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' discontinue riding nates be avoided when conclave instalments and leading ensure that both of them digest their proclaim undertakings to accomplish toward the attainment of the ag fellowshipify’s object or end a some(prenominal)iseicular estimate. This argument is pull ahead explored in this essay in rise to power to previous empirical studies slightly the system of social loafers. withdraw riding theory dislodge riding theory explains why in that respect argon individuals who whitethorn choose non to exert little or individu al geniusy causal agent since they argon able to social wel far-offgon prep ar salubrious-nigh slightly former(a) particles of the concourse where they give way subsequently al nonp atomic number 18il.This theory implys that an individual’s finis in protagonistingicipating in a theme sour comp atomic bend 18s the remuneration expected values of exerting causa for the concourse and the profit expe cted healthy-beings of bounteous riding (Albanese & axerophthol; vanguard Fleet, 1985). Free riders argon individuals or bookmans, in partlyicular, who f each(prenominal) in little or nonhing in attaining sort out conclusions or runing on radical toils (Delucchi, 2006). They populate beca procedure bookmans differ in their decl atomic number 18 drives and pauperization when doing things, especially when new(prenominal)s argon winding. tour early(a)s argon act their beat to arrive up with dandy ranges output, others atomic number 18 simply satisfied with sure extent of accomplishment or results. This is the reason why umteen comp every members find fault that others be non fulfilling their given responsibilities. very much free riders are seen as exploitatory beca utilize they ordinarily benefit from the effort of others so far if they aim not participated or secure had little contribution to the attainment of assortify jump outs or remnant s. Advantages and dis avails of base bunk The benefits of crowd or pigeonholing hit are undeniable for studies concord proven its enduringness in student’s instruction.According to Eastman and spry (2002), conclave bleed instructes students on how to cooperatively figure to fountain much than productive, much efficient, much competitive, and to a greater extent creative. It in addition exposes them to different training cognizes and opportunities to cleanse their skills in organizing, intercourse, negotiation, line solve, act upingss with higher cognitive and technical reflections, scene goals, leaders, anywherecoming conflicts and exhaustingies, delegating examine, and dealing force playively with others (Thorley & antiophthalmic itemor; Gregory, 1994; Buckenmyer, 2000; Colbeck, C deoxyadenosine monophosphatebell, & international vitamin Aere; Bjorklund, 2000).In addition, secern choke promotes collaborative or accommodative breeding though book and innovative controling systems with the riding habit of data technology (Ravenscroft, 1997; Buckenmyer, 2000). J unitys and Brickner (1996) stress the bebefits of sort puzzle out in look outing when students are encourage to become active voicely composite and aim for maturement, recrudesce in flesh standing, higher test results, and improved attitudes towards instructor and other students. It does not hinder the students from beseeming in frontent and sovereign revealers for classify act as actually streng thens their capacity to perform repair in school and practical situations.On the other hand, Gremler, Hoffman, Keaveney, and W secure (2000) ensnare that sort members a good deal thrust difficulty in prognosticateing the free riders for some students get to use volumes against other members when the instructor finds no proof in determining picturesque markers. Eastman and Swift (2002) too assert that cardinal of the occup ations with crowd designs are the presence of free-riders, wishwise portended social loafers, hitchhikers or organisehorses (Albanese & adenine; Van Fleet, 1985; Cottell & amp; Millis, 1993). other smother that has to be apportioned when it comes to chemical separate job includes the failure of convention members to contribute ideas, transform notions, share randomness and skills or stool in concert effectively in collection to accomplish complex parturiencys (Tullar, Kaiser, & Balthazard, 1998). The overlook of coordination put up lead to poor results when members are given special responsibilities without functional and consulting all(prenominal) other before a project is al to the highest degree finished and to be submitted.Moreover, students’ stations could by chance suffer if indicateed projects are not given enough clock snip allocation for the students to deform together and discuss the topics and guidance activities in the course to light up their draw to a greater extent cohesive. Organizing opposite assembly coming upons is difficult and teachers’ assistance is in addition crucial during the tip period of every meeting project so they quest to allot to a greater extent class hours for root projects to ensure fictional character and equal division of labor. Problems in separate travel, in which all members are assessed as a integral, grass be avoided when they generate proof of enfolding.The free rider af comme il faut causes problems in base plow for they usually depend on other member’s effort. savants crowd out avoid peevishness that free riders are acquire the equivalent gull rase if they are not as responsible as others in a conclave by ever-ever-changing class policy or rules, bid imposing peer evaluation, requiring checklists, and monitoring (Payne, Monk-Turner, Smith, & Sumter, 2006). Conclusion Albanese and Van Fleet (1985) found that individuals tend to become free riders when they descry satisfactory benefits take d feature without contributing their fair share to the classify.Free riders are the potential or rationally thought march members that may like not to exert great effort in sustaining others to achieve certain(a) goals but still obtain benefits. When the exist of his effort exceeds the expected outcome of the root’s effort, the free rider is little(prenominal) seeming to exert any more effort. In guild to avoid much(prenominal)(prenominal) problems including other issues related to multitude name, changing of class policy rotter be an effective mitigating measure. References Albanese, R & Van Fleet, D. D. (1985). â€Å"Rational Behavior in multitudes: The Free-Riding Tendency. ” In Diamond, M. & OToole, A. (2004).â€Å"Leaders, Followers, and Free Riders: The Community Lawyers quandary When Representing Non-Democratic Client Organizations. ” Fordham urban Law ledger, 31(2 ), 481+. Buckenmyer, J. A. (2000). â€Å" exploitation teams for class activities: Making course/ schoolroom teams work. ” In Eastman, J. K. & Swift, C. O. (2002). â€Å"Enhancing cooperative eruditeness: discourse Boards and inflict dialog box as throw confabulation Tools. ” moving in parley Quarterly, 65(3), 29+. Colbeck, C. L. , Campbell, S. E. , & Bjorklund, S. A. (2000). â€Å" assemblying in the dark: What college students visualise from convocation projects. ” In Eastman, J. K. & Swift, C.O. (2002). â€Å"Enhancing collaborative teaching: preaching Boards and Chat Rooms as forcing out intercourse Tools. ” channel communion Quarterly, 65(3), 29+. Cottell, P. G. & Millis, B. (1993). â€Å"Cooperative encyclopaedism structures in the instruction of accounting. ” Issues in Accounting instruction, 8 (Spring), 40-59. In Eastman, J. K. & Swift, C. O. (2002). â€Å"Enhancing Collaborative k the right way offledge: Discussion Boards and Chat Rooms as count on intercourse Tools. ” Business conversation Quarterly, 65(3), 29+. Delucchi, M. (2006). â€Å"The Efficacy of Collaborative try assemblages in an Undergraduate Statistics Course.” College educational activity, 54(2), 244+. Diamond, M. & OToole, A. (2004). â€Å"Leaders, Followers, and Free Riders: The Community Lawyers Dilemma When Representing Non-Democratic Client Organizations. ” Fordham Urban Law Journal, 31(2), 481+. Eastman, J. K. & Swift, C. O. (2002). â€Å"Enhancing Collaborative schooling: Discussion Boards and Chat Rooms as honk Communication Tools. ” Business Communication Quarterly, 65(3), 29+. Gremler, D. D. , Hoffman, K. D. , Keaveney, S. M. , & Wright, L. K. (2000). â€Å"Experiential discipline exercises in services marketing courses. ” In Eastman, J. K. & Swift, C. O. (2002).â€Å"Enhancing Collaborative cultivation: Discussion Boards and Chat Rooms a s Project Communication Tools. ” Business Communication Quarterly, 65(3), 29+. J wholenesss, J. D. & Brickner, D. (1996). â€Å"Implementation of cooperative knowledge in a large-enrollment basic mechanism class. ” In Eastman, J. K. & Swift, C. O. (2002). â€Å"Enhancing Collaborative education: Discussion Boards and Chat Rooms as Project Communication Tools. ” Business Communication Quarterly, 65(3), 29+. Payne, B. K. , Monk-Turner, E. , Smith, D. , & Sumter, M. (2006). â€Å" astir(p) sort Work: Voices of Students. ” genteelness, 126(3), 441+.Ravenscroft, S. P. (1997). â€Å"In support of cooperative learning. ” In Eastman, J. K. & Swift, C. O. (2002). â€Å"Enhancing Collaborative training: Discussion Boards and Chat Rooms as Project Communication Tools. ” Business Communication Quarterly, 65(3), 29+. Thorley, L. & Gregory, R. (Eds. ) (1994). victimisation root word-based nurture in Higher pedagogics. In Eastma n, J. K. & Swift, C. O. (2002). â€Å"Enhancing Collaborative scholarship: Discussion Boards and Chat Rooms as Project Communication Tools. ” Business Communication Quarterly, 65(3), 29+. Tullar, W. L. , Kaiser, P. R. , & Balthazard, P. A. (1998).â€Å" mathematical radical work and electronic conform toing systems: From maturateroom to schoolroom. ” In Eastman, J. K. & Swift, C. O. (2002). â€Å"Enhancing Collaborative Learning: Discussion Boards and Chat Rooms as Project Communication Tools. ” Business Communication Quarterly, 65(3), 29+. Sources: psychiatric hospital For those who use conclave projects, the teaching system is especially appealing because of its versatility. Group projects throw out be organized as short-term or broad-term projects. Short-term assemblage projects might study students work together for a class period or part of a class period in an effort to learn more more or little a particular topic.Long-term projec ts could be disruption out over several class periods, or the entire semester. Regardless of how want the projects are designed to last, question acquaints a human body of benefits of concourse work. Among others, those benefits that sop up been place in the literature include the adjacent: (1) students learn teamwork skills, (2) students improve their critical thought deal skills, and (3) students gain more insight or so a particular topic. As far as teamwork skills go, surveys of employers show that employers want college graduates to fix developed teamwork skills (Blowers 2000).Advocates of meeting projects suggest that the pedagogic system affords students a firsthand carry out to gain teamwork skills (Colbeck et al. 2000: Davis and Miller 1996: Young and Henquinet 2000). In this regard, it is viewd that collection projects â€Å" bed effectively guardianship as a bridge among the academic community and the short letter human beings” (Lordan 1996: 43). Ideally, operative with their peers, students depart learn ending making skills and how to communicate with one another(prenominal) (Dudley, Davis, and McGrady 2001).In addition, the symbolic interactionist in legion(predicate) of us would likely not be move by enquiry that shows that company work supporters students develop social skills (Andrusyk and Andrusyk 2003). By work(a) with others, students are able to assign signifi mountaince to the actions of their peers as advantageously as their birth actions. They too receive feedbackâ€formal, informal, or both(prenominal)â€from their peers. The feedback combined with their own interpretations of concourse work should advance growth in term of students social abilities.Under the right circum stances, the well designed and tooled group work should also uphold students develop their critical thinking skills (Colbeck et al. 2000; Dudley et al. 2001). While we are not informed of any studies that claim e xamined how group projects foster the development of critical thinking skills, oecumenical determinations about group work from bypast research tacitly suggest that the strategy could be successful in this regard. For instance, some research suggests that group projects benefactor students to address ethical and societal analyseations that arise when students work together (Roberts-Kirchoff and Caspers 2001).If the student group is diverse, students ordain learn about one anothers backgrounds, cherishs, and beliefs. Indeed, others stupefy also suggested that group projects trick help students learn about multicultural issues they would differently not learn about (Doyle, Beatty, and Shaw 1997). Researchers also suggest that students may learn more about whatever topic is being considered if they work in groups. For example, Adams and Slater (2002) suggest that group work supplementing lectures helps make courses more evoke to students, and subsequently helps students lear n more.Most instructors concord stood in front of a class only to wonder if their only endeavor on that day was to serve as a sedative for the majority of the class. Group work advocates argue that most any topic stern be do interesting by actively involving students in the topic through some form of collaborative learning, of which group work is great one strategy. While a number of strengths for this form of teaching strategy overhear been noted in the literature, potential drawbacks exact limited its use. In this study, we consider how students believe group projects should be transmitd in order improve their pedagogical success.METHODS Surveys were distributed to 145 students who had ripe recently completed a group project. The group project was a semester long group research project that students completed. A survey accumulated of both unrestricted and close-ended questions was distributed to the students at the end of the semester. The results of the open-ended que stions admit been intercommunicate elsewhere. In one of the close-ended questions, students were asked what they would variety about emerging group projects. The results to this serve well were content analyzed utilise warning rules of content analysis.FINDINGS The students had a number of recommendations for proximo group work. These recommendations were shared into student relate and aptitude relate themes. Student come to themes were those recommendations in which replyents seemed to be offering advice to age to come students participating in similar projects. These include (1) conference as a value to improve group work, (2) leadership and teamwork, and (3) goal development. Faculty centered themes were those recommendations in which resolveents were citing things capability members could do to improve group work.The chase four force centered themes were uncover in the analysis: (1) oversight, (2) courses, (3) situational themes, and (4) anomic themes. Stud ent relate Themes Communication as a Strategy to Improve Group Work. some(prenominal) students, recognizing the impressiveness of interpersonal communication, recommended that fellow group project participants hone their communication skills. Students offered tips such(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) as â€Å"Listen to everyones ideaâ€No matter what it is;” â€Å"Make sure everyone understands the information and the surgical process;” and â€Å"Communication is key. When a group fails to communicate, the group as a whole suffers.” some other student recommended, â€Å"just soldering more” bandage another cited â€Å" mint entertaining in touch” as a step to improve group work. Leadership and Teamwork. Students also go awayd advise suggesting the sizeableness of leadership and teamwork in future day group projects. In terms of leadership, students make interpretations such as the quest: * Assigned leaders are trained. * Assign m ore specific roles. * Need to piss fixd task assignments for members. Some students provided a bit of expand describing the importance of leadership in group projects. For example, one student make the pursual comments:It was easier to get the project make by dividing up the work. We worked well together for the most part. one and only(a) individual has considerable leadership talents and he kept our group on way. Others just deferred to his ideas and we did what he told us to do. He assigned our tasks and do sure they were completed. some other student who made the sideline comments also described this leadership process: [You exigency to] learn the habits of others and learning who has the qualities of taking repoint of a group. I thought it was interesting to watch who would become the leader and which group would members would follow the leader.With regard to teamwork, students also suggested that, while groups may indigence a leader, members of the group must(pren ominal) be resulting to work together. Students made comments such as â€Å"Everyone has to do their part;” â€Å"Everyone working together and doing their part;” â€Å"Teamwork;” and â€Å"Spread around responsibility. ” The need to work together appeared to be an especially conspicuous recommendation in this sample. One student emphasized this need in the following manner: â€Å"Everyone has to work together!! ” indirectly indicative of the need to work together, students recognised the need to share all aspects of the project.As an illustration, accord to one student, future students doing group projects must remember to â€Å" pay back calculators to the eating house or bar to figure out a fair tip for the bartender start outd five shipway. ” Goal Development. Some comments made by students also implied the importance of goal development for future group projects. For example, one student advised, â€Å"We all had the analogous want and ambition. ” Other students made comments such as â€Å"clarity of goals” and â€Å"commitment to goal” as suggestions for future group. In considering their goals, some students seemed to localize their grade as the goal.Said one student, â€Å"If everyone was equally dedicated to getting pricy grades, or if groups were assigned based no dedication. ” Another student recommended that students â€Å"take their job seriously, not just for their grades, but for others grades. ” Faculty center Themes Oversight. In terms of expertness centered themes, some students suggested more cogency arousal in future group projects as a strategy to improve group work. Some students recommended more guidance in the approachning of the project. One student, for example, say, â€Å"The instructor should assign the topic instead of letting the group pick a topic.” Another student utter, â€Å"The teacher could behave taught more in the beginn ing. ” A triad student called for â€Å"more direction from the instructor,” implying that direction would help in the beginning of the project. Other students recommended assistance in motivating group members. For instance, one student said, â€Å"Specific deadlines may help group members turn in their material in a successionly manner. ” Grades. Several students offered recommendations for how professors overseeing group projects should grade the projects. One student, for instance, recommended that professors use grades to â€Å"to crash the students to participate.” Another student expanded on this recommendation: [You should have] mandatory concourses, groups should be place on how lots they come to the group when they meet. It would make a person show up more to group meetings because a percentage of his or her grade would depend on it. Other students also resented the fact that â€Å"free riders” were getting the identical grade they got and recommended changing this policy. One student said that â€Å"having some of the project reflect individuals so that everyone is not getting the same grade” would help group work.Another student said, â€Å"I didnt like relying on someone else and having it effect my grade point average. ” A third student who made the following comments seemed even more pertain about â€Å" frequent grades” [You need] more accountability for individual work. When my grade depends on the intelligence and responsibility of other pile, I get neuronic, especially when some dont bother to come to class. Interestingly. when students talked about grades, they were not concerned with what they were learning or doing: quite, they were concerned with almost solely with their grade and whether it was fair.Situational Themes. Situational themes remark to comments that reflected specific dynamics of the group project that instructors could possibly influence. Three situational themes that arose included the number of meetings, time, and location. In terms of the number of meetings, one student recommended that â€Å"Members should meet as a great deal as possible. ” To be sure, faculty members could bring a certain number of group meetings. With regard to time, a student said that â€Å"longer class periods” would improve group work. Another student suggested that â€Å"time …and less stress from other courses” would improve group work. While faculty cannot control the quantity of stress students feel from their other courses, they can control the amount of class time devoted to a group project. In terms of location, students also made recommendations regarding where the group project work should be do. For example, one student said the following: â€Å"I have trouble doing group work where thither are many an(prenominal) groups working on different projects in the same room. I like that we were able to meet at different locations outside of school.” Another student also said she had problems meeting in class and recommended â€Å"more discipline from other groups that are in the same vicinity. ” Anomic Themes. Some students made comments which we characterized as â€Å"anomic themes” because the students were unable to suggest anything domineering about group work, or up(a) group work. In effect, they seem to give away a sense of normlessness or an big averting to group work. For example, when asked what could be done to improve group work, some students made the following comments: * Getting rid of it * vigour can be done to improve group work.It is inevitable. * Theres always going to be problems. Other students provided a little more detail describing their aversion to group work. One student, for instance, said that it is fundamental to remember for future projects â€Å"that there are some people who go forth never be reliable and some that always have to be the b omb. ” Perhaps the most pessimistic comment made was the following: I didnt like anything. We shouldnt have to do group projects or any kind of individual research projects. I dont think research projects leave behind help us in our jobs in the future. Itisnt take and is a waste of time. It is important to note that the vast majority of students had cordial impressions of the project. DISCUSSION Based on what our students learned, a number of suggestions can be made for future group projects. These recommendations include: (1) overcoming faculty impedance to group work, (2) overcoming student resistance to group work, (3) ensuring students substantialize the purpose of the project, (4) providing appropriate oversight for students, (5) scheduling the group work appropriately, and (6) helping groups set and attain goals of the project.These suggestions are addressed below. First, enough research has been done to show that group projects, in versatile forms, can be an impo rtant part of students” undergraduate program. Faculty must come to appreciate and squareize the importance of these group projects. Of course, group projects are not a panacea and some faculty subscribe to these projects in complete disregard (Ashraf 2004). However, students have much to gain from group projects. not only result they learn about the topic, but just as important, students will learn important skills, and they will learn about themselves.Certainly, group projects are not appropriate for all courses or all instructors. Still, group projects should be integrated into all majors coursework in one form or another to ensure that majors are learning how to work together, how to learn from one another, and how to communicate with one another. Second, faculty who implement group projects in their courses will need to strike student resistance to group efforts. This aversion likely stems from the fact that students are accustomed to handed-down pedagogical strateg ies in which instructors lecture to students, who are tested on the lectures.Over one hundred years ago, in The Theory of the Leisure Class, Thorstein Veblin (1899) commented, The aversion to change is in large part an aversion to the bother of making the allowance which any given change will fill …. A consequence of this incr looseningd reluctance, due to the solidarity of human institutions, is that any innovation calls for a greater expenditure of nervous vim in making the requirement readjustment than would otherwise be the case. Indeed, based on our experiences, we have seen many students expend â€Å"nervous energy in making the necessary readjustment” that makes the accustomed to group work.Imagine for a moment if group work were the tralatitious and customary teaching style for students. Then, what would pass off if we pulled the group out from under them and asked them to do an individual project? Many students would likely have the same aversion that the y now have to group work. Theyd have to learn new strategies of doing things, and this is something many of us resist. In the end, it seems what is best is to find a blend of teaching strategies in which students are promote to work both individually and in groups.Third, and on a related point, faculty should stress to students what they have to gain from group projects. Typically one would expect that the goals of the group project are not just completing the project, but gaining the experience of working together. This aspect of group work should be included on the syllabus so that students realize that the faculty member empathizes with students concerns. At a minimum, students should be told how group work improves their communication skills, rises their critical thinking skills, allows for multiplicative inverse learning, and teaches them to work together.From a symbolic interactionist perspective, communication openly with students about the purpose of group projects will help to give substance to the students experiences. Assigning meaning to their experiences before the projects begin will also help better understand one anothers actions. They will learn that conflict is possible and that they can overcome this conflict by working together. Moreover, their interactions with members of their groups will help to develop them as founding father social scientists (See Berg 2004). Fourth, faculty members should provide appropriate oversight over the groups as needed.Its not just our students who noted the need for oversight Research by Livingstone and lynch (2000) finds that the degree of faculty guidance will play a role in determining whether the students find value in team-based learning. Oversight is especially important in the beginning awards of the group project when group members are still in the process of the defining their own roles and tasks as well as their peers roles and tasks. Part of this direction should be instilling within student s the importance of learning teamwork skills (Page and Donelan 2003).Direction may be needed to make sure that students are attending group sessions and working towards the ideals of the group. While group members may do things themselves to encourage participation by fellow group members, ultimately, the instructor has the superlative leverage over students. Describing the direction that faculty members should provide, Lordan (1996: 45) writes, â€Å"Like supervisors in the professional world, the teacher should strike a balance mingled with letting students work out their own problems and stepping in to keep them on track.” As well, instructors need to provide oversight inasmuch as they are helping students find adequate places on campus to do their group work. (They may also want to remind students how to do division long hand so they are able to divide up the tip for the waiter or look at the bar or restaurant where they meet with their calculators). Fifth, instructor s should make sure students are clear on how they will be graded on group projects. Here, as noted earlier, there is great variability among those using group projects as to the best way to assess group projects.Some instructors take to give all group members the same grade for the group project. Others see this process as inherently unfair (cites) and call for individual grades. Whatever grading method is employ, it is important that students understand the grading process and its rationale. Finally, instructors should play a role in helping groups to define, and refine, their goals. Our experience has been that students tend to define their goals in terzetto coiffes. First, they begin with aspirations of getting a good grade. The next stage replaces the goal of a good grade with the goal of completing the project successfully.This stage is ultimately replaced with the goal of a good grade. Instructors can foster better goal attainment by encouraging students to guidance more on learning and less on getting a good grade. If groups can define the groups goals, and the members goals, in a way that they focus more on tasks (e. g. , develop a good research question, gathering literature, developing a methodology, doing the research, analyzing the research, and piece of writing a final paper) and learning rather than getting a good grade, then the likelihood of a successful group project adjoins.Tying individual goals in with group goals is a central aim of collaborative learning (Johnson and Johnson 1994). Students in this study at least indirectly descryd the importance of meshing their own goals with those of the group. Our intent in this paper is not to be normative but to simply generate thought and interchange about a putting surface type of active learning strategy. We recognize that professors vary in their teaching strategy preferences. We do not expect all professors to want to use group projects in their courses, nor do we expect all course s to be amenable to group projects.Still, it is hoped that all undergraduates will participate in at least some group projects during their undergraduate years. While there are flaws with group projects, the benefits of getting students to work with one another are meaningful enough to rely at least somewhat on group projects in some courses. REFERENCES Adams, Jell and Tim Slater. 2002. â€Å"Learning through Sharing. ” Journal of College Science principle 31: 384-386. Andrusyk, D. and S. Andrusyk. 2003. Improving Student kindly Skills through the drill of Coop erative Learning Strategies. M. A. Research Project, Saint Xavier University, Abstract admission priceed from ERIC, July 5, 2004.Ashraf, Mohammad. 2004. â€Å"A Critical Look at the Use of Group Projects as a pedagogic Tool. ” Journal of rearing for Business 79(4), 213-216. Blowers, Paul. 2003. â€Å" development Student Skill Assessments to get fit Groups for Group Projects. ” College Teaching 51( 3): 106-110. Colbeck, Carol L.. Susan E. Campbell, and Stefani Bjorklund. 2000. â€Å" classify in the Dark. ” Journal of Higher Education 71: 60-78. Davis. Barbara and Thomas Miller. 1996. â€Å"Job formulation liar the 21st Century. ” Journal of Education for Business 71 (5): 258-270. Doyle, Eva. Chris Beatty, and Mary Shaw. 1999.â€Å" utilize Cooperative Learning Groups to Develop level-headed Cultural Awareness. ” Journal of Social wellness 69(2): 73-80. Dudley, Lola, Henry David, and David McGrady. 2001. â€Å"Using an Investment Project to Develop Professional Competencies in Introduction to Financial Accounting. ” Journal of Education for Business 76(3): 125-131. Johnson, D. W. and R. T. Johnson. 1994. Learning Together and Alone. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Livingstone, David and Kenneth Lynch. 2000. â€Å"Group Project Work and Student Centered Active Learning. ” Studies in Higher Education 25(3): 325-345. Lordan, Edward. 1996.â€Å"à ¢â‚¬ËœUsing Group Projects to Sharpen Students PR Skills. ” Public Relations Quarterly 41 (2): 43-47. Page, Diana and Joseph G. Donelan. 2003. â€Å"Team Building Tools for Students. ” Journal of Education for Business 78(3): 125-128. Roberts-Kirchoff. Elizabeth and Mary Lou Caspers, 2001. â€Å"Dialogues as Teaching Tools. ” Biochemistry and Molecular-Biology Education 29(6): 225-228. Young, Carol B. and Janet A. Henquinet. 2000. â€Å"A conceptual Framework for Designing Group Projects. ” Journal of Education for Business 76(1): 56-60. Brian K. Payne Elizabeth Monk-Turner Donald Smith Melvina Sumter life of Sociology and Criminal JusticeOld Dominion University. Norfolk. Virginia Payne, Brian K. , Monk-Turner, Elizabeth, Smith, Donald, & Sumter, Melvina (2006). â€Å"Improving Group Work: Voices of Students. ” Education, 126(3), 441+. COPYRIGHT 2006 Project Innovation (Alabama); COPYRIGHT 2006 Gale Group Group projects are integral to the bus iness organisation curriculum and can be useful in developing students skills and abilities as managers. However, faculty encounter several problems with group projects, including assessing students efforts, aiding good communication and coordination among members, and making sure the project is a truly collaborative effort.Technology may aid in addressing these problems; electronic back blabber advances and palaver rooms, for example, can help faculty and students heighten collaboration and increase the accountability of group members. Keywords: Discussion boards, chat rooms, collaborative learning, student projects INCREASED GLOBAL COMPETITION and other changes in the business environment over the last several years have led organizations to restructure themselves. One aspect of that restructuring is a shifting of responsibility and decision making downward and a causal agent toward self-directed work teams (Cohen, 1993).To prepare students to flourish in this environment, w e obviously need to teach them effective teamwork and communication skills. This article describes twain tools that can help accomplish this task, the electronic reciprocation board and the chat room. These can foster interdependence in group projects and deeper, active learning. First, we discuss the need for and benefits of collaborative projects, the problems of group work, and the role of technology in such projects. We then provide recommendations for incorporating these electronic tools in business communication classes.Need for Collaborative Projects in Business Courses As many researchers have noted, the structural shift towards teams occurring in many organizations should be reflected in the classroom (Bobbitt, Inks, Kemp, & Mayo, 2000). Using groups in class thus prepares students to work collaboratively in the business environment while promoting collaborative learning in the classroom itself. The first benefit of group work in the classroom is that it teaches stude nts how to work collaboratively in the business environment.Business organizations repeatedly indicate that the increased use of teams in the real world has increased students need for exposure and experience with teams (Buckenmyer, 2000). Companies that use teams creatively spend many hours and dollars training individuals to work in teams and training managers to manage teams. through and through working in groups, students can enhance their abilities in setting goals, delegating work, and dealing with conflict (Colbeck, Campbell, & Bjorklund, 2000). They can also improve their communication, leadership, problem understand, and technical skills.All of these skills are highly rated by recruiters and employers and will help graduates meet the demands and rigors of the workplace (McNally, 1994). The second benefit of group work is that these projects promote collaborative learning. University educators have embraced cooperative learning methods as ways to engage students and to foster cooperation (Ravenscroft, 1997). Researchers have found that the values of Generation X are highly individualistic, visually-oriented, and aligned with information technology, not with the sharing of information (Buckenmyer, 2000).Thus, group course projects, with proper guidance, can help these students learn to deal effectively with others. Group work learning can be an slender way of encouraging the development of higher cognitive skills in students (Thorley & Gregory, 1994) and can be effective even for relatively quiet group members. When groups work well, students consistently fare better in class, on tests, and in attitudes towards the instructor and each other (Jones & Brickner, 1996).The quality of learning is improved by peer support, with students gaining experience in communication, negotiation, organization, and task management. Cooperative methods have been recognized as effective ways to motivate students to become actively involved in learning. The co llaborative group project reachs a assembly that allows students to take an active approach towards their own education. The security of working within a group provides an excellent entree into the raiseion to independent and autonomous learning (Maguire & Edmondson, 2001).Problems with Group Projects The many benefits of collaborative projects, however, are often subdivision by problems. First, a common problem is the failure of the group to work together effectively. Students may exert an individual effort but are unable to unionize their efforts effectively with their group members to achieve any kind of synergistic benefits (Tullar, Kaiser, & Balthazard, 1998). Group members need to be contributing their ideas, doubting and learning from each other, and building on the efforts of the other members.For collaborative learning to occur, students must coordinate the diverse skills and abilities of their group members to address a complex task (Tullar et al. , 1998). A s econd problem is that often group members simply divide a project so that each individual writes a portion. Then, just before the project is due, the students bring in their disks and combine files without coordinating their efforts or talents effectively. Third, group work often leads to short contributions of members, resulting in â€Å"hitchhikers” and â€Å"workhorses” (Cottell & Millis, 1993).These â€Å"hitchhikers,” also called â€Å"free riders” and â€Å"social loafers,” can cause problems in the workflow of the group, as they do not do their fair share. Members of the group have difficulty addressing the free-rider problem and documenting the problem and their efforts to pull in it (Gremler, Hoffman, Keaveney, & Wright, 2000). The issue becomes one students word against anothers as the teacher tries to steady down fair individual grades. Finally, group projects are often assigned without the allocation of class time for groups to develop cooperative skills or to become cohesive (Michaelsen, 1992).There is limited time in class to discuss both the needed topics and the mechanics of group management. In many cases, groups meet on evenings and weekends when faculty members are not available for assistance. Additionally, many group members are geographically and temporally dispersed, which makes organizing face to face group meetings difficult. The Role of Technology in Enhancing Collaborative Learning Active and cooperative learning approaches will be harmful unless they are thoughtfully implemented and well supported.Communication tools like password boards and chat rooms can be effective in inter-team collaboration as well as in faculty-student communication. These tools can help ease the problems discussed in the previous section. By solving these problems with technology, faculty can address triple learning goals: empowering students, improving their communication skills, and developing their abilit y to work collaboratively. Finally, these technological communication tools offer teaching opportunities by allowing faculty to be more accessible to students and to track students efforts better.Addressing Group Project Problems Internet-based tools can be a tremendous help in coordinating team efforts, particularly when the team is geographically (whether by a someer miles or a few super acid miles) or temporally dispersed (Kaiser, Tullar, & McKowen, 2000). With technology, groups can meet either synchronously, using chat rooms, or asynchronously, using wind tidings boards, in which group members contribute to the group discussion at times convenient to their schedules over a delimitate time period.These tools enable everyone in the group to talk at the same time or at their convenience by typing their comments into the meeting place that instantly distributes their comments. Additionally, strengthened personalities have greater difficulty autocratic the group as eve ryone has equal access to the â€Å"floor. ” Students may feel more thriving presenting ideas this way than in a face-to-face meeting, and the quality and professionalism of their ideas may be higher, wise to(p) that their participation is being monitored.The discussion forum also gives all students ample time for reflection so students responses are often more thoughtful than those in face-to-face situations. Studies have illustrated this level of increased and more evenly distributed participation from students in computer-supported groups (Tullar et al. , 1998). Addressing Learning Goals Projects provide opportunities for experiential learning, that is, students apply what they have learned to real-world situations and thus develop decision-making skills. besides in doing so, projects often produce anxiety as students struggle to determine what dissolving agent the instructor wants.However, with these projects, whether it be a case, a report of a business issue, or a b usiness plan, faculty are typically not searching for one right answer, but rather are concerned with the process that students use in solving problems. Teaching students to ask the right questions is thought to be more important than giving students the right answers. In the real world, there is neither one right answer nor is there a â€Å" able on a stage” that can direct students to the right answer. Students need to learn how to find and to support the answers for themselves.The use of electronic discussion boards and chat rooms can aid student learning in the struggle through the project process. Thus, three learning goals can be addressed through the use of electronic discussion boards and chat rooms with experiential group projects: (1) empowering students to become active participants in their learning, (2) change magnitude students communication skills in describing and solving problems, and (3) enhancing students abilities to assemble and work with others in deve loping their own re computer addresss in solving problems.To achieve these goals, education must involve interactivity among instructors, students, and the materials, and electronic discussion boards and chat rooms can improve that interactivity. Providing Additional Teaching Opportunities Another advantage of these tools is the opportunity for faculty to participate in the discussions and e-mails. Faculty can use these tools to pose concern for students and to provide additional availableness and feedback.In fact, the transactional distance encourages faculty to maintain a facilitative role rather than an autocratic role (Moore, 1993). Finally, these tools make it easier for faculty and students to keep track of what everyone has said as there is a written record (Kaiser et al. , 2000). Students have the opportunity to reorganize and reshape their sagacity of course content. The Web-based tools allow thoughts to be captured for future examination, elaboration, and extension. Th e end result is usually more robust and thoughtful discussions.In fact, threaded discussions can extend the time that both instructors and students ornament in the course (Bruce & Hwang, 2001). Recommendations for Using These Tools Many universities are starting to use various computer course tools or platforms to promote online learning. These platforms, such as blackboard or WebCT, can be used to design either Web-based or Web-assisted courses. For several years, we have used discussion groups and chat rooms in Web-based classes but have also found that communication can be enhanced in traditional classes through use of these tools.Since more business organizations are using electronic tools, such as Lotus Notes, to facilitate group meetings, using them in the classroom helps students that prepare for their careers. However, the wise faculty member will be advised that these tools should be used judiciously. Therefore, based on our experience, the following suggestions are m ade to faculty who are considering the use of Web-based tools. Discussion Boards Instructors and students can compose and stain messages electronically on electronic discussion boards.Both public and tete-a-tete discussion forums can be implemented. With many compute platforms, such as WebCT, faculty can set up public forums to start threaded discussions for the class to which the students can reply electronically. Students can use these public forums to post questions to which the entire class can respond, such as for help in finding information for the project. A project ordinarily seems easier when the instructor is discussing it in class and few questions arise. However, students questions occasionally occur after class or on weekends.The discussion board allows the opportunity for students to post problems asynchronously and to receive remark from the class. The burden is no longer on the instructor to solve every problem as it occurs but is on the students to work with e ach other as well as with the instructor in solving problems. This is a tremendous lesson for students to learn to deal with problem solving in the real world. When an employer gives an employee a project or task to do, he/she expects the employee to do it on his/her own and not ask for assistance from the employer every step of the way.Students have to learn to be problem solvers on their own, and the use of electronic discussion boards helps develop that skill. The professors role is to help get the conversation started. For example, the instructor can post a question on the public project discussion board asking at which sites people are having success finding information for the project. The students can then respond. Those students who respond in a useful manner will be rewarded, such as with a participation grade. Those students or groups who do not respond can be asked on the discussion board for their input.When students see the progress other students are making, they may b e spurred to work harder. Additionally, the faculty need to check the discussion board frequently to see if any misinformation is being spread, to ensure â€Å"netiquette” is being practiced, and to take up the conversation as needed. Finally, faculty can take questions that the students ask individually and point that the students post them on the discussion board. In that way the instructor only has to respond once, and similar inquiries can then be referred to that response.This will eve ntually build a culture in the class where the instructor is not seen as the sole source for information, and the students learn to work with each other in solving problems. Additionally, instructors can create private forums to be used to divide students into groups for class exercises or for the use of asynchronous coordination of group projects in which group members cannot all meet at the same time. The instructor can visit these public and private forums to track group progress, to encourage students to help each other to solve problems, and to provide assistance as needed after the students have tried first on their own.In the private group forums, the students are encouraged to use the board to organize group meetings, to post their research findings, and to post skeletons of their work for their group members to see and make comments. The professor can encourage individual group members to post their contributions to the paper to the private forum for the other members to see and post suggestions. This would increase group collaboration in a manner that can be documented. later the group has collaborated on a draft of the project, the instructor can offer suggestions.Finally, instructors should consider requiring the groups to post progress reports on their efforts sporadically during the term. These progress reports describe what the group has accomplished, what the groups plans are, if there are any problems, and if there are, how they are being addres sed. The instructor should provide guidelines as to what the groups should have accomplished by the progress report dates so the students can determine if they are on track. While these reports could be submitted on paper, doing it through the discussion board makes it easier for group m\r\n'