Perception of Students on Group and Individual Work - Essay Sample

Introduction

Group work and individual work has always been a controversial topic among students in the department of humanities and social sciences at St. George University. The aspect has led to a cohort study concerning the controversy by doing a two-phase study (Burke, 2011). The first phase of the study involved quantitative research that was conducted to find an answer to the research question "does group work offer benefits to students academically more than individual work or vice versa?" The results of this study found out that most students at St. George University who pursue a course relating to the department of humanities and social sciences preferred individual work to group work. In this study, and analysis of the reasons relating to students in the department of humanities and social sciences preferring personal work to group work will be analyzed in respect to the interviews conducted among five students in the same program.

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Analysis of Respondents Who Supported Group Work

Two students from the faculty of sociology and psychology outlined that group work is beneficial for students and teachers concerning the fact that experiences and different views enhance understanding (Taqi & Al-Nouh, 2014). Additionally, the student asserted that the comprehension of course material is typically championed by group discussion. Besides, one of the students outlined that during a debate, a level of self-confidence was defended true the students who portrayed to be eligible to describe the cost concept in a way that sure that they have mastered the cost concept. In that perspective, team spirit promotes comprehension of the course material. Most importantly, team spirit enables students to seek to boost their confidence in the course material by finding private time to study the course material and aspect that they are not understood.

On the other hand, the second respondent mentioned that he "comprehends most during group discussions and working for a grouped task than working as an individual." Besides, the research by Dongyu et al. (2013), also ascertains the fact regarding comprehension during group discussion since it added that "group work promotes a learner's quest to learn more." On the other hand, the same respondent outlined their experiences with individual work. He outlined that "individual work subjects them to discouragement and procrastination of the work to be done. Thus, both respondents contemplated working in groups as a way of promoting comprehension and understanding (Williams & Castro, 2010). According to Dongyu et al. (2013), group work supports comprehension, communication and association skills.

Additionally, the second respondent outlined that "group work has been enhanced by the current improvement in technology that offers a chance for virtual and online chat boots that promote perfection of student's participation during the discussion." He also added that "during group discussions, proper association and improvement of the students' communication and association skills is promoted." In that perspective, group discussion enhances perception, helps association, and in the long run, it increases understanding (Dongyu et al., 2013).

The response of the students in the faculty of psychology and sociology outlined that "comprehension during group work is enhanced since most students outline, they are strengths and weaknesses during a discussion." Similarly, Hassanien (2006) ascertained that group work enables the students who portray to be having challenges in mastering the content to focus on finding a better way to solve academic problems. In that manner, group work is considered to be a better approach that develops a challenging ground for the learners who portrayed to put less effort into their comprehension.

One of the respondents outlined that "group work promotes quick comprehension since when a student does not have a particular know how they get it from a group member." According to Zariski (2016), comprehension of the course material in group work was found out to be promoted by the aspect of brainstorming ideas. In that perspective, the student's outlined that the usually comprehend more when they engage in group work and the element of brainstorming different point-of-use relating to the course concepts. Notably, Hassanien (2006) outlined that group work promotes motivation and encouragement which later encourage participation and development of cognitive, critical thinking, effective communication, and upholding valuable skills.

Analysis of the Respondents who Supported Individualism

On interviewing students in the faculty of sociology and psychology who preferred individual work, I found out several perceptions concerning the relevance of upholding personal action. One of the respondents outlined that "their experience with individual work is related to understanding better and finding time to analyses the concept communicated and relating the ideas to the course material." Arguably, Ualiyeva and Murzalinova (2016) support the idea since it outlines that individual work promotes time-management since a student is usually cautious concerning procrastination and failing to submit their work in time. The second respondent mentioned that "during individual work, procrastination is usually a minimum since each student is responsible for the well-being of their academic work considering the fact that they are supposed to submit their work in time and not to wait for another student possibly the group members to help them out in finding solution to the problems." According to Ualiyeva and Murzalinova (2016), the idea is supported by the fact that with individual work, self-confidence is boosted regarding seeking to receive the best grade.

It was found out that individual work gives the participant freedom of promoting their creative thinking and effectiveness in their work (Theobald et al. 2017). The second respondent ascertained the research finding by outlining that "individual work promotes effective pacesetting which in turn promotes confidence when working on tasks that require an individual to clear their doubts." On the other hand, one of the students outlined that "individual work embraces him to boost an aspect of self-reliance, independence, self-development, and realization of his weaknesses and strengths." According to Taqi and Al-Nouh (2014), individual work enables a student to have ample time to keep on practicing; hence it boosts self-reliance, independence, and self-esteem than group work. Therefore, individual work enhances a better understanding of the course concepts and realization of the weaknesses and strengths relating to the course material. According to Kemp (2013), the idea of the respondent supporting individual work is supported by the concept that the issues of inferiority are mostly avoided by adopting individual working. On the other hand, the idea that individual work enables a student to promote their competitiveness, preventing inferiority complex, and proving the ability to work independently allows them to boost their self-confidence is also supported by the research by Theobald (2017).

On the other hand, one respondent outlined that individual and group work is essential for the growth and development of a student. The respondent described that group work promotes a healthy environment that enhances productive learning and teaching as compared to individual work which mostly focuses on quality and performance. Similarly, the response from the student is supported by the research by Oflaz and Turunc (2012) which outlines that individual work promotes the aspect of the private environment and personal space.

He also mentioned that group work offers a chance for a student to learn teamwork and communication skills. According to Hassanien (2006) and Chang and Brickman (2018), individual work promotes accountability and responsibility which is an aspect that is avoided during group discussions and compiling group work. Contrarily, the respondents mentioned that group work helps cooperation and allows brainstorming which enables the members to solve difficult problems that are beyond the limit of an individual (Kemp, 2013). Nonetheless, group work promotes passive membership which challenges understanding and mastery of the course concepts. In that manner, there may be an individual who will get credit for the work they did not invest in and in the long run, they usually suffer an aspect of lack of mastery of the course content.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are various issues related to students having different viewpoints regarding group work and individualism. The analysis of their response proves that comprehension, understanding, associative skills and the quest to learn with or without engaging with their fellows are the centers of the discussion. Some students outlined that learning in groups boosted their self-esteem while another respondent mentioned that individual work stimulated their quest for self-reliance. Therefore, group and individual work have a diverse effect on students.

References

Burke, A. (2011). Group work: How to use groups effectively. Journal of Effective Teaching, 11(2), 87-95. Retrieved from: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1092109.pdf

Chang, Y., & Brickman, P. (2018). When Group Work Doesn't Work: Insights from Students. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 17(3), ar52. Retrieved from: https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.17-09-0199

Dongyu, Z., Fanyu, B., & Wanyi, D. (2013). Sociocultural theory applied to second language learning: Collaborative learning with reference to the Chinese context. International education studies, 6(9), 165-174. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1068687

Hassanien, A. (2006). Student experience of group work and group assessment in higher education. Journal of teaching in travel & tourism, 6(1), 17-39. Retrieved from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J172v06n01_02?needAccess=true#aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGFuZGZvbmxpbmUuY29tL2RvaS9wZGYvMTAuMTMwMC9KMTcydjA2bjAxXzAyP25lZWRBY2Nlc3M9dHJ1ZUBAQDA=

Kemp, A. T. (2013). Collaboration vs. individualism: What is better for the rising academic? The Qualitative Report, 18(50), 1-8. Retrieved from: http://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1429&context=tqr/

Oflaz, M., & Turunc, T. (2012). The effect of learning styles on group work activities. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46, 1333-1338. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042812014267/pdf?md5=101a4f9c5438882b80a206c92cdce120&pid=1-s2.0-S1877042812014267-main.pdf

Taqi, H. A., & Al-Nouh, N. A. (2014). Effect of Group Work on EFL Students' Attitudes and Learning in Higher Education. Journal of Education and Learning, 3(2), 52-65. Retrieved from: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1076424.pdf

Theobald, E. J., Eddy, S. L., Grunspan, D. Z., Wiggins, B. L., & Crowe, A. J. (2017). Student perception of group dynamics predicts individual performance: Comfort and equity matter. PloS one, 12(7), e0181336. Retrieved from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0181336

Ualiyeva, N. T., & Murzalinova, A. Z. (2016). Organization of Individual Work of Students under Competence-Oriented Approach to Education in Higher School. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 11(14), 6540-6556. Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1116056.pdf

Williams, E. A., & Castro, S. L. (2010). The effects of teamwork on individual learning and perceptions of team performance: A comparison of face-to-face and online project settings. Team Performance Management: An International Journal, 16(3/4), 124-147.

Zariski, A. (2016, January 31st). Positive and negat...