What is one solution for a teacher noticing unequal participation in group work?

Assigning project roles to each student is an effective solution for addressing unequal participation in group work. This approach ensures that every student has a specific responsibility, which encourages them to engage with the task and contribute to the group's success. By defining roles, students can be held accountable for their contributions, which can help prevent situations where some members dominate the work while others remain passive. This structure not only facilitates balanced participation but also allows students to develop skills tailored to their assigned roles, fostering collaboration and responsibility within the group.

In contrast, allowing free choice of tasks may lead to imbalances if certain students prefer not to participate at all. Reducing group sizes might help increase individual participation but may not address the issue of unequal engagement effectively, as smaller groups can still experience similar dynamics if roles are not clearly outlined. Introducing competitive games could motivate students to engage, but it may not inherently solve the problem of unequal participation and could divert focus from collaborative skills development.