Turning boxes into supportive circles: Enhancing online group work teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

The purpose of the study is to explore college students’ perceptions/attitudes during synchronous and asynchronous group activities. The survey comprised of a 10-item, 5-point Likert-type questionnaire and open-ended questions. In the study, two groups, a synchronous group and an asynchronous group, participated in four activities during one semester. For the data collection, the researcher surveyed 116 students who are in the 1st year of college and collected their final tests, an oral presentation. The findings are as follows. Firstly, between the two groups, the synchronous group showed higher mean scores for online group participation. Secondly, the synchronous group also indicated higher mean scores for English learning, speaking confidence, and interest in learning English. Lastly, both groups mentioned communication with team members, improvement of English speaking and pronunciation, increased self-confidence and other elements as advantages of group work. In contrast, disadvantages included: technology problems, decreased self-confidence, inconveniences when meeting with team members online and others. The implications for the study are: first, online group activity can reduce isolation and increase interaction; second, the online video-based platform, Flipgrid, can help students improve English speaking skills by observing their own or peers’ videos; lastly, instructors can selectively use the synchronous and asynchronous group activities to suit their educational needs.

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International students’ transition to university: Connection and disconnection in online group work interactions

Student Success ◽

10.5204/ssj.v10i2.1300 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 35-45

Author(s):

Jade Sleeman ◽

Catherine Lang ◽

Eva Dakich

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

International Students ◽

Group Work ◽

Social Connections ◽

Education Experience ◽

Group Assignment ◽

Transition Experience ◽

Collaborative Interactions ◽

Use Of Social Media ◽

Online Group

An Australian higher education experience often includes group work as an important social learning opportunity. For international students, taking part in a group assignment can positively influence learning and adjustment to the new cultural and educational context through social interaction. However, students are increasingly choosing to use digital technologies to participate in group assignments, which may impact on opportunities available to make social connections with peers. This study investigated the experiences of 26 international students as they transitioned to study at an Australian university about their use of social media for group assignments and their resulting perceptions of connection to classmates. Analysis of the results suggests that students who engaged in collaborative rather than cooperative interactions via social media were more likely to perceive a connection to their classmates. This has implications for educators to include classroom modelling of digitally-mediated collaborative interactions to benefit students’ participation in group assignments, which can improve the transition experience through social connection.

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The Digital Handshake: A Group Contract for Authentic eLearning in Higher Education

Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice ◽

10.53761/1.13.3.6 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 85-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sandra Hesterman ◽

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Group Work ◽

Real Life ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Construction Of Knowledge ◽

Life Tasks ◽

Collaborative Construction ◽

University Course ◽

Early Childhood Learning ◽

Online Group

An emerging challenge for the Australian higher education sector is the delivery of authentic eLearning to support the collaborative construction of knowledge through the provision of real-life tasks in an online environment. This paper describes research conducted in a fourth-year university course where students from across the nation were required to work in small groups to complete an online assignment task: to design a provocation that could be integrated into an early childhood learning environment to promote multiliteracies learning. A qualitative design-based study of two cohorts of students found that online group work facilitates authentic connections between educational theory and practice, and that the introduction of a ‘digital handshake’ group contract can support these processes.

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From Face-to-Face to Digital Learning; Seen from EFL Student's Lenses Enrolled in Online Group Work

International Journal of English and Applied Linguistics (IJEAL) ◽

10.47709/ijeal.v1i3.1266 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 258-267

Author(s):

Ika Harianingsih ◽

Zailani Jusoh ◽

Ridwan Muhammad Nur

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Online Learning ◽

Group Work ◽

Virus Disease ◽

Digital Learning ◽

Face To Face ◽

Qualitative Research Design ◽

Main Technique ◽

Efl Students ◽

Online Group

Numerous higher education institutions around the world must shift their instructions from face-to-face (FTF) to online learning due to Corona Virus Disease in 2019 (Covid19). Furthermore, with the increase in popularity of group work in higher education, especially in the language classroom, and the pivotal changes over the last years, the group works encounter new challenges as they transition to the online world. The study aims to explore the experiences of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students' engagement in online group works to explore the benefits and challenges in a new learning environment. The qualitative research design provided an in-depth understanding of the students' perceived value of online group work. Further, an interview was used as the main technique in collecting the data from the entire participants. Furthermore, the findings demonstrated that students had generally good attitudes about online group work; however, some students noted that language and communications concerns presented difficulty at times. Nevertheless, the findings also demonstrated that the benefits of this experience surpassed the drawbacks. Thus, the study's findings can be valuable for practitioners and curriculum designers since they highlight the benefits of group work in an online learning setting and the students' problems they may confront during these classes.

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