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

1. KSU Group Communication Research Team How do Kennesaw State University students rate the effectiveness of working in group projects?

2. Researchers • Lauren Allen • David Eller • Vicki Ferguson • Raymond Huey • Josh Johnson • Connie Lane • Jinna Marbry

3. “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

4. The Research Problem… Group Projects in College • A positive experience for students? • A negative experience for students? • Do they help students develop workforce skills? • Do employers find them effective? • Do educators find them effective?

5. Literature Review • Two Perspectives • Business Community • Academia

6. 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.

7. SCANS ReportWhat Work Requires of Schools FIVE COMPETENCIES Effective workers can productively use: • Resources • Interpersonal Skills • Information • Systems • Technology

8. SCANS ReportWhat Work Requires of Schools THE FOUNDATION Competence Requires: • Basic Skills • Thinking Skills • Personal Qualities

9. 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.

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

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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

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

15. The Research Question… How do Kennesaw State University students rate the effectiveness of working in group/team projects?

16. RESEARCH METHODS • Study Participants • Research Procedure and Variables • Data Collection • - The KSU Focus Group

17. The Focus Group

18. KSU RESEARCH DATA RESULTS

29. Interpretation of the Results - Sowhat 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

30. Limitations - What might have stopped us? • The Communication Department (914) vs. • The Whole Student Body survey • (22,300+)

31. Recommendations – Where do we go from here?

32. 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

33. 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=1185 • Hernandez, 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

34. 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