Group
Investigation
Jerian Marie Manchec
March 20, 2002
Goal:
To have the
student’s work collaboratively in small groups to examine, experience
and understand free enterprise. Students will research to discover the
answer to the Essential Question What were the different ways that
people worked to create business in the colonies?
Materials:
Students
Colonial Occupation Packets/ Rubric
Colonial Occupation Books from the School Library
Colonial Occupation
Books from the Public Library
Chart Paper/Marker
Internet Access (hotlinks web sites collected by teacher)
PowerPoint Software
Large Sheets of Butcher Paper for each group
Objectives:
Students
will be able to:
-
Use research methods to uncover information on colonial
occupations
-
Define and describe the colonial free enterprise system
-
Generate appropriate questions to research
-
Compare and Contrast two colonial occupations
-
Give examples of how the occupations used the free enterprise
system
-
Work cooperatively with others in a small group
Essential
Questions:
What were the
different ways that colonists worked to create business?
What were the
similarities and differences of the occupations you researched?
Anticipatory Set:
Teacher will
address the class by reviewing the meaning of free enterprise. With
the class discuss the ways in which colonists earned money (refer to
the jobs described in the text). Then pose the question: “Where these
the only ways in which colonists earned money?” Pass out the Student
Colonial Occupation packet and review the contents with the class. Go
over the rubric.
Procedures:
1.
See Anticipatory Set
2.
After reviewing the contents of the packet and rubric allow
students time to choose their second job to research (one job should
already be chosen to ensure the students can locate information on the
occupation). The second jobs will be listed on the chart paper in the
front of the room. Students will list their top choices and the
teacher will approve the choice so the small groups will not be doing
the same jobs.
3.
After all groups have settled on an occupation and the teacher
has approved it, students will generate a list of questions to help
them with their research. As a class discuss some “mandatory”
questions. (“Mandatory questions may include: What does the person in
that field do? Etc.) Teacher may walk around the room to help the
students come up with investigation questions.
4.
After the class has been instructed to create at least five
questions for each occupation, they will then write their questions on
butcher paper to be displayed in the room. Displaying the questions
will help the students remain focused while they research their topic.
5.
Once questions have been written, allow the groups time to plan
on how they will research their topics. Have them decide whom will
record, research, report, and time keep. Teacher can redirect and
offer “realistic” plans at this time if necessary. Students will also
at this time figure out who will use the Internet to locate
information and who will use the texts. Close this section with
recapping the goals for researching.
6.
The next few class times should be offered to research. Before
each work period the instructor should refocus the group by reviewing
free enterprise and ask the group how far they are along in
researching the occupations. Then facilitate and redirect when needed.
End these sessions with going from group to group and having them
share two facts they learned that day.
7.
Once all groups have completed the research section, they will
begin to work on their rough drafts of their PowerPoint slides. Using
a sheet of large white paper, students will outline their slides (see
rubric for slide information). The groups will need to be reminded
that there should not be more than four words per bullet.
8.
When rough drafts are complete and checked by the teacher
students can begin to type up their “final” draft on the computer.
These work sessions should take approximately two days.
9.
Each group will present their findings using PowerPoint. Before
each presentation the groups will share their questions. After the
slide show has been given the “audience” will attempt to answer the
groups questions. (A questionnaire or rubric can be given at this time
instead of answering the groups’ questions.)
10.
After all of the PowerPoint Presentations have been given all
students will share one fact that they did not already know about
another occupation.
11.
Then students will fill out a self-participation sheet for the
work they completed in their group.
Adaptations for
Students with Special Needs:
1.
Pair them with another student that can help them formulate
research questions.
2.
Direct them to the appropriate source for answering their
question.
3.
Allow them to tape their research instead of writing it in a
packet.
4.
Allow another student to type their PowerPoint slide if they
have difficulty.
Closing:
Wrap up class
discussions by having the students decide what job they would choose
if they lived in the 1700’s and why they would choose that occupation.
Allow students time to respond in their journals and share their
thoughts with a partner.
Extension:
1.
Allow groups to locate a famous colonist in the occupation they
researched.
2.
Compare and contrast all colonial occupations in a large Venn
diagram.
3.
Ask students to choose a business that they would like to do
themselves and then have them write a description of how they would
develop this business and where they would locate it.
Group
Investigation Reflection
Situation:
The fourth
grade students in my class were placed in-groups to create a
PowerPoint presentation on colonial occupations and free enterprise
using the group investigation model.
The essential
questions the students had to answer were:
1.
What were the different ways that colonists worked to create
business?
2.
What were the similarities and differences of the occupations
you researched?
Students were
placed in mixed groups to generate questions on specific colonial
jobs. Students were given specific occupations and were allowed to
choose a second one from a list I had created prior to the meeting.
After discussing the meaning of free enterprise, the groups were
instructed to come up with five questions to research for their
specific jobs. (See sample questions below in the Student Generated
Questions section) Questions were written on butcher paper to
ensure that the students remained focused throughout the research
process. The groups were also instructed to remove and write new
questions as they researched if they felt the need to revise. Once all
of the research was completed students generated a PowerPoint slide
show to represent their understanding of the task.
An Example of
Student Generated Questions:
|
Group # 2 |
|
|
|
|
|
What does a
printer do? |
What kinds of
skills are needed? |
What do they
use? |
Do they have to
be educated? |
Was the job
hard? |
|
What does a
tanner do? |
Do they need
special skills? |
Did they use
materials? Is so what? |
Did they need
an education? |
Was it hard? |
Generalizations:
In my opinion,
cooperative learning projects allow students to work together on
common tasks, yet hold the individual child responsible for their work
or learning. The group investigation model takes these ideas a step
further. The model allows the students to create the questions they
will use to research to find information on a specific topic. Students
locate research based on their own interests and feelings, not mine.
Therefore they are more accountable and it brings the project to their
own level. The topic in this case was colonial occupations. Which for
some could seem boring, however with this model it was brought to
life.
Before
I began the planning, I honestly thought that this model would not
work with my group of children. Many of my students are not what you
call over achievers. In creating the rubric and packet I wondered if I
was wasting my own time, and I was curious in finding out if I would
in the end set the stage for the research and not the students.
Nevertheless, I gave it a shot and I am glad that I did.
When
handing out the packets, gloom and doom ran across the faces of the
children until they were given the preface for the lesson. As soon as
I told them what we were doing and why, they could not sit still. Many
of the groups were quickly brainstorming what type of occupation they
wanted to research. Before I knew it all groups agreed on the
occupations and were jotting down ideas for the questions. So far
this was a positive learning experience. My theory is that they were
excited because the product was from them.
One
problem that I encountered with this method was that with all things,
I had several children dominate the groups. At first I stayed out of
the way, I figured I would let them try to solve the problems on their
own. Most groups were able to do this, one group however, was not. To
repair the situation I had to refocus the student. I explained that,
everyone had a specific task (recorder, timekeeper etc.) that was
decided upon before they began. The child was stubborn at first,
however realized that he too had a job and if he continued to argue it
would not get completed, therefore he would be slowing down the group
instead of helping it. The method of group investigation clearly
explains that students are to have differentiated roles within the
groups, and because of this those students who dominate or take a back
seat were not able to.
Another
problem of group work according to the article “Small Group Learning”
is that group discussion in class time can slow down coverage of the
course content. This did happen during some of the group meetings.
Even though there was a timekeeper some children were so engrossed in
conversation about one job, they neglected to research another job or
spent time talking about what web site was better for locating
information, instead of taking the notes. In the end when they saw
that the deadline was quickly approaching groups did get working, with
little facilitation from me.
Tasks
distributed are not always equal according to the “Small Group
Learning” article as well. I found that this was not the case with the
group investigation model. Most students did work above and beyond
what was expected of them. All students wanted to participate. Many
surprised me by locating more information at the public library; they
wanted to learn because they formulated the criterion.
Clear
instructions, goals, and time lines for group activities are essential
for a successful cooperative group situation. The only thing
inhibiting my students from attaining their goal was an undependable
Internet system. If I became frustrated with the slow access or no
access, the students must have as well. The only things saving the
students from unproductive work times were the resources gather by the
students and myself. They were able to utilize texts and print outs
when the computers were down. This is something that will always be
unforeseen since the World Wide Web is not predictable.
Students were highly interested in creating the culminating project
for their research. The children were excited because they already
knew how to use PowerPoint and wanted to show how much more they
learned from when they used it in November. I was impressed with their
ability to copy and paste images from the Internet onto the slides.
The groups also added many animations and sounds. I would not change
this in any way since it was a helpful tool in proving their
understanding.
The project also included a public
speaking section, in which the groups presented their slides of
valuable information to the class. Each group practiced and were able
to use the slides was a guide and not read off of their index card. My
only requirement was not to have more than four words per bullet,
which was followed. In doing so they were not tempted to read off of
the screen. At the end of the presentation, the “audience” had to be
able to answer the research questions formulated by the group, and
they did.
The group
investigation model says that the audience is supposed to assess the
presenting group. I felt that this time I would not do so because it
was the first time the students have ever completed a project in this
way. Instead they filled out “Self Participation” sheets to grade
their roles in the process. All students were honest and gave
themselves a grade and explanation for the grade. Most graded
themselves lower than I even would have. Allowing the class to rate
their group behavior gave them more ownership. A rubric was used to
grade the PowerPoint presentation, therefore students knew what was
expected of them and the participation grade was part of the rubric.
This model was
different than anything I had ever done in my classroom. It was
difficult for me to stay back and not interfere with the question
generating and researching. Usually I try to help more and I had to
walk away from groups several times to keep myself from interjecting.
However this was a success, but I would not use this for every
project. I thought it worked well, because it took what could be a
boring topic and gave it meaning for the class and that is when I
would use this again.
In conclusion, the
lesson was effective in many ways. It offered specific instances for
the students to uncover information using the Internet and other
sources. Using the research-collected students were able to define and
describe the colonial free enterprise system and relate it to what we
were learning about the jobs. Students were also enabled to work
together in cooperative groups to generate valuable questions to help
them with their research. The groups enjoyed comparing and contrasting
the occupations and openly discussed whether or not they would like to
do the job themselves. The entire lesson went well.
Material Used:
Student Colonial
Occupation Packets/Rubric
Colonial Occupation
Books from the School Library
Colonial Occupation
Books from the Public Library
Chart Paper/ Marker
Internet Access
(hotlinks web sites collected by teacher)
PowerPoint Software
Large Sheets of
Butcher Paper for each group
