STUDENT CONCEPTIONS OF GROUP WORKPamela McKinney p.mckinney@sheffield.ac.uk @ischoolpamChloe Cook: Undergraduate student in the Economics department

Introduction Motivations for the study An Arts Informed visual research

methodology using the Draw-and-Write technique

Selected results Questions

Motivations

MotivationsGroup work does not always go smoothly: Variable levels of commitment Freeloading Personality clashes Enhanced admin & teaching work if groups

encounter problems Often we assess the product of group work

while knowing very little about the process of group work

What conceptions do students have about working in groups?How can we better support students in their group work?

Research questions:

Arts Informed Visual Research Methodology: the draw and write technique

Dr Jenna Hartel, Associate Professor, University of Toronto

The isquare corpus: conceptions of information

http://www.isquares.info

Data Collection Data collected in 2014-15 from students in

the Information School 1 x Undergraduate module and 3 x

Postgraduate modules: 164 isquares collected (12 x UG; 152 x PG)

Students had all experienced group work as part of their Information School course, and may have had prior experiences in other courses/institutions

Large number of international students

SURE: Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience

• SURE scheme funds a 2nd year undergraduate student to work on a research project with an academic for 6 weeks in the summer vacation

• I recruited 2nd year BSc Economic student Chloe Cook

• Chloe made exact replicas of each isquare, undertook compositional, content and thematic analysis. Interviewed students, transcribed & analysed the interviews

Data Analysis Compositional interpretation using

categories defined by Engelhardt (2002) Content Analysis Thematic analysis Theoretical analysis

Motif/Graphic representation Number

Stick figure 82

Arrows 59

Circles 53

Table/Desk 26

Thought/Speech Bubbles 26

Paper/Writing 18

Technology 16

Reading/Books 13

Hands 10

Building/Structure 8

Parts/Puzzles 7

Question Mark 5

Lightbulb 4

Whiteboard 4

Trees 4

Figures around Table/Desk

Use of Laptops/Technology

Multiple information inputs / outputs

Paper/Writing

Hands/holding hands

Question mark

Lightbulb

Buildings/structures

Parts/Puzzles

Circles

Leader role/Hierarchy

The ‘process’/stages of group work

Negativity

Different Cultures/Languages

‘Freeloading’

Positivity

Summary Face-to-face working is an important part group work Students work creatively with various technology and

non-technology based tools and information inputs and outputs

Free-loading and communication problems are significant barriers to effective group working, although students may not be sympathetic to outside commitments

The drawings reveal interesting conceptions of group work i.e. “solving a puzzle” and “building”

Students can view group work as a process, and a set of defined stages

Some students see a need to have a hierarchical group structure with a named leader and specific group roles

Although negative views about groups are expressed, many of the drawings present a reasonably positive view of group work.

Reflections An interesting and quick way to collect

data Prompts students to reflect on their

experiences with group work A way to identify sources of problems in

groups (e.g. language & communication) A way to stimulate discussions about

group work with students

Questions?

References Engelhardt, Y. (2002). The language of graphics: A

framework for the analysis of syntax and meaning in maps, charts and diagrams. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Institute for Logic, Language and Computation, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Hartel (2014) An arts-informed study of information using the draw-and-write technique. Journal of the Association for Information Science & technology 65 (7)

Weber, S., & Mitchell, C.A. (1995). That’s Funny You Don’t Look Like a Teacher: Interrogating Images and Identity in Popular Culture. Routledge: London.