[game_edu] Group project team formation

[Tom Sloper]

This summer we used a random/arbitrary method of creating initial groups, and then my co-instructor modified the groups based on her knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the students. We didn't want all-stars to team together, leaving the weaker students to work together. We formed 10 groups of 3. Tom Sloper  
- Senior Lecturer, Video Games, Information Technology Program, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California.  http://itp.usc.edu/faculty-staff/Tom-Sloper/
- Sloperama Productions. Services for game developers and publishers; "Making Games Fun, And Getting Them Done." http://www.sloperama.com/business.html
- Helpful information and bulletin boards for game industry hopefuls. http://www.sloperama.com/advice.html- The Mah-Jongg FAQs. Information and bulletin boards about the game of mah-jongg. http://www.sloperama.com/mjfaq.html- Author of The Red Dragon &The West Wind, the definitive book on official Chinese & American mah-jongg.



      From: Ira Fay <ira at irafay.com>
 To: IGDA Game Education Listserv <game_edu at igda.org> 
 Sent: Monday, July 13, 2015 10:36 AM
 Subject: Re: [game_edu] Group project team formation
   
At Hampshire, I've taught project classes with 3-4 person teams for 3-4 week cycles up through a 34 person team for a 15 week cycle. I've found a few things work well:

1) Set a reasonable bar for entry. There will obviously be some skill variations, but everyone should have a minimum qualification in their chosen discipline(s). A short, individual project had worked well for me here, as Ian also mentioned.

2) Give students the chance to express preference based on project, if they are known in advance. In some classes, I've  let students pitch project ideas, and then everyone in the class has 10 points to distribute among the pitched projects. More points means they are more interested in that project. And usually I require them to give points to at least 4 projects. Some students use a 7-1-1-1 distribution, but others use 3-3-2-2. A shared google spreadsheet worked well here.

3) Give students the chance to express preferences based on people/teammates. Not everyone will know everyone, but a little survey up front can make them feel heard and avoid problems from the beginning.

4) I assign teams. This is how it works in industry, and I think it's better pedagogically too. I ensure there are balanced teams, and whenever someone doesn't get their top pick, I talk to them in advance and explain what's up. So far I've had a 100% understanding rate from the students in that situation, even if they're a little disappointed initially.

Based on the post-class surveys I've given, it seems like 3 week cycles are too short, 5-6 people is a good sweet spot, good producers make a difference even at that size, and a big team can publish a decent game in one semester if they have sufficient leadership. (http://wordsnack.net for an example)

Good luck! I'll be curious to hear how it goes for you. I think this is an issue many of us must tackle.

Ira

> On Jul 13, 2015, at 11:43 AM, Jose P Zagal <jose.zagal at utah.edu> wrote:
> 
> For that many constraints, it's usually best (in my experience) to let
> them sort it out with the caveat of "no one leaves the room until".
> 
> However, is there any flexibility in the constraints? (teams of 5-6?)
> Also, do you have enough time to allow for, say, an "ideation and team
> formation" that's part of your process? This can help with having a
> vision holder - ex: everyone in the class has to pitch a game, people
> make teams around the games pitched...you can do this iteratively over a
> few weeks (winnowing down the number of games, but during that time each
> time is working on protoypes they show and pitch).
> 
> 
> Jose
> 
> 
> 
>> On 7/13/2015 12:07 AM, Malcolm Ryan wrote:
>> A question for other educators:
>> 
>> I am running class which involved a semester-long group game development project. There are about 30 students and I want them to work in groups of 3 or 4. I need a way to assign groups. There are a couple of constraints:
>> 
>> 1) Each group needs to have a vision holder
>> 2) Each group needs to have an appropriate set of skills to make their game.
>> 3) Some students come wanting to work together and I would prefer not to break them up unless necessary.
>> 4) Some students are quiet, shy or have language difficulties which mean it is difficult to get them to seek out groups of their own initiative.
>> 
>> In the past I have let the students organise as they see fit. This has mostly worked, but there are always a small number of students at the end of the process who haven’t found a team. Putting these people together in a group has typically been a bad idea, especially if there is no-one with strong design or strong organisations skills in that group.
>> 
>> Has anyone else faced this problem? Have you come up with any clever solutions? 
>> 
>> Malcolm
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