My seniors are starting a new group project as a culminating assessment for Macbeth. We've done group projects before and I've let them choose groups, I've assigned groups, and I've randomly picked groups. But I've never done role assignments.
Today's assessment dealt with creating movie components a modern-day Macbeth. To start, students had to assign roles for their group members. There were six roles--each role had to be covered and each student had to do at least one. After that, it was up to the student. Here are the roles I decided were most important to our assignment and my class:
- Group Manager (in charge of all group activities and ensuring that all are on task)
- Recorder (responsible for written portions of the project)
- Reporter (responsible for presenting material to the class)
- Materials Manager (responsible for getting materials and also for cleaning up materials)
- Time Manager (responsible for deadlines and ensuring everyone stays on task)
- Encourager (responsible for group morale)
Once students studied the roles, they assigned the roles to their group members and then brainstorm additional responsibilities for each role. As I sat back to watch students get started, conversations were hushed and groups got started immediately. I was able to go from group to group without having to harass people about getting on task or holding their voices down. Students were working. Genuinely working.
At the end of the class period, students had to complete a daily reflection log. This was, perhaps, the weakest part of the assignment. The questions did not really inspire the amount of reflection that I was hoping for. This will need some tweaking for next time.
My seniors still pack up early, no matter what I say. They would much rather complain about a lack of time to complete the assignment then they would work. But they got off to a great start this afternoon. Assigning roles within the groups helped students with self-responsibility.
