A Qualitative Student Evaluation of Group Learning in Higher Education

Abstract The importance of group learning has increased significantly in higher education in the past two decades (Houldsworth and Mathews, 2000 Houldsworth, C. and Mathews, B. P. 2000. "Teaching Group Process Skills to MBA Students: A Short Workshop". Education + Training, 42(1): 40–53. Crossref , Google Scholar). The primary focus of this study is to explore the feelings and experience of students regarding group work and group assessment in higher education. The study is exploratory based on a qualitative focus group approach. Interestingly, students felt that group work is a significant method to foster the development of critical thinking through discussion, clarification of ideas, and evaluation of others' ideas. Students consider "poor communication" and "poor attendance at group meetings" as the main challenges they face when working within a group. Also, students identified "dedicated assignment seminars" as the most effective tool, which could be used to enhance the effectiveness of group work. This study reinforces the findings of previous research into group work suggesting that the experience is a generally positive one for students. Results are discussed in the context of current theoretical and empirical work on group‐based learning, education implications and areas for further research are discussed.