Group work within your module can be effective for learning for a number of reasons, as well as being relevant to the majority of workplaces that your students will be moving on to.
Productive Learning
Group working can make studying a lot more efficient for the learners as they are able to split tasks between themselves and create more outcomes than they normally would. Giving students the opportunity to network with others to come up with ideas and solutions, as well as enabling them to see problems from different perspectives is a skill that will be transferrable to other situations. Group working also gives students a chance to work independently, without the input from a tutor, and choose the direction of their project.
Skill Development
A number of different skills can be developed during a group working exercise such as communication, cooperation and organisation. These are all skills that are vital for the workplace and are something that are highly valued by employers. It is important that all students are prepared with a toolkit of skills when they move into employment following education.
Social Groups
A group working activity can be a great opportunity for your students to get to know one another better. It can encourage them to break away from their usual group of friends that they work with and get to know the class as a whole. Again, this is vital for the workplace as your students will be working with a range of different people that they may not be used to working with. This can also help to build confidence in some of the shyer members of the classroom, which may encourage them to speak out in future classes!
Group Working Whilst Hybrid Learning
Although we are currently working and teaching in a Hybrid Learning format, group work can still be successful. The following blog posts describe how to carry out group work both online and in a socially distanced classroom environment:
https://blogs.tees.ac.uk/lteonline/2020/04/03/designing-problem-based-learning/
https://blogs.tees.ac.uk/lteonline/2020/10/09/groupwork-socially-distanced-classroom/
If you need any further support, please contact eLearning@tees.ac.uk