The Role of the Online Instructor in Facilitating Group Work

The role of the instructor in facilitating an online group project will depend on the stage of the group work. In the previous section, four stages were considered. The role of the instructor will be considered within each of these stages.

Stage One
The main task of the facilitator in the first stage is to form groups and to get them started. Typically groups that undertake a project are smaller than discussion groups. Groups of between three and five seem to work well, but size does depend on the nature of the project. You may allow students to form their own groups, or you may decide to form the groups yourself. If students know each other and are located physically in the same place, it might be best to allow students to come together in groups of their own choosing. On the other hand, if no one in the online class has ever met anyone else, it may be best for you to come up with the grouping based on what you know about individual members of the class, such as common interests. The main point is that frustration and time lost in establishing a small group should not be allowed to interfere with the real purpose of online collaboration and getting the task done.

Once groups are formed, the nature of the project needs to be brainstormed and a group leader elected or appointed. Unless you are going to assume the role of group leader, the group itself will need to elect or appoint a leader early on. Give each group a set time to achieve this task and have them report back to you on what their project will be and who will lead the group.

Stage Two
Once the groups have been formed, the instructor must decide whether and how to assign group roles and responsibilities. The best method is probably to allow the group leader to handle this aspect. However, in some groups it may be necessary to play a more active role.

The various roles will depend on the nature of the group work. However, one person might take major responsibility for seeking out the necessary information. Another might undertake most of the writing and/or editing, while a third might volunteer to create web pages to display the final product. Deadlines for completing the various aspects of the project will need to be set.

During this stage you will also need to help the group decide how they will communicate as each member works on his or her component of the project, and how often they will need to meet online. The logistics of how to transfer data or text files from member of the group to the others will also need to be addressed.

Stage Three
As the members get going on the tasks that they have been assigned, the facilitator's role becomes that of keeping everything on track. One way in which to do this is to have a copy of the deadlines that each group set for itself. Keep in touch with the group leaders as to whether deadlines are being met. If one member of the group falls behind, direct intervention might be in order. If that person is having difficulty with the task, such as finding the information, providing some direct assistance might be the best solution. If, on the other hand, the reason for falling behind is personal, such as an illness, then helping the group to reassign that task might be the solution.

Stage Four
As the project nears completion, the facilitator's role becomes twofold. One is to help the group get ready for the culminating activity, whatever it is. The second is to help find an "audience" for the culminating activity. Assuming that you have a class in which several groups are working on a project, each group can be the others audience. However, depending on the nature of the project, you might be able to find appreciative and interested "audiences" in all sorts of places beyond the confines of the course. For example, you might find a place where an interesting set of web pages on rain forests could be posted permanently.