A key learning moment that informs learning and teaching

A key learning moment when working in groups to create a digital artefact came when it was realized that group work is not always as hard as it seems when placed with the right type of group for your learning style. We were blessed to be in a group of three headstrong individuals, which would quite commonly be a negative experience, however, having two individuals with the same Key Learning Area allowed ideas to be incorporated on many different levels with another Key Learning Area. This increased content knowledge for all three members, and allowed  many learning styles to be incorporated into the one project. The end result therefore, was an artefact which incorporated many different learning styles for students in the classroom. Also by having motivated individuals in the group, when the content knowledge on a particular topic was not so strong, other individuals were able to help teach new knowledge.

In a classroom situation, depending on the ages and maturity of the students, this is an aspect which might need to be monitored, especially if the task is to be assessed. While in this case it is a positive experience, there will be some cases where students will see this as an outlet to not participate in the activity and let stronger learners take over. Therefore, the experience gained in the Project by our group, highlighted a need to know your students and their strengths and weaknesses when participating in group work. By ensuring that you do this, classroom management will also be more effective.