Team Homework Instructions

(adapted after a document by Dr. Sarah-Marie Belcastro)


 

        The purpose of doing homework as a team is two-fold: to help you understand and assimilate the material better, through learning from your peers, and to better your teamwork skills. By the time you have finished the assignment, every one of the team members should understand and should be capable to explain every problem in the homework. 

       You might ask yourselves, why do homework in teams? It is this instructor's experience that students who work in teams tend to learn the material better. This may not be true in every math class, but Math 300, with its emphasis on proofs and understanding rather than on calculations, is a particularly good class for group learning and group work.

       And if this does not convince you, consider the fact that most employers, when asked to make a list of abilities and skills they want in an employee, list "works well in a team environment" very close to the top. This class is an opportunity for you to practice such skills.


Homework Grading

  1. Each team will hand in a single homework, preferably typed (although really, really neat handwriting is also acceptable. If you don't type, recopy your homework before handing it in.)
  2. Each homework will have a cover page in which the roles (see below) of each participant will be listed, and a summary of the process of working on the assignment is presented. If a student has not contributed and their name does not appear on the cover page, they will receive a grade of 0 for the assignment.
  3. Each student in the team will receive the (same) homework grade, provided that their name appears on the cover page.
  4. To get full marks, you must
        • write proofs clearly, in readable sentences, in the proof format
        • leave space between problems and NOT do problems side-by-side
        • staple all the pages in order
        • NOT use red or green ink (or pencil)
        • use diagrams and drawings, if necessary

Roles

For each assignment, each member of the team should play one of these roles; furthermore, you should rotate them for each assignment, so that all responsibilities are distributed evenly throughout the semester. 

  • The MANAGER -- the person responsible with setting up the meetings (when and where). The Manager is also responsible for duplicating the graded homework and distributing the copies to the team members. In addition, if one of the members is absent, the Manager will take on that individual's responsibilities. 
  • The SCRIBE -- the person who is responsible for writing/typing up the final version of the assignment to be handed in. This person should produce a draft version of the homework, which should be looked-over and approved by the other members, to make sure it is accurate and well-written.
  • The CLARIFIER -- the person who makes sure that every solution is understood by each team member. The Clarifier should also describe and (if needed) rephrase/reformulate ideas presented by the other team members.
  • The REPORTER -- the person responsible for typing up the cover page and providing a summary for the activity of the team (such as for how long the team met, what were the main difficulties and/or successes, whether there were differences of opinion on solutions, etc.) Each person's role must be clearly identified on the cover page, and if a team member did not contribute, their name should not appear on the cover page.


General Rules & Suggestions

  1. For each assignment, every team must meet at least once face-to-face; preferably twice. 
  2. Every team member should spend some time familiarizing themselves with the problems before attending the team meeting; work a bit by yourself first!
  3. Criticize ideas, not people!
  4. Listen actively to what the others had to say; don't tune people out.
  5. A proof is a proof when everyone understands everything; there is no such thing as a proof by majority rule. If you don't understand an argument, don't agree to it just because everyone else wants to move on. 
  6. Discuss problems until you understand the solution process as well as the answer.
  7. Do not allow one or two team members to dominate all discussions.
  8. Do not get discouraged--solving problems takes time! (A lot of time...)
  9. Ask questions and ask for help when you need it; in all likelihood, the other members are not mind-readers. ;-)
  10. It's a good idea to start with restating the problem (not just rereading it again). Often, you find out that someone else's interpretation of the same problem differs, and you must figure out what is the correct restatement.
  11. Occasionally reflect on how the team is working, and try to address issues that arise within the team. If trying your best fails, come talk to me. 
    12.