All Ireland Society for Higher Education
| Name: | Ann Lahiff |
|---|---|
| Email: | a.lahiff@ioe.ac.uk |
| Institution: | Institute of Education, University of London |
The extent to which learning and teaching practices impact upon the student experience is the subject of much debate - never more so than in a climate where Higher Education Institutions have a felt need to adapt to larger and more diverse groups of students.
Task-based group work is often selected by course teams and lecturers as it is seen as a learning and teaching strategy particularly well suited to meeting the needs of large and more diverse groups of learners. Meanwhile, students may not be particularly positively disposed to learning and being assessed as part of a group.
This paper reports on findings from a study into the experiences of 47 first year BA (Hons) Combined Studies students on a core 'Education Studies' module in a UK University. The broad research question framing the study asked : What are students' views of the processes of learning in task-based groups for assessment purposes? The paper presents students' views of the process and offers an analysis of the student experience in task-based groups.
The findings foreground the importance of the affective components of learning - particularly issues of trust and fear - highlighted by Savin-Baden (2000) in her discussion of the development of learner identity. Findings also confirm the pro-activity required of tutors in facilitating and justifying this process of learning and assessment to students.
Drawing upon findings from the study and from other research into the student experience of task-based groups, the paper discusses the strength of the arguments in favour of the adoption of task-based group work in the context of larger and more diverse groups of learners.
References
Savin-Baden, M (2000) Problem-based learning in Higher Education : Untold Stories, Buckingham, SHRE/OUP