I was absolutely horrible at assigning, monitoring, and evaluating group projects.
In Teach Like a PIRATE, I even wrote about my ineffectiveness with it in a section where I listed some of my many weaknesses as an instructor.
No shame. Just honesty.
Let’s face it. When we see bad group projects and poor quality presentations from students...it’s OUR fault.
We. Don’t. Teach. It.
Or...maybe for some of us, we don’t teach it well.
One of the most ridiculous terms in all of education is “soft skills.”
Empathy, Collaboration. Interpersonal connections.. Reaching consensus. Teamwork. Leadership. Communication. And on and on…
Soft?????
Those are some of the HARDEST skills in the world. Heck...just look at us right now. When have things EVER been this polarized? When has coming to some sort of meaningful consensus seemed so far off and impossible?
I am worried, to be honest.
Not many of us are playing together very well in the sandbox these days.
We can change that. We can create schools where collaboration is valued and taught. We can transform the educational landscape and place human connection and cooperation as a priority. This can have a ripple effect throughout society. We can start rolling the snowball.
But how?
I was BLOWN AWAY by the spoken word performance of Trevor Muir in his YouTube video, “Why School Should Be About Us Instead of Me.” You simply have to watch it. It is wonderfully well-written, powerfully performed, and fantastically filmed.
PLEASE watch it embedded below.
Wow. Great stuff, right? Well, we are JACKED to announce the release of Trevor’s new book, The Collaborative Classroom: Teaching Students How to Work Together Now and for the Rest of Their Lives. You can grab it on AMAZON RIGHT HERE or at BARNES & NOBLE RIGHT HERE.
It is filled with both compelling stories and, most importantly, actionable strategies that you can immediately implement in your classroom. After reading this book, you will feel confident and be prepared to bring your class to life through collaboration.
The chapter titles give you a sense of just some of what you’ll find.
- Creating a Collaborative Culture
- Teaching Students to Rely on Themselves and Others
- How to Hold Others Accountable
- Teaching Adaptability
- Assessing Collaboration
- Creating Effective Groups
- Learning to Give and Receive Constructive Criticism
- The Art of Class Discussions
- When Not to Collaborate
- What about the Introverts?
This is collaboration on steroids...without the side effects.
Most of us have wanted to do more truly collaborative work in our classes...we know we should...but have been burned too many times. We may have even been personally burned as students and still have group project nightmares. Don’t let that stop you. This book will show you the path. This is the cure for your group project PTSD!
Special thanks to Trevor for sharing his work and for choosing DBC Inc. to amplify it and bring it to the world.
Thanks for your support!
Dave
PS: We would love it if you would share this post, the video, and Trevor’s book with your colleagues. We think it is pretty amazing. Use the hashtag #CollaborativeClassroom on the social media platform of your choice!
PSS: Grab The Collaborative Classroom on AMAZON HERE or BARNES & NOBLE HERE.