Author(s)

Xiaodan Yu ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Center for Teaching Quality Supervision and Assessment, Zhaoqing University, Duanzhou District, Zhaoqing, Guangdong, 526061, China

Corresponding Author

Xiaodan Yu

ABSTRACT

The skill of collaboration has long been imperative for employees to thrive and excel in the complex working environment. To better equip college students with teamwork abilities and foster their smooth transition to the workplace, more and more faculty across all disciplines are reconstructing their classes to incorporate collaborative learning experiences. However, college teachers confront challenges in conducting effective collaborative learning due to students' misconceptions, low motivation, and unfair work-share. Previous studies have indicated that students' misperception of collaborative learning can lead to resistance to participation. Also, students have difficulties finding their motivations, which play an essential role in successful collaborative learning. Free-riding or social loafing is another barrier to effective collaborative learning. It occurs in teamwork when some members enjoy the benefits of group output without contributing. Therefore, teachers are seeking a well-developed framework for implementing collaborative learning. In response, this article created a guideline for college teachers to develop effective collaborative learning activities. The guideline has provided practical information teachers need to create an engaging collaborative learning experience in their classrooms. This article examines the educational need and demonstrates the rationale and details of the guideline, drawing on the literature on (1) student resistance to active learning, (2) learner's interest and motivation for collaborative learning, and (3) social loafing and free riding.

KEYWORDS

Collaborative learning, higher education, student resistance, motivation, interest, free-riding

CITE THIS PAPER

Xiaodan Yu, Make the Collaborative Learning Engaging: Guideline for Higher Education Teachers to Implement Effective Group Work. Curriculum and Teaching Methodology (2023) Vol. 6: 95-103. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/curtm.2023.060214.

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