Visual Outline of Group Work for the Fall

Today is the last day of the second week of classes. I got my groups set up yesterday, using the Group Preferences Form that I developed a few years ago. I ended up aiming for five people per group, but I didn’t stress over having a few with four and one with three. I thought it better to team students who worked at the same time of day and in the same ways than to group students simply because five seemed like a good number.

With the groups set up, I wanted to provide a more visual overview of the projects that students would collaborate on. All of the projects are listed in the Short Guide, but that description focuses on what the assignments are rather than how students collaborate. I created the explanation below with Canva. The transcript is below the image.

There’s more that I need to communicate, but this is a good start. At this point, I want to help students understand that getting to know one another now and beginning the process of working together will make things go more smoothly when they turn to writing together.

Image Transcript

01: Introductions

Once you’re assigned to a group, introduce yourself to everyone and begin getting to know one another.

Establish a backup plan for connecting in case someone is missing from discussions.

02: Group Discussions

Discuss technical writing concerns together, and decide on style and ethical guidelines for your group projects.

Share your second projects with one another for feedback before you submitting your work.

03: Teamwork Agreement & Schedule

Prepare for the group projects by composing a teamwork agreement to guide your collaboration.

Create the schedule for your drafts and meetings for the rest of the term.

04: Research Proposal

Choose a website to examine for your Recommendation Report.

With your group, compose a research proposal that pitches the website you’ve chosen and outlines your research and writing plans.

05: Progress Report

Assess the progress your group has made on the Recommendation Report.

Compose a Progress Report that tells me the project’s status and your plans to finish the work.

06: Recommendation Report

Collaborate to discuss your website’s usability and to identify how to improve it.

Together, compose a formal report that explains your research and recommendations.