Keep the Distance in Distance Learning

What comes to mind when you hear “group work”? Perhaps the phrase conjures memories of doing all the work or turning in a subpar project because you realized too late that you stink at time management. I believe in the value of collaborative learning. But in a world where a pandemic has deprived us of most forms of social interaction, can we please have the option to distance ourselves from the kind most people never liked to begin with?

I am a full-time student in the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s entirely virtual Class of 2021: the COVID Cohort. Many people wondered -- some quite publicly -- how the institution could offer an online experience valuable enough to justify its hefty price tag.

My classes offer a blend of intimate discussions, lectures and personal check-ins. They are replete with opportunities to deepen learning and develop meaningful connections. Sure, sometimes I get distracted by my classmates’ torsos floating in front of beachy Zoom backgrounds or the vertigo induced by my quirky professor’s rhythmic gait as she walks on her treadmill during our advising session. Still, as we near the end of the semester, I am astounded by the quality of the programming, the teaching and the learning here.

But.

Group work isn’t working as well as many professors may think it is.

I was a middle school teacher for 13 years. Loads of research supports what my experience suggested: that collaborative learning cultivates critical capacities. I developed strategies for managing the inevitable glitches, conflicts and complaints stemming from group work and found that the benefits outweighed the headaches nearly every time.

But things are different now. And this changing global context necessitates adaptation, even when it comes to things we thought we knew for sure.

Consider this group work disaster that unfolded quite publicly. My partners missed our scheduled Zoom meetings, canceled at the last minute, arrived late and left early. We managed to meet for just two 45-minute blocks to prepare to teach a 90-minute class. One partner battled with a misbehaving but adorable puppy during our planning sessions, and the other cooked herself some dinner while intermittently throwing out objections to our ideas, her camera aimed at her ceiling fan.

Our presentation was a shit show. My partners resorted to panicked group texting to make real-time adjustments. At one point, I noticed one of them shuffling our PowerPoint slides while I was presenting, which sent me over the edge. As I fumbled through trying to make sense of the reordered slides, I saw them both pounding alcoholic beverages. I probably should have joined them.

In normal times, I would have felt frustrated by their behavior, chalking it up to some fundamental character flaw. But if there’s a silver lining to COVID-19 for me, it’s that -- at least temporarily -- I’ve replaced old habits like blaming with compassion.

I assume that my partners had legitimate reasons for not meeting their obligations. And there will be a time when I show up late to a meeting. And an online program means that there are record numbers of students working full-time and, like me, parenting. And we live in different time zones, we may have health issues and Wi-Fi issues, and we may be caring for sick loved ones. All these statements are true.

However, it is unreasonable during these exceptional times to expect students to be responsible for managing each other’s compliance, lest we face academic consequences.

I am lucky. All my professors have invited feedback, and many have changed their group work policy for the remainder of the term. Hallelujah.

My message to other professors: please make asynchronous group work optional this year. Perhaps by forming groups with willing participants, outcomes will improve. If you insist on mandating group work, please don’t grade it.

If you are hesitant to make this shift, at least consider asking: What matters now? Is group work working? Can I know that in this environment? Is what I am asking students to do reasonable, considering the complex times we are enduring right now?

Sometimes it feels like COVID-19 has changed everything. As teachers and students struggle to navigate the brave new worlds of learning that we are facing together, we must remain relentlessly agile. We must be willing to experiment because it’s all an experiment, really, since most of our evidenced understandings about good learning come from an era that, at least for now, is gone.

Let’s give ourselves the freedom to be more flexible and responsive than ever. Let’s set students up to care for, not to combat one another. And when it comes to group work, let’s keep the distance in distance learning.