LESSON PLAN:
Title:
Hiring Committee Group Project
Target Audience:
Each group will consist of 3 to 4 members from Comm. 613:
Recruiting and Interviewing Techniques
Learning
Objectives:
Students will work in teams on an interviewing and hiring project. This project will help you develop your small
group communication skills, your ability to analyze the needs of an
organization from a human resources perspective, and improve your ability to
conduct research using a variety of sources.
Each team will participate in developing a wiki which outlines the
procedures your hiring committee will follow in determining who the best
candidate is for the job.
Materials Needed: Computer and Internet Access
Required Course
Textbook:
Arthur, D. (2006). Recruiting, Interviewing, Selecting
& Orienting New Employees (4th ed.) New York ,
Resumes of candidates (Provided by the instructor)
Job Description (Provided by the instructor)
Access to course wiki (Provided by the instructor)
Instructions:
You have been appointed to a hiring committee. You have been provided the resumes of the final candidates for a management position in your department. Over the next 8 weeks you will need to complete the following:
Group Work Instructions:
Members of the group will participate in discussion about how you should
go about hiring one of the candidates whose résumé is assigned to your group.
You will have to do research to determine the kinds of qualifications people
who work in those jobs should have. Likewise, you should research the kinds of
things you'd want to know about candidates for those jobs. You will also want
to know what skills and attitudes someone working in this field would have. Be
sure to follow federal guidelines for your questions. And you should chronicle
your research and the entire hiring process that you follow.
So, as a hiring committee, you will want to do several things:
1. Determine what the first steps you need to take in order to start the
process of filling a position with your company.
2. Review the résumés and see the kinds of skills each individual has and
create a detailed profile for each candidate.
3. Review the job you have to offer and discuss thoroughly what skills
you should seek in hiring this position and how the skills each candidate has
would be good or not so useful when it comes to hiring. (Note: you will need to
expand on the skills already listed in the job description)
4. Discuss the kinds of things in general you would look for when hiring
this position.
5. Discuss the things you'll need to know before coming to a final
decision on who is the best hire for this position.
6. Develop a list of questions you plan to ask the candidates during an
interview.
7. Present the information on your group wiki page. For tips on how to create a wiki check out this You Tube Video:
Your grade is based on your participation and your contributions to the
project. In other words, I want you to be part of the project and I want you to
make an impact in the group. You will be evaluated on a number of
criteria. Please see the grading rubric
for details.
I want each group to document their discussions, as well as the ideas,
research, etc… that each member contributes.
You should make all of the determinations and obtain all of the
information outlined above as well as make a decision as a group about which
candidate you would like to hire.
Each group will present their information on their group wiki
page. Your information can be presented
in a number of ways; it is dependent on how you want to break it down. I would suggest using the grading rubric
provided to ensure that you are meeting all of the requirements and presenting
all necessary information to the group.
Suggested
Work Schedule:
Week
1:
-
Set-up a time to “meet” with your instructor and
your group members. Your instructor will
send out a survey to help determine the best time for this meeting. The meeting will take place on Skype, so make
sure you have that downloaded on your computer.
-
At this meeting you will determine roles for
each group member and set-up further group meeting times and deadlines (I would
suggest meeting weekly to discuss the progress of your project and discuss any
issues which have been presented)
Week
2:
-
Set-up your group wiki page.
-
Create content areas based on how you plan to
present your information.
-
Start researching
Week
3 – 6:
-
Continue research and discussion of your group
project.
-
You should be adding information to your wiki at
this time. Remember, all group members
should be contributing and addressing the questions provided in the work
instructions.
Week
7:
-
Begin editing your wiki. Make sure you are reviewing content,
verifying sources, and checking your citations.
Week
8:
-
Finalize your wiki.
-
All graphics/design work should be completed.
-
All editing should be completed.
-
Project should be ready to present to the class.
Evaluation:
Grading Criteria
|
Missing = 0
|
Weak = 3
|
Average = 5
|
Good = 8
|
Excellent = 10
|
Individual Participation
|
Did not participate in the project
|
Posted minimal information in group wiki
|
Provided some research/information for the wiki
|
Provided good, well-researched input for wiki page
|
Provided well-researched scholarly information for wiki project.
|
Group Collaboration
|
Did not communicate with group members
|
Did not attend all group meetings
|
Attended most group meetings, provided some input for the wiki but
information was questionable
|
Attended almost all group meetings and discussed findings with group
members
|
Attended all group meetings. Communicated
updates and information clearly with group members.
|
Technical Assistance/Involvement
|
Did not provide any technical assistance or work on the group wiki
|
Checked on group wiki page but did not help with edits
|
Assisted with some editing and development of the wiki page
|
Assisted with editing and development of the wiki page, provided
input on ideas
|
Assisted with editing and development of the wiki page, assisted with
development of page layout and suggestions on graphics
|
Research/Information
|
Did not conduct any research
|
Conducted some research and provided some information but sources
were questionable
|
Conducted research using credible sources, most of which was
applicable to the group project
|
Conducted research using credible sources, the information was
applicable to the group project
|
Conducted research using credible sources, the information was
relevant to the project, also found and utilized useful theories
|
Learning Objectives/Goals
|
Did not do any work related to the learning objectives/goals of the
project
|
Contributions were vague and did not relate to the learning
objectives/goals of the project
|
Contributions were in line with the learning objectives and goals of
the project
|
Showed definite understanding of the material and work showed
understanding of the learning objectives/goals
|
Presented all work in line with the learning/objectives goals of the
project. Provided help throughout the
project to team members and connected all material to overall framework of
the project.
|
References:
West, J.A, & West, M.L. (2009). Using wikis for online collaboration: The power of the read-
write web.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
* This assignment has been adapted from course assignments from
Keiser University – SPC 1017 and Fort Hays State University – COMM 613
Your lesson plan was well focused on wiki-based group learning, which is excellent. Instructions are simple and clear. Your open-ended design approach was well justified in the last paragraph that “The remainder of the assignment was intentionally left open-ended in order to allow each group to address the task in their own manner.” Well done, Amanda.
ReplyDeleteThe piece that needs a little bit more information is your evaluation. I liked that a grading rubric was included and you referenced to it several times in your plan. It also said clearly that both the process and the final product will be evaluated. Good rubric! However, it’s not unclear to me how you will use the rubric to evaluate. Will the instructor be the only one to do the evaluation or self- and peer- evaluation will be included at the end as well? Our text says, “self-assessment and peer or team assessments can add alternate viewpoints and provide deeper insights into individual and team achievements” (West & West, 2009, p. 45). What are your thoughts on that?
Thanks.
Kang
Dr. Kang,
DeleteThank you for your feedback. This is an assignment I have used in two different classes and have continued to edit over the last few years as I have received feedback from students. I agree that I should have been more clear regarding the evaluation and how that process would be carried out. I think, in accordance with West and West (2009), that when asking students to work on a group project there should be evaluation from both the instructor and the students.
Something I always encourage my students to do is to provide feedback to me through their course evaluations on their projects and what changes they think could be made. In a project like this I think it would be important not only to have student provide evaluations of their work and the work of their group members, but to also provide feedback regarding how the instructions could have been developed differently. When creating a new lesson plan I generally find there is always room for improvement, but many times it is hard to know what changes need to be made until at least one group of students has already gone through the process.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteGreat lesson plan! Is it based off of one of the courses you teach? I really like that you included samples of parts of your lesson plan such as the rubric and video. A rubric is definitely one thing that is missing from my overall lesson plan. West & West (2009) point out that rubrics are important for motivating participation, maintaining a focus, measuring progress, and striving for quality in projects and assignments.
The video you included is really great; a wonderful resource to include on the instructor's home page as well as early on in the lesson plans. It is a good way to use video to engage students on a different level and accommodate different learning styles.
Are you considering incorporating wikis into any of your current courses? Do your students currently participate in group work? Do you find it difficult or easier to assess their achievements in individual vs. group work?
West, J.A, & West, M.L. (2009). Using Wikis for Online Collaboration: The Power of the Read-write Web. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Hi Janel,
DeleteThanks for your comments. This is a version of an assignment that I actually have used in two different classes. The rubric provided was created specifically for this assignment though. I have never actually incorporated the use of a wiki project in this assignment before.
Prior to this class I had never considered the use of a wiki project for any of the courses I teach. I think that creating this version of my hiring project showed me that it would be a possibility though. Currently I do have students participate in group work but it is mainly done through a threaded discussion. I actually think that is a good way for them to complete this particular project because it allows me to easily see exactly who contributed what and when they contributed it. I think before I could incorporate a wiki project into one of my courses I would definitely need to become more comfortable with using it myself though.
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of your project because it puts the research first, focusing on finding the correct qualifications of the future employee. From what I see, the strongest point of the project (in terms of a wiki) is the collaboration aspect required. If students were in a classroom, it seems like this project can be presented a number of ways. Yet, from a distance education perspective, a wiki is a good way to collaborate and then share with the other groups. If this wiki page was open to the internet, it seems like the projects by the groups would be a good resource for HR representatives looking to streamline their hiring process.
Another part of your wiki project I like is the avoidance of micromanaging the groups. For a project like this, it is important to let the groups work at their own pace, using their own method. Your “Suggested Work Schedule” is very loose, and may benefit a class that has different methods for finishing your project. Yet, this method has its downsides such as group members not being on the same page and the propagation of nonconstructive wiki editing behaviors (West and West, 2009). Overall, good job!
Hi Jacob,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your feedback. As I mentioned in my reply to Janel this is a project I have used in other courses, but I made edits to it for this assignment to make it into a wiki project. I definitely agree with the point you made regarding West and West's (2009) comments. Over the years I have tried a number of different approaches to assigning and developing group projects. As a student I understand how frustrating these projects can be at times so I am always trying to come up with a way to put them together that will work best for students. Unfortunately what I have found is that it tends to be kind of trial and error situation. What works for one group of students may not work for another group of students the following semester. Something I always try to do is encourage my students to provide feedback about their experiences in their course evaluations so that I can develop new ideas about how to manage their projects. Again, thanks for your feedback!