Group work is a learning activity that many instructors are used to assigning in traditional classroom settings.
Group work is a good method to get students interacting and collaborating, and groups can work together on projects that are too large for one student to complete in a semester. By translating group work into the online environment it can be a daunting task for instructors and students who are unsure how to overcome the logistical constraints of working together at a distance.
Lots of distant students may come into online classes with a predisposition to work independently or they may have been burned in the past by poorly managed group work, making them less than eager to participate in group assignments. Having careful planning, student concerns can be overcome and group assignments can be effective learning activities for students in distance learning classes.
Benefits of using group work in an online course
Studies show that there are several benefits to having students work in groups, even online.
• Students learn better when they have opportunities for collaboration.
• Students tend to learn more material better and retain the information longer than when the same information is taught in different methods.
• Group members not only learn from their own individual efforts, but they also learn from the perspectives of the other members.
Types of Group Assignments
• Panel discussion
A panel or group of students is given a set of questions from which they prepare a group response.
• Case study
For students’ group is given a narrative description of a problematic situation and then asked to identify or solve the problem.
• Action maze
For students’ group is given a description of an incident that requires analysis and action. Then the students are given a list of two to four alternative actions. Once the students make decisions about what actions to take, they are directed further in the action maze to find out the consequences of their decisions and, perhaps, what the next set of alternative actions is. Such an activity is effectual for teaching troubleshooting.
| 
