Abstract
AbstractMaking group work works in a classroom can be challenging, not only in the attainment of the objectives or results of the group work, but also of the whole process. This phenomenological study on the use of group work among pre-service teachers was initially aimed at exploring their experiences and understanding of group work as a process of learning and teaching. The study involved twelve final year female students enrolled in an undergraduate skill-based course. The students were given the task of organizing a field trip to an orphanage. They were provided with guidelines in planning and managing the trip, after which they were required to write a report. Students also documented their experience in a journal. Students’ reports and journals were analysed, and resulted in three broad themes, which were group work as a constructive pedagogy, as a process of development or learning, and the challenges of group work in terms of group dynamics. However, the third theme, which is, the intra and inter group relations and interactions, put the researcher in a situation where she found herself in a dilemma to present either the truth of the study (i.e. the results), or to maintain the rights of the participants. This paper discusses how the researcher managed her dilemma through the negotiation of her roles as a researcher and course instructor. At the same time, she was compelled to redefine the boundaries of the study with the participants’ consent. The paper reveals that a researcher’s readiness to return to the field and to the participants is imperative in our attempt to ensure that the ethical issues of a research are carefully attended to.Keywords: Qualitative study, phenomenology, researcher’s roles, ethical issues, group work, group dynamics, pre-service teachers
Highlights
The definition and concept of good teaching in the modern age has required teachers to emphasise on students’ needs and potentials
I decided that the best design for the study would be phenomenology because the primary aim of the study was to explore the experiences of the participants in undergoing the group work method in my course
My conscience as the researcher and course instructor was challenged when I had to decide on the step of action with regard to my students’ conflict
Summary
The definition and concept of good teaching in the modern age has required teachers to emphasise on students’ needs and potentials. The focus of teaching and learning is increasingly centred on students where teachers are expected to engage and involve them actively in meaning-laden activities. Active learning and meaningful meaning making tend to be more successful when they are done in a group than individually (Tan, Sharan, & Eng, 2006; Abu Bakar, 2013). Such learning is known in different terms like cooperative learning, collaborative learning, and reciprocal peer learning, or as group work. These terms may differ, they share distinctive similarities in their objective, which is, working together in group on a task to achieve specific goals (Boud, Cohen, & Sampson, 2001; as cited by Taqi & Al-Nouh, 2014 in Gomlaksize, 2007)
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