Friday Fragments, August 14th

More on group work, charging students for coronavirus testing, and unsurprising results about the "digital divide."

What I’m reading:

Are Group Assignments a Waste of Time? David Buck of Elon University’s Center for Engaged Learning shared takeaways from a recent paper on collaborative pedagogy, titled: “Are Group Assignments Effective Pedagogy or a Waste of Time? A Review of the Literature and Implications for Practice.” Key practices: let students have choice in forming their groups, keep the groups small and accountable to each other and to the instructor, teach students how to work together (I shared another good article two weeks ago about teaching group roles), and don’t over-use group work.

Some college students are being asked to share the costs of coronavirus testing in the form of extra fees charged with their tuition this fall. The article also points out that many insurance providers won’t reimburse for college-required (asymptomatic) testing, leaving already struggling students - and schools - in a hard spot.

Some disheartening reminders in a recent report by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia about the extent of the digital divide between low-, middle- and high-income students:

• one in five Virginia students (K-12 and college) lack either high-speed internet or a computer in the home

• 40% of all students without broadband live in urban areas

• Black and Latinx students are twice as likely as white students not to have a computer in the home

• 16% of low-income student households don’t have internet access at home, and 19% don’t have a computer

And this bit of verse, from Henry V, spoken by King Henry to urge his armies into battle, is floating around my head as August ticks by and fall semester looms:

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;

Show us here the mettle of your pasture.

Thanks for reading!