"I Hate Group Work!": Addressing Students' Concerns About Small-Group Learning

Allan, Elizabeth G.

doi:10.46504/11201606al

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The literature leads one to believe that students' aversion to direct communication with other group members is because of their often-stated dislike of working in a group or team environment. Such dislike has its roots in the prevailing attitude of group-hate, the term given to students' negative attitudes toward group work (Allan, 2016;Chamorro-Premuzic, 2017;Senthilathiban, 2018;Sorensen, 1981). However, the concept of group-hate may be overblown and may not accurately capture students' perceptions and behaviors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In spite of technology: a failure in student project ownership

Stamp

Peters

Gorycki

2020

OMJ

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Purpose Students often complain about doing group work, which may lead them to be less engaged as a group and to seek shortcuts in developing their presentations. The purpose of his essay is identify and preferentially rectify student behavioral errors arising from placing too much trust in technology that can lead to too little personal interaction and engagement. The authors present their viewpoint on the classroom presentation outcome of a student group that used Google Docs to “prepare” for their presentation. Design/methodology/approach In a recent organizational behavior course, the authors had one such group arrive for their in-class presentation, only to discover that one group member was absent. The group had used Google Docs to share their research, yet no member read what the others had submitted. As a result, none of the group members could present the missing student’s material, with the obvious negative grading and finger-pointing outcomes. Findings The authors recognized that students needed more management direction than simply being proficient with technology. They lacked engagement behaviors leading to project responsibility. Engagement behaviors would include voice/face-to-face communication and content-related discussions questioning assumptions while strategically planning and operationalizing their topic of presentation. Originality/value The educational implications suggest an expanded role for the instructor to emphasize the role of student engagement behavior and the over-reliance on technology. Practical implications suggest making stronger connections to workplace expectations, making the student experience more transferable to their incipient workplaces and promoting the concept of team over group in terms of responsibility and conscientiousness and ultimately justifying their participation in providing value for their employer.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In spite of technology: a failure in student project ownership

Stamp

Peters

Gorycki

2020

OMJ

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“…Consistent empirical evidence and numerous anecdotes from educators and students remind us that many classes that include team work activities fail to achieve their team work-linked learning goals and outcomes (Chapman et al, 2010;Opdecam & Everaert, 2018;Sashittal et al, 2011). Worse, perhaps, these courses end up leaving an indelible negative emotional experience in many of their participants and educators (Allan, 2016;Chapman et al, 2010;Coetzer et al, 2017;Freeman & Greencare, 2011;Hansen, 2006;Martell, 2007;McCorkle et al, 1999;Muff, 2012;Payne & Monk-Turner, 2006;Rhew et al, 2019;Shuayto, 2013;Tanyel et al, 1999). Indeed, some critics have accused educators of using team work activities only to reduce their workload and not doing enough to teach students how to become more effective team members and leaders (Koh & Hill, 2009;McCorkle et al, 1999;Rudawska, 2017;Sashittal et al, 2011;Vik, 2001;Volkov & Volkov, 2015).…”

Section: The Realities Of Team Work In Business Coursesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Team work in business education: history, key concepts, and challenges

Flores,

Bauman

2024

Group and Team Work

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“…The ability to collaborate in the workplace is a well-noted desirable skill for technical communicators (Boettger & Friess, 2016; Kimball, 2015; Rainey et al, 2005). Yet many (if not most) students continue to disfavor group work (Allan, 2016; Burke, 2011; Isaac, 2012; Stamp et al, 2020). One of the most prominent reasons why students dislike group work has to do with the perception that some students will do “little work [but] benefit from the efforts of highly motivated students,” a phenomenon that has been described as social loafing, slacking, or free riding (LaBeouf et al, 2016, p. 18).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scrum in Classroom Collaborations: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Friess

2022

Journal of Business and Technical Communication

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Scrum is an increasingly important project management framework that has had limited study in technical communication (TC) and TC classrooms. While research has found student collaborations to be both frustrating and challenging, it has found Scrum to be a scaffolding framework that can improve student interactions and outcomes. Therefore, to determine whether Scrum affects the peer assessments of collaborative teams as well as project grades, this quasi-experimental classroom study compares the midproject and postproject peer assessments and grades of advanced TC students who used Scrum as a framework for collaboration against those students who did not use Scrum in their collaborations. The study found that students who used Scrum rated their team members significantly higher on some peer assessment measures and earned significantly higher grades than did those students who did not use Scrum. Additionally, students in the Scrum protocol reported satisfaction with their group experience broadly but did not report satisfaction with Scrum itself.

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"I Hate Group Work!": Addressing Students' Concerns About Small-Group Learning

Cited by 14 publications

References 8 publications

In spite of technology: a failure in student project ownership

In spite of technology: a failure in student project ownership

Team work in business education: history, key concepts, and challenges

Scrum in Classroom Collaborations: A Quasi-Experimental Study

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