email, make sure you send email to all group members.
Your group will need to decide which tools will be used in the collaborative activity.
Someone will need to take the initiative to get the group started.
Group Responsibilities
1. Participate in the group decision making process.
2. Share your reasons for approving or denying the request.
3. Work with others to come to an agreement.
4. Participate in a timely manner.
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© 2007, Distance Learning, Tulsa Community College
Submitting the Assignment
Initial Response
1. Submit your response in the Week 2 area under Initial Waiver Response.
2. This part of the assignment is due by 11:59 p.m. on Monday night!
Group Submission
After the group has reached consensus:
1. Select one person in the group to post your group’s decision on the Class Discussion
Board (blue course menu).
2. Your decision should include the reasons your group approved/disapproved the request.
Individual Submission
After the group has reached consensus:
1. Open a new Word document.
2. Write a paragraph or two describing how your thinking evolved during the group
decision process. Did any of your classmates’ views cause you to rethink your own?
3. Write a paragraph or two describing the process your group went through to reach
consensus. What tools did you use? How did the group handle the discussion phase? the
decision phase?
4. Write a paragraph or two describing how your group worked together. Which strategies
were successful? Which strategies were not successful? Which group members were
especially helpful to the process? Why? Which group members hindered the process?
Why?
Format
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Start this assignment in a new Word document.
Place a MLA style heading on your paper. (see syllabus)
Use Times, size 12, black font.
Paragraphs must be double-spaced.
The document should have 1 inch margins.
Identify the three sections of the individual response with clear headings.
5. Submit the completed document in the Collaboration 2 Assignment Item found in the
Week 2 section of Blackboard.
Remember to read the decisions of the other groups on the Class Discussion Board.
Assessment
Point Value: 100
You will be assessed on this collaborative activity by your participation in the group decision
making process. This will be determined by your evaluation of the group process in the
individual documents you submit. Your peers’ evaluations of your participation in the process
will also play a part in the assessment.
Initial Response – 20 pts
Group Participation – 50 pts
Individual Reflection – 30 pts
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© 2007, Distance Learning, Tulsa Community College
Sample Individual Preparation Activity
Being a college student that just completed college algebra, I agree with Mr. Adams and
his argument of not having to take college algebra for select majors. I succeeded in algebra, just
as he did, but came out of the class with no more useful information than I had when entering.
My instructor made it a habit to apply what we were learning to the “real world” but the only
examples he ever showed were to benefit engineers, construction workers or architects; in no
way could anything I have learned in that class help me in the business administration field.
Because Mr. Adams is suggesting taking one or two other classes in its place lets me know that it
isn’t about trying to get out of a class, it is about wasting time and money on matter you will
dump as soon as the class is over. You never buy a tool just to keep in your workshop, you buy
tools to use, and I feel an education is the same way. If you would use algebra frequently in your
career field, then the course should be mandatory, but if the tool will never be applied, it should
not be a requirement.
Sample Group Activity Threads
Sample Group Report
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© 2007, Distance Learning, Tulsa Community College
Sample Individual Reflection
I was very surprised on how my thinking evolved within the first few days of this group
assignment. At first, I noticed that I was the only one that was for Gordon’s petition being
waived for the math requirement. I wanted to change my mind and vote with the rest of the
group based on the “majority rules” concept and I didn’t want to cause a problem. For the first
day, I put up a good fight, but after reading the rest of the group’s comments on the reasons why
the petition should not be granted, I slowly started to change my mind without realizing it! By
yesterday, I was sure that the petition should not be waived and “too bad” for Gordon. He would
have to suffer through the class like the rest of us have!
At first, we tried using e-mail as a way to communicate, but soon realized that we all
weren’t on the same page about organizing the assignment. Early in the week, we took a vote
and decided that it would be easiest for us to just use the group’s discussion board since we all
have conflicting schedules. Once we were all in the discussion area, I noticed that we were
communicating more often and the arguments seemed more organized. Every now and again, we
would jump off topic or debate on some of the facts pertaining to Gordon’s petition but one of
the three of us would jump in and re-organize the conversation, making sure we were all still on
the same page.
Once we got the organization down, I was very impressed on how the group worked
together to get the assignment done. I say group but it was mainly 3-4 of us, two members just
joined today and I hadn’t had much feedback from them, I believe Rachel signed in early this
weekend and then we hadn’t heard back from her, Student 1 just showed up yesterday after the
decision was made and we didn’t get much feedback from her, and then Student 4 showed up
late tonight wondering why we had ignored her e-mails, which we never received. It is tough to
try and get an assignment done when group members don’t show up in a timely manner. We, as a
group, wanted to wait on them but all had lots of other obligations in this class as well as others.
I personally felt that we shouldn’t have to wait any longer, it was better to get it done with what
we had. Student 2 and Student 3 had so many wonderful ideas to contribute. I looked forward to
logging in several times a day, just to see what they had thought about my ideas and to see what
suggestions they had to offer. It was fun! I volunteered to re-write our arguments against the
petition and post it on the discussion board. I asked each member to re-post their opposing
argument so that I wouldn’t have to search through seventy postings to find our reasons. I
received those ideas within hours and began putting it all together. I am very pleased with the
urgency this group used to get this assignment done.
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© 2007, Distance Learning, Tulsa Community College
General/Basic Rubric
Group Participation (50 pts possible)
Promptness & Initiative – participation is made in a timely fashion. Initial participation is made
by Tuesday evening.
Group Processes – participation helps move group processes forward by taking a leadership
role, participating in group decisions, encouraging others, summarizing ideas, or making the
group posting on the main discussion board
Quality of Information – offers initial thoughts and responses; contributions are full of thought,
insight, and analysis containing rich and fully developed new ideas, connections, or applications
Specific Points for each Criterion
Criteria
(50 pts possible)
Acceptable
13-14 Points
Excellent
15-16 Points
Initial posting made after
Tuesday; replies sporadic
Promptness and
throughout the discussion;
Initiative
late postings cause
dilemmas for the group
Initial posting made by
Tuesday; replies continue
throughout the discussion
Initial posting made by
Monday; replies continue
throughout the discussion
Meets 0-1 of the following
criteria:
 Takes a leadership role
 Encourages others to
participate
 Summarizes group
thoughts and positions
 Participates in group
decision making
 Makes group posting on
the main discussion
board
Meets 2 of the following
criteria:
 Takes a leadership role
 Encourages others to
participate
 Summarizes group
thoughts and positions
 Participates in group
decision making
 Makes group posting on
the main discussion
board
Meets 3 or more of the
following criteria:
 Takes a leadership role
 Encourages others to
participate
 Summarizes group
thoughts and positions
 Participates in group
decision making
 Makes group posting
on the main
discussion board
Below Expectations
0-12 Points
Acceptable
13-14 Points
Excellent
15-18 Points
Offers only initial thoughts
or only expands on
thoughts of others; or
information relates to the
main topic, but does not
enrich the discussion
(includes restatement of
existing thoughts)
Offers initial thoughts and
expands on the thoughts
of others; and
contributions are full of
thought, insight, and
analysis containing rich
and fully developed new
ideas, connections, or
applications
Group
Processes
Quality of
Information
Below Expectations
0-12 Points
Fails to offer any
information of substance;
postings consist only of
group decision making or
"I agree" statements
Points
Earned
0
Total Points
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Online Collaborative Projects
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© 2007, Distance Learning, Tulsa Community College