The Group “Tough Problems” Assignment

Purposes:

1. To take one problem in teaching and analyze it in depth

2. To experience creating a case study or demonstration for others to consider

3. To experience on line collaborative group work (optional)

Today the class will brainstorm the kinds of tough problems or topics in teaching that are likely to confront each of you or that you have already experienced. I will compile a summary for you to consider choosing from.

1. We will settle on four different problem areas. They can be topics or skills that we all must teach but which are difficult for students to grasp, like critical thinking about psychological fads, or they can be areas of teaching where problems occur, like plagiarism.

2. A group of 3-4 will be formed around each of the problems and sent forth to consider the problem and its possible solutions. They can interview faculty or experienced teachers, delve into the literature, and/or talk about the problem’s components and possible solutions. This latter discussion can be done on line using Teachnet to get the experience, or it can be done face to face if your schedules permit it or a combination.

3. Each group will prepare a case study or analysis around their topic to be presented to the class on JULY 9.

If the group is working on a tough topic case, their write-up and presentation will focus on what the difficult concept is, why it might be so difficult, and possible ways to teach it to make it less difficult. In-class you might consider demonstrating one of the strategies you came up with.

If the group is working on a tough teaching case, their write-up will consist of a description of a critical incident case plus the analysis of it. Their in-class presentation will be partly having the group briefly consider the case and partly discussing their findings about ways to solve the problem.

Each group will turn in a co-authored paper accompanied by a one page summary by each group member of their own contribution to the case. Having not done this exercise before, I am unsure of the length of the write-up, but in general concise is good. I would expect the write ups to take no less that 4 pages and no more than 10, leaning more toward the shorter end. You can exclude appendices from the page count if that helps.