Students' perceptions of learning science in small groups: a case study in higher education (original) (raw)
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Exploring the characteristics of small groups within science and English secondary classrooms
Studies of primary education within the UK have shown that small groups can feature within classrooms; however, equivalent research within secondary education remains scarce. Research has established effective group work approaches, yet secondary teachers may encounter difficulties employing approaches tied to parameters embedded within primary education. This problem is compounded as minor adjustments to the conditions surrounding group work are known to have consequences for its efficacy within classrooms. This paper reports naturalistic systematic observation of group work practice within 23 science and English secondary classrooms in Scotland. Pupils completed tasks according to whether they were situated within group work or conventional classes. Forms of dialogue known to be conducive to learning were prevalent whilst pupils worked in groups. The change in pupils’ behaviours does not appear to stem from the content of teachers’ talk. Teachers’ behaviour suggested they approach small groups as smaller structures equivalent to a whole-class set-up.
The study assessed the effect of small-group learning instruction on attitudes and performance of Basic Science students in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study adopted a quasi-experimental of pre-test, post-test research design and was carried out on 180 JSS 2 students selected from six secondary schools using purposive sampling techniques. The two instruments used for the study included: Basic Science Performance Test (BSPT) and Students' Attitudinal Scale (SAS). Five hypotheses were generated for the study and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that small-group learning instruction had significant and positive effects on students' attitudes and performance in Basic Science. The findings also indicated that gender had no significant effect on attitude of students taught using small-group learning instruction. Based on the academic success recorded by the small group learning classrooms, it was suggested that small-group learning instruction which is more student-centered and having potential of enhancing students' attitudes toward Basic Science should be adopted as a teaching strategy in schools.
PLoS ONE, 2010
To improve science learning, science educators' teaching tools need to address two major criteria: teaching practice should mirror our current understanding of the learning process; and science teaching should reflect scientific practice. We designed a small-group learning (SGL) model for a fourth year university neurobiology course using these criteria and studied student achievement and attitude in five course sections encompassing the transition from individual work-based to SGL course design. All students completed daily quizzes/assignments involving analysis of scientific data and the development of scientific models. Students in individual work-based (Individualistic) sections usually worked independently on these assignments, whereas SGL students completed assignments in permanent groups of six. SGL students had significantly higher final exam grades than Individualistic students. The transition to the SGL model was marked by a notable increase in 10th percentile exam grade (Individualistic: 47.5%; Initial SGL: 60%; Refined SGL: 65%), suggesting SGL enhanced achievement among the least prepared students. We also studied student achievement on paired quizzes: quizzes were first completed individually and submitted, and then completed as a group and submitted. The group quiz grade was higher than the individual quiz grade of the highest achiever in each group over the term. All students -even term high achievers -could benefit from the SGL environment. Additionally, entrance and exit surveys demonstrated student attitudes toward SGL were more positive at the end of the Refined SGL course. We assert that SGL is uniquelypositioned to promote effective learning in the science classroom.
Educational Research and Reviews, 2017
Group learning has become a common practice in schools and tertiary institutions. It provides more comfortable and supportive learning environment than solitary work. It fosters critical thinking skills, develops individual accountability, increases levels of reasoning and positive interdependence, improves problem-solving strategies and internalizes content knowledge. But many factors influence the group relation, such as members' perceptions, attitudes and willingness to cooperate and contribute as a team. Therefore, this study was conducted on students' perceptions and attitudes towards the usefulness of group work mainly, and how the students evaluate factors that may affect their participation specifically. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Bule Hora University from February to June, 2015. A quantitative research approaches had been applied; using semi-structured face-to-face interviews and focus group discussion with Biology students and Instructors. Of the total number of 47 students who participated in the study, 25 (53%) of the students' responded that they prefer group work than other types of assessment while few of them 4 (8.51%) replied that they disagree with group work use. The results indicated that students had misconception on objectives of group work and they perceived group work as a means of getting pass mark than seeing it as a means of learning cooperatively through activity.
Learning in a Group, as a Group, and between Groups
CBE—Life Sciences Education, 2019
Learning in groups is a common feature of science classrooms. The three articles I have chosen to feature in this installment of Current Insights reflect recent research of group learning at different scales. The first examines within-group dynamics, identifying interactions among students that allow scientific sense-making discussions to begin and continue. The second proposes to study groups as the unit of analysis, asking why some groups are able to persevere in the face of challenging problems. The third considers the potential for learning to occur between groups, through connections in students’ extended social networks. Each brings new ideas and questions to the study of group learning.
Students’ Perception of Small Group Teaching: A Cross Sectional Study
Total 76 86% stated that SGD helped them to understand the topic very well. Conclusion: Characteristics of an effective small group discussion in USM are maintained. For a successful small group discussion, all the participants must mentally prepare to take part in active discussion; share knowledge and skills for in-depth understanding of the topic.
2014
In the past few decades, those of us working in institutions of higher education have seen an instructional paradigm shift. Given the growth in research on learning, our views of how people learn best have developed over the last few decades; from behaviorist perspectives of learning, we have also come to understand learning from cognitive and social perspectives. (For a more in-depth discussion of these issues, see Barkley, Major, and Cross, 2014, as well as articles in this special issue). This development has caused higher education instructors to modify their instructional practices as a result. Many instructors have moved away from a sole diet of traditional lecture, with the occasional short-answer question to the class in which students listen, repeat, and occasionally apply, toward a modified menu of pedagogical platforms in which, much of the time, students are active participants in the learning process. Higher education faculty, then, have gone about this task of engaging students actively in learning in a number of important ways by adopting a range of instructional approaches. Among the most-often-used approaches to get students engaged in the classroom is small-group work. Indeed, from early efforts at group-based,
2006
The Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge uses a range of learning and teaching environments including lectures, practical laboratories and small group tutorials. Under the auspices of the Cambridge-MIT Institute's Pedagogy Programme, a two-year research and development project concerned with the development of small-group teaching is being undertaken. The research element of this project endeavours to illuminate current practice and identify areas in which evidence-based development might take place. The development element will include professional development activities and the production of curriculum resources including appropriate online material. This is a multi-method study including a series of student questionnaires; focus groups of students; semi-structured interviews with staff members; and the collection of video of small group teaching. In this paper we report selected findings from the 'student data' of the first year of this project. The questionnaire, conducted with two cohorts of students (2nd and 3rd year Undergraduates), used a double-scale questionnaire in which students were asked to report both on the prevalence of a range of teaching and learning practices and on how valuable these were in supporting their learning. This type of questionnaire instrument is particularly appropriate because the data it generates is suggestive of areas for changes in practice. The gaps between 'practices' and 'values' (across both cohorts) suggested that students valued activities which improved their understanding of how elements of the course were interrelated; which related course content to 'authentic' examples; and those in which teachers made explicit the characteristics of 'high quality' student work. Small group teaching, in the view of most students, was best used to extend and explore concepts introduced in lectures rather than simply reinforcing them or assessing student understanding. Data gathered through focus group activities illuminated the questionnaire data, providing detailed accounts of how students managed their own learning, and the roles played in this by lectures, small group teaching and other resources. Students identified the processes of planning and writing essays as key learning activities during which they integrated diverse course content and reflected on problematic knowledge. Questionnaire and focus group data suggested that students had less clear views regarding the value of collaborative learning, peer-assessment or activities such as making presentations to other students. When students talked in positive terms about these activities, they often referred to the learning benefits of preparation for the tasks rather than of the collaborative activities themselves. These views may provide indications of potential barriers to changes in learning and teaching environments, and suggest that any such changes may have to be carefully justified to students in terms of benefits to their own learning. Many of our findings are broadly in accord with other work on teaching and learning in Higher Education settings (such as the 'Oxford Learning Context Project' and the 'Enhancing Teaching-Learning Environments in Undergraduate Courses' Project) in that 'deep learning' and 'authenticity' in learning activities are valued by students, and that the introduction of specific formative practices (such as sharing notions of 'quality') would be welcomed. At the same time, amongst the students in our sample, a view of learning as an individual process of 'learning-as-acquisition' predominates over a view that it is a social process of 'learning-as-participation', and this will inform the planning of the 'development' aspect of the project. We conclude with a discussion of how the approach we have used might be more widely applied both within and beyond the Cambridge-MIT partnership. We also identify potential affordances of, and barriers to, the development of research-informed teaching in Higher Education.
StudentsQuestions as Organisers for Small Group Learning in Chemistry
Designing inquiry-based-learning with and for university students develops problem-solving skills, logical reasoning as well as reflective thinking. It involves working as a member of a team, questioning, being creative, and shaping the skills for continued intellectual development. It is argued that inquiry-based group-work is one of the most important learning experiences because it enables the exploration of theoretical ideas and conceptual change. This paper presents results about the use of students' questions to shape these processes. In fact, student-generated-questions can be used as efficient guides in the preparation, focus, diagnosis, development, implementation and evaluation of group-work.
Teamwork: can it equip university science students with more than rigid subject knowledge?
Computers & Education, 1998
This study is two-fold in that it is directed at understanding the in¯uence of group constitution on group function as well as the in¯uence of teamwork and cooperative learning on the individual's perception of the subject. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to collect data. The quantitative method used, entailed the use of a self administered questionnaire. Belbin's team role test (Interplace) was used to constitute the teams. Unstructured interviews were used to collect the qualitative data. Computer Science students, in their third academic year, were placed in groups (or teams) at the onset of the course using Belbin's team role concept. Rather than presenting conventional lectures, students were expected to come prepared to class and to discuss personal insights gained through individual learning in a group situation. The role of the lecturer became the role of a facilitator. Access to the Internet and World Wide Web, allowed students to research topics for a presentation. Email enabled students to communicate freely with group members and the lecturer. The majority of students indicated that working in teams contributed to their understanding of the subject, that they gained on a personal and social level and that they have learned more in the group than they would have by learning individually. This method of teaching results in the development of positive intergroup relations and desirable prosocial behaviours which can possibly bridge the gap between tertiary education and the job market. The fact that students now seem to enjoy learning more makes this approach to learning worthy of pursuit. Present structures of our examinations are failing to adequately test the dimensions of learning we wish them to. #