The document describes a semester-long group project for an online literature composition class. [1] Students are divided into groups based on their choice of topic from the literature being studied that semester. [2] Each group is responsible for creating a presentation on their assigned topic and literary work to share with the class. [3] The project aims to increase engagement with the course material, prepare students for their individual research papers, and create a sense of community in the online classroom.

1. SEMESTER LONG
GROUP PROJECTS IN
AN ONLINE
LITERATURE-BASED
COMPOSITION
CLASS
Presenter: Laurie Lykken, Century College

2. Context
• Instructor Expectation of Students:
– Will not previously have written multi-
source papers over four pages.
– Will not be familiar with analyzing
literature and little experience reading
literature for personal enjoyment.
• Additional challenges include:
– Getting students to understand the
assigned readings thoroughly enough
to write about them competently
– Getting students to discover an area of
interest to research for the longer
paper the writing of which is
centerpiece of the course.

3. Rationale for Having a Group Project
• To supplement each week's reading
assignments with student generated
material.
• To increase all students’ engagement in the
course material and with each other.
• To prepare students for the research they will
do later for their own longer researched
paper.
• To make the online environment less
isolating...perhaps even less isolating even
than the classroom experience.
• To build on the audience awareness students
all ready have.

4. Assignment Overview
• Students choose a group to join
based on the topic to be covered
in one of 6 weeks of the 16 week
course.
• Groups are chosen Week 3;
presentations start Week 5.
• Group size is limited to ensure all
weeks are covered.
• Group 7 is reserved for individual
projects to accommodate
students who insist on working
alone or who do not respond in a
timely manner to the call
for expressing group preference.

5. Group Number Basic Project Theme Week to Sharing
Group One Short Stories: Focus on Kate Chopin or Tim O’Brien: lives, issues Week 5 (2/6-2/12)
during their lifetime, issues presented in work, etc.
Group Two Poetry: Focus on helping class understand how poetry works— Week 6 (2/13-2/19)
words, rhythm, rhyme = more than the sum of its parts.
Group Three Poetry: Focus on Langston Hughes—who he was, when he lived, why Week 7 (2/20-2/26)
he is important…the music in his poetry.
Group Four Poetry: Focus on poetry and visual images/art/video etc. Enhancing Week 8 (2/27-3/4)
poetry with images and poetry based on images.
Group Five Drama: Focus on origins of drama and/or the contribution of Week 9 (3/5-3/18)
Sophocles and his Oedipus trilogy.
Group Six Drama: Focus on August Wilson and the larger vision of which his Week 10 (3/19-3/25)
play Fences is part.
Seven: Individual Drama/ Poetry/ Short Story: work individually (or with one other Weeks 11 and 12 (3/26-
person), surprise and entertain the rest of the class. Being last, we 4//1)
Projects
expect something brilliant and fun from everyone choosing this
option.

6. Assessment
• Assessment is not completed until after all
projects have been posted and viewed.
• Assessment involves has 4 components:
1. Instructor assessment based on the published
rubric (this document available on the wiki)
2. Student responses to a Survey where they answer
specific questions about each project and then
assign each project, including their own, a grade
3. Individual student feedback—required--in which
students explain their own contribution to the
project and what triumphs or trials they felt their
group experienced.
4. Comments left on the discussion board when the
project was posted.