I focus on major (divided between Informatics, Comp Sci, and other) and year (senior, junior, etc.). If I can achieve a good distribution of those two factors, the rest seems to sort itself out. Also, two clear-cut criteria make for easy sorting in class with little needed in the way of explanation. M Alexander Jurkat INF 202 Team Lead Informatics Department University at Albany On Mon, Jul 7, 2014 at 12:52 PM, Tobin, Tammy <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I do a confidence inventory that asks students to rate their confidence > in their ability to do well in areas that I believe to be of importance to > success in my course. Then I also ask them to rate themselves in terms of > each of a few facets of good teamwork (preparation, contribution, > leadership, ability to compromise/resolve conflicts). Since my courses are > interdisciplinary, I also ask for major. Then I balance the teams...making > sure that I explain to students the *overall* goals that I have for the > balance of each team. It generally works *very* well (although one > cannot entirely avoid little disasters due to students' failure to > understand their strengths and weaknesses), and students appreciate the > transparent nature of the sorting. > > I'd avoid grade-based sorting, as students are pretty savvy, and they > will very quickly ascertain which students are "supposed" to be the weak > links. > > Tammy > > On Jul 7, 2014, at 12:44 PM, "Parmelee, Dean X." <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > > Don't use GPA or a standardized test like the SAT/MCAT etc. > What is the subject domain of your course? In general, what are the > backgrounds of your students? > > > > From: Christine Sloan <[log in to unmask]> > Reply-To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]> > Date: Monday, July 7, 2014 12:06 PM > To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Group Formation > > Wondering what prompts or group formation proxy's do people use to > create "balanced" groups for team factors such as overall GPA, motivation > to learn, introverted vs. extroverted student. My students want the groups > "evenly" balanced in terms of GPA - which is impossible. I find this task > very challenging. I would love any ideas! > > *Chris Sloan, RN, MSN, CNS, CPN* > *Assistant Professor* > *Point Loma Nazarene University* > *Cell Phone: (619)518-2255 <%28619%29518-2255>* > *[log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>* > >