Group projects in first-year general education college courses : a guidebook for instructors

First-year college students learn a variety of skills when integrating into the college world. While adjusting to living on their own, transitioning to college course loads, and beginning to embark on taking general education courses, first-year college students are learning every day. Group projects are a prominent activity enforced in first-year courses. Therefore, instructors of first-year general education courses should provide a meaningful experience for students, so their fresh minds can be shaped in the most beneficial way. For example, a multitude of transferable skills are learned through group projects, including communication, working with others, and time-management, to name a few. While there is research regarding the importance of general education courses for students in college, the benefits of group projects, instructor roles in group projects, and attitudes about group projects, there is less specific research on the value of group projects and specific guidelines for instructors of first-year students in general education courses who are administering group projects. Therefore, this project explores an original acronym, “DETAIL,” which stands for deadlines, evaluations, team-building, assign individual tasks, instructor duties, and learning value. This acronym will aid instructors to provide meaningful group project experiences.