Reflections on a Collaborative Group Approach With Evening Students

Abstract

Group learning activities are commonly used in undergraduate social work programs. There are high numbers of nontraditional students (i.e., students over 25 years old) in BSW programs, particularly in part- time programs, but the empirical research literature has not examined the experience of group learning activities for this specific group of students. This article uses an evening undergraduate research class to reflect on the fit of a collaborative group learning approach with the needs of nontraditional students. The student feedback on the course structure and functioning of the groups, the instructor's observations, and test scores are included. Although the groups provided support to some students and decreased the workload, there was inequality in the content learning and contribution to the group work. The possible role of nontraditional student status in this experience and recommendations for instructors preparing to use group learning activities with nontraditional students are discussed.