Benefits of Group Work

There are several benefits for including group work in your class. Sharing
these benefits with your students in a transparent manner helps them
understand how group work can improve learning and prepare them for life
experiences (Taylor 2011). The benefits of group work include the
following:

 Students engaged in group work, or cooperative learning, show

increased individual achievement compared to students working
alone. For example, in their meta-analysis examining over 168 studies of
undergraduate students, Johnson et al. (2014) determined that students
learning in a collaborative situation had greater knowledge acquisition,
retention of material, and higher-order problem solving and reasoning
abilities than students working alone. There are several reasons for this
difference. Students’ interactions and discussions with others allow the
group to construct new knowledge, place it within a conceptual
framework of existing knowledge, and then refine and assess what they
know and do not know. This group dialogue helps them make sense of
what they are learning and what they still need to understand or learn
(Ambrose et al. 2010; Eberlein et al. 2008). In addition, groups can tackle
more complex problems than individuals can and thus have the potential
to gain more expertise and become more engaged in a discipline (Qin et
al 1995; Kuh 2007). Group work creates more opportunities for critical
thinking and can promote student learning and achievement.
 Student group work enhances communication and other
professional development skills. Estimates indicate that 80% of all
employees work in group settings (Attle & Baker 2007). Therefore,
employers value effective oral and written communication skills as well
as the ability to work effectively within diverse groups (ABET 2016-2017;
Finelli et al. 2011). Creating facilitated opportunities for group work in
your class allows students to enhance their skills in working effectively
with others (Bennett & Gadlin 2012; Jackson et al. 2014). Group work
gives students the opportunity to engage in process skills critical for
 processing information, and evaluating and solving problems, as well as
management skills through the use of roles within groups, and
assessment skills involved in assessing options to make decisions about
their group’s final answer. All of these skills are critical to successful
teamwork both in the classroom and the workplace.

References

Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. Criteria for

accrediting Engineering Programs (ABET), 2016-
2017http://www.abet.org/accreditation/accreditation-criteria/criteria-
for-accrediting-engineering-programs-2016-2017/

Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., Lovett, M. C., DiPietro, M., & Norman, M.
K. (2010). How learning works: 7 research-based principles for smart
teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Attle, S., & Baker, B. 2007 Cooperative learning in a competitive

environment: Classroom applications. International Journal of
Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 19(1), 77-83.

Bennett, L. M., & Gadlin, H. (2012). Collaboration and team

science. Journal of Investigative Medicine, 60(5), 768-775.

Davidson, N., & Major, C. H. (2014). Boundary crossings: Cooperative

learning, collaborative learning, and problem-based learning. Journal
on Excellence in College Teaching, 25(3/4), 7-55.

Eberlein, T., Kampmeier, J., Minderhout, V., Moog, R. S., Platt, T., Varma‐
Nelson, P., & White, H. B. (2008). Pedagogies of engagement in
science. Biochemistry and molecular biology education, 36(4), 262-
273.

Finelli, C. J., Bergom, I., & Mesa, V. (2011). Student teams in the
engineering classroom and beyond: Setting up students for
success. CRLT Occasional Papers, 29.
Jackson, D., Sibson, R., & Riebe, L. (2014). Undergraduate perceptions of
the development of team-working skills. Education+ Training, 56(1),
7-20.

Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. A. (2014). Cooperative

learning: Improving university instruction by basing practice on
validated theory. Journal on Excellence in University Teaching, 25(4),
1-26.

Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Buckley, J. A., Bridges, B. K., & Hayek, J. C. (2007).
Piecing Together the Student Success Puzzle: Research,
Propositions, and Recommendations. ASHE Higher Education
Report, Volume 32, Number 5. ASHE Higher Education
Report, 32(5), 1-182.

Qin, Z., Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (1995). Cooperative versus

competitive efforts and problem solving. Review of educational
Research, 65(2), 129-143.

Taylor, A. (2011). Top 10 reasons students dislike working in small

groups… and why I do it anyway. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Education, 39(3), 219-220.