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Student-based group work (also known as team work) has become an integral part of studying at UTS. This mode of teaching has primarily arisen in an attempt to capture many of the benefits associated with collaborative activities (namely peer learning and graduate attribute development).
While efforts have be made to embrace group-based learning at UTS, students’ reaction to these efforts appear somewhat mixed. From a positive perspective, students report enjoying the social aspect of group work (eg. making new friends and networking) and the benefits deriving from group synergy (eg. sharing workloads).
Despite recognising these positive aspects, most students at UTS hold an overall negative attitude towards group work. This is particularly so for collaborative activities that are formally assessed. Students report that their dissatisfaction with group work stems mainly from:
- the tasks set for group work (ie. not being suitable for group work)
- the selection of group members
- the inability to manage each other (due to equal status)
- the short time frames associated with group assignments
- the disproportionate investment of time needed to earn a good mark compared with an individual task
- the much greater risk level associated with group work (compared to an individual task)
This research also suggests that this overall negative attitude towards group work originates from a number of key problems faced by students whilst participating in group work. These are:
- organising and running group meetings
- making decisions together
- allocating tasks to group members
- dealing with group loafers
- dealing with over domineering group members
- resolving conflicts (both minor and major) within the group
In recent years, many efforts have been made to enhance the functioning of student groups and to improve the overall attitude students hold toward group work. Whilst many of the initiatives have been highly successful, their dissemination to the broader academic community has been difficult. This is mainly due to the trend of reporting teaching and learning innovations at the disciplinary level. This means that many of the ‘best practices’ developed and applied in one faculty may never be known by those in other faculties even though they may be applicable and capable of enhancing the subject’s teaching and learning objectives.