McKinney, P.A. orcid.org/0000-0002-0227-3534 and Sen, B.A. (2016) The use of technology in group-work: a Situational Analysis of students’ reflective writing. Education for Information, 32 (4). pp. 375-396. ISSN 1875-8649
Abstract
Group work is a powerful constructivist pedagogy for facilitating students’ personal and professional development, but it can be difficult for students to work together in an academic context. The assessed reflective writings of undergraduate students studying Information Management are used as data in this exploration of the group work situation and what matters to students in terms of ensuring success. Situational Analysis provides the methodological framework and a number of mapping techniques are used to interrogate the data. Students reflect on the importance of communication for group work and identify the convivial tools they use when arranging meetings, working collaboratively and producing outputs. Students valued the instant communication facilitated by smart phones, but despite the immediacy of electronic communication, face-to-face meetings are still highly valued. Silences in the data reveal the lack of engagement with the Virtual Learning Environment as a tool for group collaboration. Implications for educators in supporting group work are identified.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 IOS Press. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Education for Information. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Group-work; collaboration; Situational Analysis; technology; Inquiry-based learning |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Information School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 11 Jul 2016 13:54 |
Last Modified: | 01 Jul 2017 18:44 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.3233/EFI-160983 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | IOS Press |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3233/EFI-160983 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:102286 |