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The group project is a much-dreaded component of undergraduate courses, doubly so if students are expected to create their own project from scratch. However, instructors consistently return to the independent group project as an exercise that, if done properly, stimulates student inquiry and cooperation. In this post, I reflect on my experiences facilitating student-led group projects in a biology course and relate these experiences to the commonalities of independent group work across disciplines. I outline four common issues related to independent group projects, then provide the rationale for managing each issue to maximize learning outcomes.
Issue #1: Students Don’t See the Value of Independent Projects
With several classes, part-time jobs, extracurricular activities, and a social life to manage, we can imagine why undergraduates may prefer working on a prescribed project rather than one they design themselves. Independent projects require a lot of brainpower and effort, and we are all likely inclined to gravitate toward projects in which we can work on each step in a straightforward manner. Much of the work that students will encounter outside the classroom, however, requires flexibility and creativity. Using inquiry is essential to translate knowledge into new situations, and independent projects are a great opportunity to practice inquiry.
 Tips

Emphasize the real-world skills that students gain. This can be particularly valuable for students who aren’t necessarily interested in the subject matter but can see the benefits they gain in other areas, such as problem solving and managing a team.
Explain how each component of the independent project emulates a real practice in the discipline. This communicates to your students that you are putting them through this experience to help them develop their competencies, not to waste their time.
Treat every pitfall as a lesson, not as an opportunity to point out deficiencies. If something goes wrong, help the students figure out a way to move forward. Then, ask the students what they learned from the experience (e.g., how to better communicate, the value of a contingency plan, time management) and how they might strategize differently if confronted with a similar situation.

Issue #2: Designing and Conducting Independent Projects is Overwhelming
Often, the end product of an independent project seems like an unattainable goal. The concept of an independent project can provide freedom, but the lack of structure can leave students feeling lost and unsure of their path. They key for instructors is to provide structure (e.g., schedules, formatting guidelines) without stifling opportunities for students to be creative and take charge of their own learning. 
Tips

Break down the project into manageable goals. Create a guide for students that details out the specific steps that lead to the end product, which includes due dates for smaller components of the project. This will help students feel competent as they achieve each small task and to better manage their time.
Provide iterative feedback. If the only evaluation students receive on their work is their final project grade, they don’t have the opportunity to improve and learn along the way. Checking in with students as they reach each small goal allows both students and instructor to keep track of progress and to make adjustments if a group has gotten off-course.
Take time in class to praise students for their progress. Students may have trouble perceiving their accomplishments, so bringing them up will help to increase student confidence moving forward with the project.
Help groups work through challenges in a structured manner. Ask groups to bring up challenges they have encountered lately, and run a brainstorming session with the entire class to overcome these challenges. Often, other groups will have encountered similar challenges, so working through them together helps students feel more competent and build a sense of community among classmates.

Issue #3: Group Members do not Contribute Equally
A common issue in group projects is that some students don’t have the time or interest to fully participate. This puts an undue burden on the other group members, who must take on a larger role in the project than intended. Instructors can minimize the incentive to “slack off” and create strategies for teams to manage uncooperative group members.
Tips

Have students create a team contract. Provide students with a general template for a group contract with space to detail procedures for written communication among teammates, goals for the project, and consequences for group members who don’t pull their weight. All students should contribute to the creation of the contract and sign it. If an issue arises at any point during the project, the group has a clear path forward to correct the issue.
Build in opportunities for every member to contribute. The threat of being held individually accountable is often enough motivation for students to pull their weight. Take time in class to consult with each group individually or run brainstorming sessions with the entire class, asking individual students to share their experience or discuss project results.

Issue #4: Group Members Have Disparate Goals
Group projects can be frustrating if students clash with teammates due to differing interests or goals. While it’s impossible to remove all disagreement among group members, creating a positive collaborative atmosphere can help students discuss and pursue their goals in a supportive manner. 
Tips

Form groups based on mutual interests. Ask students to sit in different sections of the classroom based on potential project topics, then organize the students into groups based on their “interest zone.” An added bonus to this approach is that student groups will automatically have something in common, which can help them form social bonds and increase the enjoyment of working together.
Make time at the start of the project for students to discuss goals. Talking about how the project might relate to their goals for the course, their undergraduate education, and/or their career helps students understand the motivations of their teammates. When group members understand each other’s motivations, they can adjust their expectations and support the achievement of a variety of goals.

While your students may not enjoy the long hours, issues with teammates, and frustrations that accompany the independent group project, they may come to appreciate the lessons learned from their experiences. An example of working through a road block on their project could become a scenario they describe in a job interview. Dealing with an uncooperative group member could inform their approach to team management in their career. Engaging in inquiry could become the foundation for a student’s decision to pursue graduate school. Keep these outcomes in mind, and make every effort to put a positive spin on student progress.

Further Reading
Guide: “What are Best Practices for Designing Group Projects?” from Carnegie Mellon University. https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/design/instructionalstrategies/groupprojects/design.html
Guide: “Group Work: Using Cooperative Learning Groups Effectively” from Vanderbilt University. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/setting-up-and-facilitating-group-work-using-cooperative-learning-groups-effectively/
Guide: “Successful Group Projects” from University of Leicester. https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/study/group-projects
Article: Creating Positive Group Project Experiences by Chapman and van Auken. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0273475301232005

Regular exercise, balanced nutrition, and adequate rest all contribute to good health. People receive medical treatment to maintain the balance, when necessary. Physical well-being involves pursuing a healthful lifestyle to decrease the risk of disease.
Good health depends on a wide range of factors.
Genetic factors
A person is born with a variety of genes. In some people, an unusual genetic pattern or change can lead to a less-than-optimum level of health. People may inherit genes from their parents that increase their risk for certain health conditions.
Environmental factors
Environmental factors play a role in health. Sometimes, the environment alone is enough to impact health. Other times, an environmental trigger can cause illness in a person who has an increased genetic risk of a particular disease.
Access to healthcare plays a role, but the WHO suggests that the following factors may have a more significant impact on health than this:

where a person lives
the state of the surrounding environment
genetics
their income
their level of education
employment status

It is possible to categorize these as follows:

The social and economic environment: This may include the financial status of a family or community, as well as the social culture and quality of relationships.
The physical environment: This includes which germs exist in an area, as well as pollution levels.
A person’s characteristics and behaviors: A person’s genetic makeup and lifestyle choices can affect their overall health.

\Life skills education focuses on equipping individuals with the abilities needed to navigate everyday challenges and lead fulfilling lives. It encompasses a range of psychosocial and interpersonal skills that enable informed decision-making, effective communication, and healthy relationships. This type of education goes beyond traditional academic subjects, emphasizing practical skills applicable to personal, social, and professional contexts. 



 




 


Key aspects of life skills education include:







Developing self-awareness and emotional intelligence:
Understanding one's own emotions and those of others, managing stress and anxiety, and building healthy relationships are crucial components. 



 















 









Enhancing critical thinking and problem-solving:
Learning to analyze information, identify problems, and develop effective solutions is essential for navigating complex situations. 



 












 








Improving communication and interpersonal skills:
Effective communication, both verbal and nonverbal, is vital for building strong relationships and resolving conflicts. 



 












 








Promoting decision-making and goal-setting:
Learning to make informed decisions, set realistic goals, and develop plans to achieve them are important life skills. 



 












 








Fostering adaptability and resilience:
Developing the ability to adapt to change, cope with setbacks, and bounce back from challenges is essential for navigating life's ups and downs. 



 












 








Encouraging responsible citizenship:
Understanding personal responsibility, contributing to the community, and promoting ethical behavior are important aspects of life skills education. 



 

Early education ensures free, integral and harmonious development of the child's personality, according to his rhythm and needs. The education provided has to ensure the differentiated stimulation of children, aiming the intellectual, emotional, social and physical development of each child and targeting to achieve the following results of early education (from birth to 6/7 years old):


The free, integral and harmonious development of the child's personality, according to his own pace and general needs, supporting his autonomous and creative training.


Development of the capacity to interact with other children, with adults and with the environment to acquire new knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours; encouraging exploration, exercises, tests and experiments, as autonomous learning experiences.


The discovery, by each child, of his/her own identity and autonomy and the development of a positive self-image.


Supporting the child in the acquisition of knowledge, abilities, skills and attitudes required for his school entry and throughout life.


All activities with young children should respect child's right to play - viewed as a form of activity, method, procedure and means of achieving educational approaches at early ages, as well as a method of stimulating the capacity and creativity of the child, as a right of him and as an opening to freedom to choose, according to his/her own needs.

Global education helps
students develop their capacity to be informed, open-minded, and responsible people, who are responsive to diverse perspectives. Global education prepares us to address the world’s most pressing issues collaboratively, equitably, and sustainably. Global education helps students understand that pressing issues must be faced in an interdisciplinary way, given the complexity of environments and competing needs and interests.
 
The primary aim of Global Citizenship: Education (GCED)  is nurturing respect for all, building a sense of belonging to a common humanity, and helping learners become responsible and active global citizens. GCED aims to empower learners to assume active roles to face and resolve global challenges and to become proactive contributors to a more peaceful, tolerant, inclusive, and secure world. Education for global citizenship helps young people develop the core competencies which allow them to actively engage with the world and help make it a more just and sustainable place. It is a form of civic learning that involves students’ active participation in projects that address global issues of a social, political, economic, or environmental nature.

Science, technology and innovation each represent a successively larger category of activities which are highly interdependent but distinct. Science contributes to technology in at least six ways: (1) new knowledge which serves as a direct source of ideas for new technological possibilities; (2) source of tools and techniques for more efficient engineering design and a knowledge base for evaluation of feasibility of designs; (3) research instrumentation, laboratory techniques and analytical methods used in research that eventually find their way into design or industrial practices, often through intermediate disciplines; (4) practice of research as a source for development and assimilation of new human skills and capabilities eventually useful for technology; (5) creation of a knowledge base that becomes increasingly important in the assessment of technology in terms of its wider social and environmental impacts; (6) knowledge base that enables more efficient strategies of applied research, development, and refinement of new technologies.

ADHD Students and Classroom Considerations
https://education.wm.edu/centers/ttac/documents/packets/adhd.pdf
The culture of the classroom can either support or create barriers to student success (Piffner,2011). 

Factors that foster attention, positive behavior, and academic and social success includeestablishing positive relationships with students, adopting classroom management techniques,and creating a physical arrangement that facilitates learning.
It is often a positive relationship with one teacher that facilitates school success for a studentwith ADHD (Piffner, 2011). 

When project managing a distributed team in a variety of locations, a collaboration software (or project management) tool is an effective way to keep everyone on the same page and all of your project information in one place. However, using a great tool doesn’t magically make collaboration happen. Here are 10 best practices when using a collaboration software tool:

Share proactively - Assign team members to the tasks they need to be aware of and @mention them in the comments, so they receive alerts when the ball is in their court.
Put every project into your collaboration project management tool - Use your tool as a single source of all project-related materials and notes. This will make the material easy to find for everyone, no matter when they joined the project.
Create water cooler channels - Creating channels in your communication tools where team members can discuss non-work related topics allows them to get to know each other and be social even from afar.
Celebrate small wins - Collaboration tools are a great place to share victories, no matter how big or small. Even a short message can go a long way.
Balance the load - You can’t collaborate well if you’re overloaded with work. Use your tool’s visibility and resource management features to ensure project tasks are balanced among your team members.