Instructor perceptions and reported practices around informal peer collaboration on homework among engineering students

Abstract

ABSTRACT While team learning within engineering classrooms has been studied, minimal work has been done examining out-of-classroom collaboration to complete individual deliverables. However, such informal peer collaboration (IPC) is common among engineering undergraduates, and some evidence exists that low levels of IPC are associated with poorer learning outcomes. We aimed to explore beliefs, perceptions and actions toward IPC among engineering science instructors. We used a descriptive phenomenological approach to explore the instructors’ experiences of IPC. Data from semi-structured interviews was analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Instructors identified positive (e.g. gaining confidence) and negative (e.g. overconfidence) outcomes of IPC. They believed that students used IPC for a range of needs and identified factors (e.g. language spoken) influencing IPC groupings. Most instructors only defined academic misconduct in syllabi, despite using implicit strategies (e.g. withholding solutions) to promote/inhibit IPC. Specific IPC policies were rarely connected to instructors’ understanding of student motivations. Instructors view IPC as unavoidable and recognise that IPC may meet student needs while increasing or bypassing learning. Despite both using IPC as students and observing students now, instructors showed limited understanding of who participates. IPC may be an opportunity to increase learning among students; further research on barriers and pedagogy is warranted.