The Future of Student Work is Collaborative

• In Event: 20461 - Teaching and Learning Symposium Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 3: Team Teaching/Learning

Abstract

I present a collaborative research assignment conducted over the course of two weeks of an introductory Sociology course. The learning goals of the assignment are to:


-Foster meaningful collaboration to improve student confidence and connection
-Incorporate student generated content into the course
-Present research in a clear and engaging manner with attention to audience
-Develop and/or increase Library Literacy and Media Literacy; better understand the relationship between the two

Conversations with current students suggest they can find collaborative work tedious and often work around it by splitting up the work in the name of efficiency. They also worry about how work will be distributed, and they fear assessment in which they won’t each get credit for their work (or cannot take credit for their individual work). There are many good explanations for this, some of which we may explore in our sociology classes. For instance, in my introductory course we explore some macro issues including the historical evolution of American Individualisms, issues of meritocracy, the protestant work ethic, and the significance of social ties. We also explore social conflict over ideas, resources, status, and power. Many students adopt interesting critiques of individualism, lament the loss or lack of community, and are often frustrated by what they observe in contemporary U.S. public life as our inability to think and work across differences. Can the classroom be a space to understand these key concerns for sociologists, while also practicing the skills, experiencing the frustration (and risk), satisfaction, and possibly the joy of collaboration?

I lead with concrete materials, including: the assignment prompt, the arc of the project (mid-semester), the rubric (and my own ambivalence about rubrics), discussion of some of the more successful outcomes and some challenges, along with student feedback to one another, and student reflections on the assignment.

Author

• Light Carruyo, Vassar College