Small Group Collaboration Research Articles

Team-based learning: Implementation and evaluation of nursing students’ experience and satisfaction

Team-based learning is an alternative to passive learning. Its defining characteristics are small-group collaboration and active student participation. This study evaluated students' accountability, performance, and satisfaction with the team-based learning strategy, as well as the impact of gender and cumulative grade point average. It was a quasi-experimental one-group post-test study conducted at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Jazan University, Saudi Arabia. A team-based learning session with 214 students was conducted. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, and multilevel regression were used to analyze students' accountability, preference, and satisfaction with team-based learning using an online survey. Students were accountable; 85% used pre-class materials to prepare. The majority of students expressed satisfaction with their session engagement. Most believe that team-based learning motivated them to engage and recommend it for nursing courses. Male students' scores on the team readiness assessment test improved by 30.73%. The multilevel regression analysis revealed a substantial gender effect on gain increases (P-value < 0.0001). Students expressed great satisfaction with their team-based learning experience. This study demonstrated that team-based learning improved student involvement, performance, and accountability and recommends its application in the nursing program; however, further research is needed to improve the transferability of results.

Human–Robot Co-Facilitation in Collaborative Learning: A Comparative Study of the Effects of Human and Robot Facilitation on Learning Experience and Learning Outcomes

Collaborative learning has been widely studied in higher education and beyond, suggesting that collaboration in small groups can be effective for promoting deeper learning, enhancing engagement and motivation, and improving a range of cognitive and social outcomes. The study presented in this paper compared different forms of human and robot facilitation in the game of planning poker, designed as a collaborative activity in the undergraduate course on agile project management. Planning poker is a consensus-based game for relative estimation in teams. Team members collaboratively estimate effort for a set of project tasks. In our study, student teams played the game of planning poker to estimate the effort required for project tasks by comparing task effort relative to one another. In this within- and between-subjects study, forty-nine students in eight teams participated in two out of four conditions. The four conditions differed in respect to the form of human and/or robot facilitation. Teams 1–4 participated in conditions C1 human online and C3 unsupervised robot, while teams 5–8 participated in conditions C2 human face to face and C4 supervised robot co-facilitation. While planning poker was facilitated by a human teacher in conditions C1 and C2, the NAO robot facilitated the game-play in conditions C3 and C4. In C4, the robot facilitation was supervised by a human teacher. The study compared these four forms of facilitation and explored the effects of the type of facilitation on the facilitator’s competence (FC), learning experience (LX), and learning outcomes (LO). The results based on the data from an online survey indicated a number of significant differences across conditions. While the facilitator’s competence and learning outcomes were rated higher in human (C1, C2) compared to robot (C3, C4) conditions, participants in the supervised robot condition (C4) experienced higher levels of focus, motivation, and relevance and a greater sense of control and sense of success, and rated their cognitive learning outcomes and the willingness to apply what was learned higher than in other conditions. These results indicate that human supervision during robot-led facilitation in collaborative learning (e.g., providing hints and situational information on demand) can be beneficial for learning experience and outcomes as it allows synergies to be created between human expertise and flexibility and the consistency of the robotic assistance.

How Can Research-Practice Partnerships Advance Multilingual Learner Equity? A Case Study of Partnership with State-Education-Agency Leaders

ABSTRACT Although multilingual learner (ML) students are present in nearly all K-12 settings, they tend to be served by schools and educators who are inadequately prepared to support them. While state education agency leaders may be well-positioned to address inequities in ML education, given their roles as policy intermediaries, their work is politically complex. Further, professional development support for state-level leaders has historically been limited. Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) represent a promising avenue for addressing this absence in state leadership support, as RPPs aim to promote educational transformation through collaboration between researchers and practitioners. In our case, we posit that state-education-agency leaders’ engagement in a cross-state RPP has the potential to support enactment of transformative-leadership practices, specifically through opportunities to think and work with role-alike colleagues and external researchers. Drawing on qualitative case study methods, our findings reveal how ongoing RPP collaboration in small groups supported state leaders’ enactment of transformative approaches, such as developing a statewide framework for ML education and supporting district leaders with using ML-specific funds in equity- and evidence-based ways. Findings shed light on specific RPP activities that supported leaders’ collaboration, which may inform how future partnerships are facilitated to advance equity-focused change efforts.

The Academic System Influence on Instructional Change: A Conceptual Systems Dynamics Model of Faculty Motivation to Adopt Research-Based Instructional Strategies (RBIS)

Many universities have implemented initiatives to drive instructional change, yet their success has often been limited due to a lack of recognition of academia as a complex dynamic system. This paper explores how the interconnected and dynamic nature of academic systems influences faculty motivation to adopt instructional innovations, such as project-based learning (PBL) and small group collaborations (SGCs). We present a Conceptual Systems Dynamics Model (CSDM) that illustrates these interconnections, demonstrating how systemic factors create feedback loops that either reinforce or hinder faculty motivation, as well as other related factors. These loops, represented as Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs), were derived from literature reviews and qualitative data obtained from interviews and focus groups involving 17 faculty and administrators within an Engineering Department at a research university in South America. The paper identifies thirteen CLDs, comprising seven reinforcing dynamics that positively influence faculty motivation and six balancing dynamics that exert negative pressure. Using empirical evidence and analysis, we describe how the systemic factors influence faculty motivation, and how shifts in motivation reciprocally impact these interconnected factors. By elucidating the complex dynamics at play, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of how to promote sustainable instructional change within academic institutions.

Technology-enhanced mindfulness-based collaborative social reasoning to improve adolescents' social-emotional competencies.

This study reports the preliminary efficacy of an innovative school-based, technology-enhanced social-emotional learning program called "mindfulness-based collaborative social reasoning" (MBCSR) for middle school students. MBCSR was developed by an interdisciplinary team of educational psychologists, mindfulness researchers, computer scientists, and health experts. We integrated the strengths of contemplative approaches, collaborative small group discussions, learning technology, and multidimensional assessments of students' social-emotional outcomes. Using a quasi-experimental design, the study was implemented in four sixth-grade English language arts classrooms (2 experimental and 2 business-as-usual control; N = 74) in a public middle school in the Midwest of the United States. It was co-implemented by researchers and teachers, with sessions occurring for 45 minutes, once per week, for 8 weeks. The MBCSR group showed greater self-efficacy for using Upa-yoga and mindful breathing to regulate their emotions and behaviors ( = .13), and lower externalizing ( = .07) and bullying behaviors ( = .09) at the posttest compared to the control group, after controlling for baseline differences. Students in the experimental group overall showed positive and relaxed emotional and physiological states during the sessions. There were no significant differences between the two groups in mindfulness, emotional regulation, and social skills. This program sets an example for integrating social-emotional learning and academic learning into students' daily content instruction.

Speech analysis of teaching assistant interventions in small group collaborative problem solving with undergraduate engineering students

AbstractThis descriptive study focuses on using voice activity detection (VAD) algorithms to extract student speech data in order to better understand the collaboration of small group work and the impact of teaching assistant (TA) interventions in undergraduate engineering discussion sections. Audio data were recorded from individual students wearing head‐mounted noise‐cancelling microphones. Video data of each student group were manually coded for collaborative behaviours (eg, group task relatedness, group verbal interaction and group talk content) of students and TA–student interactions. The analysis includes information about the turn taking, overall speech duration patterns and amounts of overlapping speech observed both when TAs were intervening with groups and when they were not. We found that TAs very rarely provided explicit support regarding collaboration. Key speech metrics, such as amount of turn overlap and maximum turn duration, revealed important information about the nature of student small group discussions and TA interventions. TA interactions during small group collaboration are complex and require nuanced treatments when considering the design of supportive tools. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Student turn taking can provide information about the nature of student discussions and collaboration. Real classroom audio data of small groups typically have lots of background noise and present challenges for audio analysis. TAs have little training in how to productively intervene with students about collaborative skills. What this paper adds TA interaction with groups primarily focused on task progress and understanding of concepts with negligible explicit support on building collaborative skills. TAs intervened with the groups often which gave the students little time for uptake of their suggestions or deeper discussion. Student turn overlap was higher without the presence of TAs. Maximum turn duration can be an important real‐time turn metric to identify the least verbally active student participant in a group. Implications for practice and/or policy TA training should include information about how to monitor groups for collaborative behaviours and when and how they should intervene to provide feedback and support. TA feedback systems should keep track of previous interventions by TAs (especially in contexts where there are multiple TAs facilitating) and the duration since previous intervention to ensure that TAs do not intervene with a group too frequently with little time for student uptake. Maximum turn duration could be used as a real‐time metric to identify the least verbally active student in a group so that support could be provided to them by the TAs.

Flexible learning spaces as an arena for developing professional digital competence through small group collaboration

ABSTRACT Flexible technology-rich learning spaces such as Future Classroom Labs (FCL) have a large potential for developing teacher education (TE) students’ professional digital competence through engaging in authentic collaborative learning experiences with digital technology. However, there are limited reports on how students perceive and enact the affordances existing in such learning spaces. This paper reports on how one such FCL can facilitate collaborative learning among TE students. The paper poses two research questions: 1) How does the FCL as a learning space accommodate for collaborative learning? and 2) How do the artefacts promote or limit collaboration among students at the FCL? The data were collected through observations of four sessions of group work at the FCL, each having a different group of 15–16 first-year TE students. The results suggest that the FCL promoted collaborative work in terms of finding and building groups, monitoring, and resource-sharing across the small groups. However, students depended on external guidance from a teacher or student assistant to understand the technical sides of the artefacts, and their educational potential. Therefore, the implication is that in their first visits to FCLs, students need guidance to get started with the distinct tasks, and to master the various devices.

Effectiveness of educational strategies to teach evidence-based dentistry to undergraduate dental students: a systematic review.

Evidence-based dentistry (EBD) training has been widely promoted in dental schools around the world and policymakers ask for suitable strategies to teach EBD within undergraduate dental education. The present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies on dental students' knowledge, attitude, and skills. PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Eric databases were searched using search terms obtained from Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms and free text method without time restrictions, up to November 2022. The identified articles were screened based on titles and abstracts for inclusion criteria. Subsequently, relevant articles underwent data extraction. Finally, the risk of bias was assessed through Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklists. Twelve of 439 studies were included: nine quasi-experimental studies, two cross-sectional, and one randomized controlled trial study. Regarding the overlap among categories, six studies assessed knowledge, seven assessed attitude, and eight focused on skills or performance in EBD. Due to the heterogeneity of the interventions and results of included studies, a meta-analysis was not performed. EBD was mostly taught in small group collaborations. Interventions included lectures, workshops, seminars, small group sessions, journal clubs, online sessions, or a combination of them in various frequencies and duration. EBD implementation into dental curricula is improving through strategies including designing continuing and frequent dental education courses, establishing collaborative student research groups, utilizing online tools for EBD education, and dividing EBD courses into shorter modules. The systematic review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (ID: CRD42022350238).

Newcomers and the innovative group process: An experimental investigation of convergence in collaborative problem solving.

During collaborative small group problem-solving, a group member with a minority perspective has a notable influence on the majority's perspective. However, the type of interactions with such a member could influence a stalemate, and the relationships between internal and task conflicts and the convergence process remain unclear. This study comprised two experiments focusing on the influence of minorities who act as "newcomers" among 231 university psychology majors. Using multiple conversational agents as the experimental tools, Experiment 1 revealed that a newcomer who presents a new perspective promotes the majority's perspective change, compared to when such a member has been in the group from the beginning. Experiment 2 demonstrated that such an effect occurs when most of the internal conflict and the task phase facilitated the newcomers' influence. The findings indicated that the minority member advantage increases when they are a newcomer; thus, they have a stronger influence on the perspective-taking process. The same effect occurs when the newcomer intervenes in majority task conflicts and internal cognitive loads. Thus, this study provides new implications for research on minority influence in laboratory experiments using virtual agents for small-group studies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Sustaining skills of critical reflection on practice: a pilot project

ABSTRACT In this paper, a teaching and research team discusses the importance of teaching, and supporting, critical reflection on practice (CRoP) skills to graduate level social work students within a Canadian university context. They describe the CRoP model, which is taught in a 12-week course and then integrated into practicum integration seminars and present the results of a pilot project. Using an online survey, they asked students to reflect upon what assisted and hindered their sustainment and integration of CRoP skills into their placement settings and what they thought might assist them in further sustaining their skills post-graduation. The use of a thematic analysis approach resulted in the development of the following themes which will be discussed fully: 1) The wholistic nature of CRoP as it is used for both personal and professional development; 2) The need for an academic grounding in CRoP followed by support for the natural integration of CRoP into ongoing social work practice; 3) The benefits of small group collaboration for learning and sustaining CRoP; and 4) The need for supervisory support of CRoP.

Feasibility of school-based parent support groups for transition-aged youth with intellectual disabilities.

Parents experience difficulties supporting children with intellectual disabilities when they exit the school system. One promising way to mitigate this problem is to set up school-based parent support groups. This study aimed to examine the development and feasibility of school-based parent support groups in South Korea designed to connect parents of transition-aged youth with intellectual disabilities. This qualitative study included 29 participants. Five focus groups and seven individual interviews were conducted with parents as co-researchers. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Participants reported meaningful experiences after participating in the parent support groups. However, it is critical to consider the following components to promote their feasibility: clearly defined roles, small group meetings, school-based initiatives, and collaboration. Parent support groups could be a valuable way to promote parental empowerment. Implications for future practices are suggested.

‘Parky goes Techno!’: developing the possibilities and probabilities – Parkinson’s, music and the dance

ABSTRACT The unique feature of our journey is the real-life 24-7 experiences of Parkinson’s, rather than the snapshot of what is the focus of some research. The story captures achievements and differences which can be made to people’s lives. Our now new friends. (N=10) who live with and without Parkinson’s join virtually to become involved in the dance and physical activity sessions. The findings highlight the feeling of wellbeing, a strengthening of the body which in turn facilitates balance, coordination, stability, endurance, flexibility, mobility and so on, above all, the fun of joining in. The journey has evolved with communications to representatives (N=20) of several All Party Parliamentary Groups (N=9) and two specific organisations. The increasing number of participants with and without Parkinson’s who wish to join our small group collaborations is especially reassuring. The challenge now is to revisit the communicative opportunities with a view to raising the profile of Parkinson’s. The alignment of a cross-collaborative All Party Parliamentary Group to review a proposal for further development and training of specifically qualified practitioners would be especially powerful. If the alternative therapies were then adopted by the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) it could potentially save millions of pounds.

Problems of interpersonal interaction in a students’ group

The article explores the concept of interpersonal interaction as a necessary condition for the development of human life activity. The key problems of interaction of student groups in collaborative work are considered. The study suggests that in collaborative work on a project, each learner gains experience, learns and creates new things, and establishes contacts within the group. The conducted diagnostics indicate a high level of communicative ability of the students, and a high degree of favorable microclimate within a small group. On the basis of the studied material, the authors come to the conclusion that the students will be the most productive in working on a project in collaboration in small groups due to harmonious relations and mutual solidarity.

Is hybrid teaching delivering equivalent learning for students in higher education?

ABSTRACT Hybrid approaches to teaching, where there is a proportion of online (asynchronous or synchronous) teaching as well as face-to-face synchronous teaching, were adopted almost ubiquitously by UK higher education institutions throughout the 2020/2021 academic year amidst disruption caused by national and international Covid-19 restrictions. One example of this was the introduction and use of software such as Microsoft (MS) Teams as a learning tool and platform to continue education provisions. As such, this study reports on the implementation of MS Teams to deliver a foundation year physical science curriculum within a hybrid learning context over the 2020/2021 academic year and within multiple learning contexts. In-built data analytics from MS Teams were used to measure student engagement and activity on the software. Additionally, a questionnaire was used to capture student perspectives of MS Teams and their use as a learning tool. These data show that the like-for-like replacement of face-to-face teaching with an online alternative within this hybrid approach did not produce a clear like-for-like learning environment for students, except in the case of small-group collaborations where students found clear utility for the platform. Significant thought needs to be given to the use of online and hybrid alternatives to traditional face-to-face instruction and, in order to facilitate student learning and engagement effectively, a bottom-up approach to redesign may be required instead of simply substituting teaching tools.

Development of Workplace Skills Via A WWF Employer Project

Structured activities, such as internships, workplace visits and employer projects are becoming increasingly popular as a means of engaging potential employers with their future workforce. As such, this dimension of employer engagement is one that merits research, which is the objective of this study through exploring the effectiveness of an employer relations project as a means of developing workplace skills among pre-university students in a private university in Malaysia. This study aims to ascertain students’ perceptions of the employer project based on their experiences and participation. Adopting a mixed research methodology, the research employs both a questionnaire and the use of focus group discussions to probe more deeply into determining the significance of small group collaboration in the development of students’ personal and soft skills development.

“What Motivates Me?”: A Qualitative Perspective on Student Collaboration in Small Groups

Collaborative learning, social interdependence and computer mediated communication (CMC) have been broadly studied in higher education research. Collaborative learning has often been associated with a social interdependence understanding. However, this study explores the relationship from an exclusively student motivation perspective in order to gain insight over the factors that encourage students’ positive interdependence in small peer groups. Moreover, due to the COVID-19 pandemic which, has shifted student learning to online platforms learners have found themselves engaging in computer mediated communication more than ever. Therefore, the study aims to explore CMC’s influence over student motivations towards achieving mutual-interest in their small groups. Besides that, past studies concerning these areas have been mostly quantitative in nature, thus, this study used a qualitative approach by conducting semi-structured interviews with 9 participants from the Communications programme of a private higher educational institution in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The interview findings identified few factors that transformed their self-interest motivation to mutual-interest motivation. These being: accountability, quality of work outcome, type of coursework & group size. Additionally, CMC was not directly influential in encouraging students to grow mutual-interest in their small group. Besides that, there were no significant difference between the roles of synchronous or asynchronous communication in specifically motivating students towards achieving positive social interdependence. The findings prove beneficial for educators and educational administrators when designing collaborative tasks and relevant policies or guidelines.

Results of a collaborative professional development for school staff working with students with visual impairments and challenging behavior

Students with visual impairments (VI) and multiple disabilities (MD) often exhibit challenging behavior, yet school staff’s use of evidence-based practices in behavior management is reportedly low. In this article, we share the results of a collaborative professional development (PD) aimed at increasing school staff buy-in and use of individualized positive behavior interventions and supports (I-PBIS) with students with VI and MD. Ten staff, including teachers, paraeducators, and related services, working in a self-contained school for students with VI participated in four weekly, collaborative small group modules on research-based I-PBIS strategies. The Covid-19 pandemic occurred mid-study, which affected implementation of the program and collection of outcome data; however, pre- to post-PD participants’ supportive beliefs regarding I-PBIS increased significantly. Participant-reported knowledge and use of I-PBIS also increased but did not reach significance. In addition, participants found the PD highly acceptable and useful in their work with students with VI and MD who engage in challenging behavior. Implications for increasing school staff support for and use of I-PBIS with students with VI and MD are discussed.

An Empirical Investigation of the EFL Learners Attitudes Toward the Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning

Peer collaboration in small groups has increasingly been recognized as an instructional technique that promotes interactive skills, socialization, learning and achievement across a range of subjects and disciplines. The study aims to measure Saudi female EFL learners’ attitudes toward the effectiveness of cooperative learning (CL) and its impact on their social and academic skills. In the present study, the researchers utilized a quantitative research tool to collect data from the participants. A 25-item Likert-scale opinionnaire was designed with closed-ended statements to measure five variables laid down by Johnson et al. tabulated into five sections. The survey was administered to 100 Saudi female EFL learners at undergraduate level to measure their attitudes toward the effectiveness of CL. The findings of the study indicate that CL enhances EFL learners’ social skills, maximizes inter-group relations, mastery of the course content and academic achievement. It further develops EFL learners’ individual and group accountability, leadership qualities and decision-making power. It is assumed that EFL learners’ cognitive faculties can be activated and optimum results can be obtained if this interactive strategy is implemented in a structured pattern with a properly designed rubric focusing on the five essential components of CL.

Upaya Meningkatkan Kemampuan Siswa Dalam Reading Comprehension Teks Narrative Melalui Model SQ3R di Kelas VII-E SMPN 1 Cikembar Kabupaten Sukabumi

Joint learning activities can help spur active learning. Teaching and learning activities in the classroom can indeed stimulate active learning, but the ability to teach through small group collaboration activities will allow to promote active learning activities in a special way. What students discuss with their friends and what students teach their friends enable them to gain understanding and mastery of the subject matter. The aims of this research are: (a) Want to know the improvement of English learning achievement after the implementation of cooperative learning. (b) Want to know the effect of learning motivation B. English after the implementation of cooperative learning. (c) provide an overview of appropriate learning methods in an effort to improve student achievement and make students active in teaching and learning activities. This research uses action research three rounds ofeach round consists of four stages, namely: design, activities and observations, reflection, and revision. The targets of this study were students of class VII-E of SMPN 1 Cikembar, Sukabumi Regency, in the 2022/2023 academic year. The data obtained in the form of formative test results, observation sheets of teaching and learning activities. From the results of the analysis, it was found that student achievement increased from Pre-cycle to Cycle II, namely Pre-cycle (68.42%), Cycle I (81.58%), Cycle II (94.74%). The conclusion of this study is that cooperative learning methods can have a positive effect on student achievement and motivation in class VII-E SMPN 1 Cikembar, Sukabumi Regency and this learning model can be used as an alternative learning English

Field science in the age of online learning: Dynamic instruction of techniques to assess soil physical properties

Soil physical properties, such as soil texture, color, bulk density, and porosity are important determinants of water flow (e.g., infiltration and drainage), biogeochemical cycling, and plant community composition. In addition, they reflect the environment in which the soil developed, giving insight into climate, mineralogy, and land cover. While many soil assessments require sophisticated laboratory equipment, some can be made simply by a trained individual, requiring only practice and reference materials. For students in environmental fields, it is particularly important and empowering to learn how to make informed soil observations that provide insights from the soil pedon to the landscape and that can be done within the field setting. Drawing on updated pedagogical approaches, including active learning, small group collaboration, and metacognitive exercises, this paper presents a course module for teaching soil texture and color analysis in the field that can be modified for students from secondary through graduate school. The combination of asynchronous, pre-course readings and assessment; synchronous, in-class instruction, hands-on practice, and application activities; and post-class reflection give students the opportunity to build a strong foundation for making soil observations. This course module is suitable for both in-person and remote learning modalities and can be adapted to a number of course topics across environmental disciplines. Ultimately, the goal is to provide students with exciting, hands-on training that inspires them to learn more about soils regardless of the learning platform.