Design Patterns for CS Education/Design Patterns/In-class lightweight teams - progression

In-class lightweight teams - progression Pattern Name In-class Lightweight Teams - Progression Problem:Students are worried about team based activities because their grade depends on other students. Level (any) Semester (amy) Activity type (any) Solution: Create groups of 2-3 students for in-class activities. De-emphasize group grade by: Assigning no or low grade percentage to group activities Assigning more weightage to effort and participation rather than correctness or completeness of solution Changing groupings regularly Allow students within a team to submit separate solutions Formation (random) Size (small) Composition (any) Duration (single class, topic based) Contribution to grade (small) Activity progression (group to individual, individual to group) Roles (equal responsibility) Rationale: Students may be less concerned about their grade if the percentage of grade associated with an activity is zero or low. Changing groupings make sure a student does not get stuck with the same group. Potential Pitfalls: May be hard to quantify effort/participation. May be hard to balance between having some grade so that students take it seriously, but not having too large a grade, causing student anxiety.