Students' Aversions to Group Work

Abstract This paper describes a study in which 145 students who had recently completed a group project completed a survey assessing the students' perceptions of the project. This focus is on those aspects of group work which students found problematic. Strategies to better implement group projects are considered. Introduction Lecture-based courses have been the mainstay of college coursework. Professors stand in front of a group of students and talk for a class period. In recent years, experts have recognized that pure lecture-based courses may not be the most appropriate pedagogical strategy for all courses. The use of group projects as a teaching mechanism is becoming increasingly common in many college courses. Factors contributing to the increased use of group work include evidence of the success of group projects and a reaction to businesses stressing the need to have students trained to work together. In terms of widespread evidence of the success of group projects, while a few authors note opposition to group projects, several studies find that group projects, when implemented correctly, can be quite successful. The success of group work lies in its ability to provide students with results they might not otherwise obtain from pure lecture-based instruction. Among others, those benefits that have been identified in the literature include the following: (1) students learn teamwork skills, (2) students improve their critical thinking skills, and (3) students gain more insight about a particular topic (Andrusyk and Andrusyk 2003; Blowers, 2000; Davis and Miller, 1996). One study even found that group projects can be used to help control students' hostilities towards instructors (Murray, Meinholdt, and Bergman, 1999). The documented success of group work has resulted in some businesses, employers, and disciplines calling for the increased use of group projects (Sparks and Conwell, 1998). In fact, because of the perceived benefits of this pedagogical strategy, some accrediting agencies have encouraged the inclusion of group work in various curricula. It is difficult to imagine very many jobs in which employees do not work with other employees. To adequately prepare college students for the workplace, at some point during their collegiate careers they should be exposed to working together, whether through group projects or some other form of active learning. While, on the one hand, group work appears to be a panacea, there are problems that are sure to occur. One particular problem is that students tend to be resistant to the use of group work. Survey research by Bourner, Hughes, and Bourner (2001) finds that while students appreciated the opportunity to work in an organization, they did not like the difficulties they had negotiating with other group members. Others have suggested a similar pattern. Summarizing past research about group work, Winter and Neal (1995: 23) write, Conflict occurs not about the content of the assignment but over dysfunctions in the group process. Other reasons students dislike group work include the fact that some don't like being placed in leadership positions (Schumm, 1993), some report feelings of alienation from group work (Cohen, 1998), and others note problems working with free riders (Miles and Klein, 2002). Student disinterest in group work is particularly problematic because if students are not interested in the teaching strategy, the success of that strategy is called in to question. In order to offset students' negative concerns about group work, it is necessary to see how students define their most problematic concerns about group work and how widespread these problems are. The current study does that by examining the negative aspects of group work as described by students who had recently completed a group project. Methods Graduating seniors in our department are required to take a course titled Capstone Research Methods. …