Group work

Group working is increasingly recognised as being a key part of students’ learning. It encourages active engagement with the ideas being taught, leading to better understanding and retention, and also provides a means to acquire valuable lifelong learning skills. The ability to work productively in a group is much sought after by graduate employers. Technology can support group working in both face-to-face and online settings, with synchronous and asynchronous activities.

Planning

You may find it helpful to think about the following:

  • Aims - What are your aims in introducing the use of group work?
  • Support - What support will your students need?
  • Timing - Will group work happen within existing scheduled sessions? If not will students be able to meet face-to-face or will they collaborate online?
  • Change - What are your students existing expectations? Will you need to explain the changes to them?

Case studies

Further reading