How do Kennesaw State University students rate the effectiveness of working in group projects?

KSU Group Communication

Research Team

Researchers

Lauren AllenDavid EllerVicki FergusonRaymond Huey Josh JohnsonConnie Lane Jinna Marbry

“Individual commitment to a group effort: this is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, and a civilization work.”

Vince Lombardi, former Green Bay Packers Coach

The Research Problem…

Group Projects in College1. A positive experience for students?2. A negative experience for

students?3. Do they help students develop

workforce skills?4. Do employers find them effective?5. Do educators find them effective?

Literature Review

Two Perspectives

1.Business Community2.Academia

SCANS ReportWhat Work Requires of Schools

Commissioned by the U. S. Dept. of Labor in 1991 to perform a 12 month study to examine the demands of the workplace and if our young people are capable of meeting those demands.

SCANS ReportWhat Work Requires of SchoolsFIVE COMPETENCIESEffective workers can

productively use:1.Resources2.Interpersonal Skills3.Information4.Systems5.Technology

SCANS ReportWhat Work Requires of SchoolsTHE FOUNDATION Competence Requires:

1.Basic Skills2.Thinking Skills3.Personal Qualities

Literary Reviews – AcademiaDoyle & Meeker, 2008 – Benedictine University

Peer Evaluation Process• At each stage of project deliverables• At the end of the project• 1,148 peer ratings were collected over nine courses

- 94.2% were considered positive - Overall mean was 9.46 on a Likert scale of one to 10.

Literary Reviews – AcademiaHernandez, 2008 – Rider University – Marketing Course

Team Learning versus traditional learning

• Stimulates student thinking at the application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation levels (Bloom’s Taxonomy)• Student journals reflected positive team

experiences• Emphasizes higher level thinking

Literary Reviews – AcademiaSnyder & McNeil – North Carolina A & T University

Quasi-Experimental Study• Experimental group received pre-instruction

about group dynamics, and the control group did not.• Experimental group responses were

consistently higher than the control group.• Males perceived group work more favorably

than females.

Literary Reviews – AcademiaSu, 2007 – National Pingtung University, Taiwan

Students graded on a contingent grading system consisting of self and peer evaluation had a more positive experience in group projects than those graded with no regard to individual accountability.

Summary of Research

Working in teams ▪ Prepares students for the workforce

environment▪ Stimulates higher levels of thinking▪ Promotes interaction and social skills▪ Fosters individual accountability

Hypothesis

The majority of students have a positive experience working in teams, and cooperative learning is essential in preparing students for the workforce.

The Research Question…

How do Kennesaw State University students rate the effectiveness of working in group/team projects?

RESEARCH METHODS

Study Participants

Research Procedure and Variables

Data Collection- The KSU Focus Group

The Focus Group

KSU RESEARCH DATA RESULTS

Interpretation of the Results - So what do the Research Results mean?

The data collected from 302 students reflects an overall rating of team project effectiveness as follows:

Excellent: 21.4%

Very Good: 52.1%

Good: 5.3%

Poor: 21.1%

While the majority of those students surveyed support the effectiveness of group projects, students who dislike group projects are passionate about it - Comments

Limitations - What might have

stopped us?

The Communication Department (914)

vs. The Whole Student Body

survey

(22,300+)

Recommendations – Where do we go from

here?StronglyAgree

Agree Disagree StronglyDisagree

Group Projects foster individual accountability. 36 154 91 22

Group projects prepare students for the workforce environment. 61 183 50 9

1. The workload is distributed evenly in group projects. 13 69 161 60

3. When participating in a group project, other members typically meet my expectations.

7 146 114 36

I use skills acquired from participation in group projects outside of school.

46 150 84 23

Time constraints on group projects encourage me to work harder. 57 148 81 17

2. It is easy to coordinate meetings for group projects. 13 50 131 109

Group projects are beneficial. 38 144 88 32

Excellent VeryGood

Good Poor

Overall, how would you rate your experience participating in group project assignments?

65 158 16 64

Recommendations – Where do we go from

here?1. Address Student Workload

Distribution Concerns- Universal Template

2. Address Difficulty in Coordinating Group Meeting Times

- Review Campus Facility Usage

Policies- Institute the use of Web

Meeting Technology

3. Address the need for Group Members to Meet Expectations Consistently

- A Project Progression Chart

- A Standard of Evaluation

References

Doyle, J. K., & Meeker, R. D. (2008). Team projects and peer evaluations. College Teaching Methods & Styles Journal, 4(5), 21-28. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from http://www.cluteinstitute-onlinejournals.com/archives/abstract.cfm?ArticleID=1185Hernandez, S.A., (2002). Team learning in a marketing principles course: Cooperative structures that facilitate active learning and higher level thinking. Journal of Marketing Education, 24(1), 73-85. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from http://www.sagepublications.com/cg/content/abstract/24/1/73

Johnson, T.C., (2005). Student roles in team learning. Symposium conducted at the 2005 College Teaching & Learning Conference, Walt Disney World, FL. , Retrieved October 30, 2009 from Communication & Mass Media Complete database.

Kruck, S., & Teer, F. (2009). Interdisciplinary student teams projects: A case study. Journal of Information Systems Education, 20(3), 325-330. Retrieved November 4, 2009 from Research Library. (Document ID: 1870617191).

Miller, Katherine (2009). Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes, Fifth Edition. Texas A & M University: Wadsworth Cengage Learning

References cont.

Roebuck, D. (1998). Using team learning in business and organization communication classes. Business Communication Quarterly, 61(3), 35-49. Retrieved November 4, 2009 from Communication & Mass Media Complete database.

Snyder, L. G., & McNeil, K. R. (2008). Enhancing students' perceptions of collaborative projects through the use of pre-group instruction methods. Research in Higher Education Journal, 1-18, Retrieved October 30, 2009 from http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/08067.pdf

Starke-Meyerring, D., & Andrews, D. (2006). Building a shared virtual learning culture. Business Communication Quarterly, Vol. 69 Issue 1, p25-49. Retrieved November 19, 2009 from Communication and Mass Media Complete Database.

Su, A. (2007). The impact of individual ability, favorable team member scores, and student perception of course importance on student preference of team-based learning and grading methods. Adolescence, 42 (168), 805-26. Retreived November 19, 2009 from Research Library. (Document ID: 1404682881).

U. S. Department of Labor (1991). The secretary’s commission on achieving necessary skills (SCANS Report), What Work Requires of Schools, Retrieved October 30, 2009 from http://wdr.doleta.gov/SCANS/injs/injs.pdf.

Whatley, J.E. (2009). Ground rules in team projects: Findings from a prototype system to support students. Journal of Information Technology Education, 8(1), 161-176. Retrieved November 2, 2009 from http://informingscience.org/jite/documents/Vol8/JITEv8p161-176Whatley714.pdf