Undergraduate management students' perceptions of what makes a successful virtual group
Abstract
Purpose - There are a number of factors that are essential to understanding the pedagogy, learning and knowledge requirements of developing virtual platforms for delivering effective course interaction using the World Wide Web (the web). The purpose of this paper is to focus on web-based group work amongst undergraduate management students, during a two-year study investigating the development of virtual groups as an important problem-solving and learning-enhancement process. Design/methodology/approach - This study is based on the identification of successful groups undertaking undergraduate management courses, where group ...
View more >Purpose - There are a number of factors that are essential to understanding the pedagogy, learning and knowledge requirements of developing virtual platforms for delivering effective course interaction using the World Wide Web (the web). The purpose of this paper is to focus on web-based group work amongst undergraduate management students, during a two-year study investigating the development of virtual groups as an important problem-solving and learning-enhancement process. Design/methodology/approach - This study is based on the identification of successful groups undertaking undergraduate management courses, where group work is a compulsory component of the course assessment. Focus groups are used to collect a broad qualitative understanding of perceptions of students in relation to success factors. Lexical analysis is then used to analyse data. Findings - Lexical analysis provides four clear clusters that the subjects consider are essential to group learning and performance. The outcomes of the findings link directly back to the design of learning activities and the future direction of the research. Originality/value - Value is created as it advances use of the web from one of information dissemination to one of engagement and learning enhancement. Keywords Internet, Undergraduates, Group work, Virtual groups, Focus groups, Virtual learning environment, Lexical analysis, Learning enhancement, Management education, Virtual learning Paper type Research paper
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View more >Purpose - There are a number of factors that are essential to understanding the pedagogy, learning and knowledge requirements of developing virtual platforms for delivering effective course interaction using the World Wide Web (the web). The purpose of this paper is to focus on web-based group work amongst undergraduate management students, during a two-year study investigating the development of virtual groups as an important problem-solving and learning-enhancement process. Design/methodology/approach - This study is based on the identification of successful groups undertaking undergraduate management courses, where group work is a compulsory component of the course assessment. Focus groups are used to collect a broad qualitative understanding of perceptions of students in relation to success factors. Lexical analysis is then used to analyse data. Findings - Lexical analysis provides four clear clusters that the subjects consider are essential to group learning and performance. The outcomes of the findings link directly back to the design of learning activities and the future direction of the research. Originality/value - Value is created as it advances use of the web from one of information dissemination to one of engagement and learning enhancement. Keywords Internet, Undergraduates, Group work, Virtual groups, Focus groups, Virtual learning environment, Lexical analysis, Learning enhancement, Management education, Virtual learning Paper type Research paper
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Journal Title
Education + Training
Volume
54
Issue
2/3
Copyright Statement
© 2012 Emerald. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Education
Commerce, management, tourism and services
Business systems in context not elsewhere classified