Alternative methodologies for automated grouping in education and research

Abstract

Education and research activities are now oriented on groups to solve complex tasks and develop collaboration skills. Agile Software methodologies, psychology and spirituality elements, information technology developments offer possibilities to create dynamic and efficient groups. In education, classical grouping strategies can't be used in e-learning environments where there's little or no physical interaction between parties. We developed a web application that takes into account the alternative determined student - researcher typologies, according to the Enneagram methodology, and with a MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) test. A simple and complex Enneagram test will determine the 9 base typologies. A psychological base test will determine the MBTI profiles. A correlation between enneagram and the MBTI typology is performed by the web application to generate and refine the grouping process in an automated manner. Case studies as Alternative1 and 2 described in the general algorithm show that groups created using this method have an increased communication among the members and better practical results. This is due to the members' compatibility, which facilitates better collaboration in education and research.