How to support student collaboration during online distance study

By Poppy Gibson, Sagun Shrestha, Helena Staszkiewicz

Have you ever studied online? Online learning is becoming more prevalent, a trend accelerated by COVID-19, and often this learning is shared by students who are living geographically disparate and are likely to never meet. Many of us may have studied anything from short courses to entire degrees online, and the support for these varies between courses and institutions. But what part should peers play in online study? This article shares reflections upon a short research Praxis study by three researchers who explored adult student interactions when studying a degree online, and the findings from the student interviews.

Online education places an increasing emphasis on collaborative activities.

So why do tutors incorporate group work into online study? These group activities may take the form of a forum discussion, preparing a group PowerPoint presentation, or writing a shared essay or debate to be submitted. Collaborative activities develop the ability to work as part of a team; this is seen as an important skill in the workplace (Hilliard et al, 2020), and often the hope is that navigating these group dynamics can be a useful tool to take forward into other settings.
Collaborative learning also leads to active learning (Hilliard et al, 2020) as it encourages students to share and critically reflect on their thinking, whilst considering the perspectives of the other group members. Collaborative learning aligns with constructivist and social constructivist theories of education, where peers can help scaffold and deepen learning, too.

Emotions and online group work

Collaborative group work can provoke a range of emotions – both positive and negative. This can affect participation and engagement. The online context presents unique challenges, as it is difficult to read emotions due to asynchronous communication, lack of non-verbal cues, etc.

Research findings

So what did this recent project reveal? Funded by Praxis at the Open University, this project explored the experiences of six adult students when collaborating online. Through an interpretative lens, this research project used thematic analysis to draw out perceived barriers and challenges that students felt when collaborating online with various tools.

The key positives of online group working that emerged from the data are:
Students found forum discussions an easy way to build on what others had said in a way that encourages thoughtful interaction.
The chance to meet someone new and learn from them.
The development of empathy and understanding from hearing other students’ experiences.

Issues around collaborative activities that emerged from the data are:
Lack of participation from some members.
Difficulty in establishing communication.
Taking time to decide which tool or platform to use.

The researchers suggest that tutors can help to support distance learners if collaborative work is set, through these strategies:
1. Longer planning in collaborative activities; give students more time for group tasks than independent tasks to factor in the necessary time for the initial communications to happen before the work can begin.
2. The findings suggest students prefer being instructed on which tool or platform to use, rather than having a choice, as this creates another group decision to navigate.
3. Where possible, tutors should give structured guidance and steps as to how the group may want to approach the project, such as ideal deadlines for which different parts of the activity should be completed, which can help things run more smoothly.


References

Hilliard, J., Kear, K., Donelan, H., & Heaney, C. (2020). Students’ experiences of anxiety in an assessed, online, collaborative project. Computers & Education, 143, 103675.

The author

Poppy Gibson

Poppy currently leads the innovate Blended Accelerated BA Hons in Primary Education Studies at ARU (Anglia Ruskin University), Essex. Poppy is a senior lecturer in education, and recently graduated with merit on the Masters in Mental Health Science (MSc). Poppy is also a qualified Inside-Out Prison Educator. Poppy previously worked for 4 years as a Senior Lecturer in Primary Education, and Course Lead of the 2-year accelerated Primary Education degree, at the University of Greenwich, moving into Higher Education after over a decade working in London primary schools. Poppy’s primary research interests revolve around mental health and wellbeing, but Poppy also has a passion for edtech in helping students achieve.