TITLE
Impact of Group Assignments on students’ Learning Outcomes
Author:
- Sairaj Raokar
- Anant Mundra
- Rohan Murkeya
- Roshan Ambavale
Introduction: Group assignments have become a common feature in modern educational systems, aimed at fostering collaborative learning and enhancing overall learning outcomes. These assignments encourage students to work together, share knowledge, and develop essential skills such as teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. By engaging in group tasks, students can gain diverse perspectives, which contributes to a deeper understanding of the subject matter. This research explores the impact of group assignments on various learning outcomes, such as subject comprehension, teamwork skills, peer recognition, and the quality of results produced through collaboration.
Objective: This research is to assess the impact of group assignments on students’ learning outcomes. Specifically, it aims to evaluate how group assignments influence subject understanding, teamwork skills, peer interactions, problem-solving abilities, and the overall quality of academic results. The study seeks to provide insights into the benefits and challenges associated with group work, identifying its role in enhancing learning experiences and academic performance.
Literature Review:
I gain improved teamwork skills by collaborating with peers.
Self‐ and peer assessment has proved effective in promoting the development of teamwork and other professional skills in undergraduate students. However, in previous research approximately 30 percent of students reported that its use produced no perceived improvement in their teamwork experience.
Group work leads to higher quality results.
The authors compared the experiences of college students during cooperative learning and large-group instruction. Undergraduate educational psychology students were assigned to small groups to discuss how they could apply important psychological principles to teaching-learning projects.
Data collection: To understand the problem impact of group assignments on learning outcomes, a survey was conducted among ITM students using a Google Form and sample size of 107 students. The following five questions were asked, with responses captured on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5, where:
1 = Strongly Disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Neutral
4 = Agree
5 = Strongly Agree
The questions were:
- I experience enhanced understanding of the subject through group assignments.
- I gain improved teamwork skills by collaborating with peers.
- My contributions in group assignments are valued by my peers.
- Group work leads to higher quality results.
- Working in groups enhances my problem-solving skills.
These questions aim to gather students’ perceptions regarding the effectiveness of group assignments in improving key learning outcomes.
Data analysis: The survey conducted among ITM students provided insights into the impact of group assignments on learning outcomes. The data collected of 107 students was analyzed using descriptive statistics, including mean, standard deviation (SD), standard error (SE), and Z-scores for each question.
The following table summarizes the results:
|
Question |
Mean |
SD |
SE |
Z-Score |
Result |
||
|
Q1: I experience enhanced understanding of the subject through group assignments. |
3.95
|
1.08 |
0.10 |
5.63 |
Agree |
||
|
Q2: I gain improved teamwork skills by collaborating with peers. |
3.90 |
0.97 |
0.09 |
9.56 |
Agree |
||
|
Q3: My contributions in group assignments are valued by my peers. |
3.79 |
0.94 |
0.09 |
8.62 |
Agree |
||
|
Q4: Group work leads to higher quality results. |
3.84 |
1.07 |
0.10 |
8.10 |
Agree |
||
|
3.99 |
1.08 |
0.10 |
9.51 |
Agree |
Interpretation:
- Mean: All questions have a mean value between 3.59 and 3.99, indicating that the majority of students tend to agree with the positive impact of group assignments on learning outcomes. The highest mean is observed for Q5, showing that students believe group work particularly enhances their problem-solving skills.
- Standard Deviation (SD): The SD values range from 0.94 to 1.08, indicating some variability in responses. However, the values are relatively consistent, suggesting that most students have similar views on the given statements.
- Standard Error (SE): The SE values range from 0.09 to 0.10, which are quite low, indicating that the sample mean is a reliable estimate of the population mean.
- Z-Scores: All Z-scores are significantly above 1.96 (the threshold for significance at a 95% confidence level), confirming that the results are statistically significant. The highest Z-score (9.56) is for Q2, suggesting that students particularly acknowledge the improvement in teamwork skills through group assignments.
- Result: All five questions have an overall response of “Agree,” confirming that group assignments positively influence learning outcomes across various dimensions, including subject understanding, teamwork, peer recognition, result quality, and problem-solving skills.
Conclusion: Based on the Z-scores, all questions yielded values greater than 1.96, leading to an overall result of “Agree.” This indicates that students generally agree that group assignments enhance their understanding of the subject, improve teamwork skills, and help them feel valued by their peers. They also agree that group work leads to higher quality results and enhances their problem-solving skills. There were no neutral or disagree responses based on the Z-scores. Overall, the findings suggest a positive impact of group assignments on learning outcomes.
References:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3200/JOER.97.3.123-134
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/10650740911004796/full/html