Designing Group Work in Online Courses to Develop Collaboration Skills in Preservice Teachers

Abstract

As online courses become more prevalent in higher education, there is much to understand about the design of group work assignments. In teacher education programs, learning outcomes that are part of group work assignments can be a lever used to help develop professional collaboration skills needed for the profession. Using case study research, the authors synthesize findings collected from instructors and students at two Canadian post-secondary institutions offering online courses in their Bachelor of Education programs. Building understanding of how group work can be designed to develop professional skills required in the teaching profession through online course delivery, data were collected through an online survey (N = 85), semi-structured interviews with a subset of 22 instructors and students, and course documents provided by instructors. The analysis of the data identified four design considerations for online group work: (a) explicitly define the objectives of the group activities, (b) ensure ongoing teacher guidance and support, (c) form groups with careful consideration in relationship to the activity, and (d) utilize technology to support collaboration. Results of this study serve to benefit faculty, students, and educational leaders in understanding how group learning in online courses can be designed to develop professional collaboration skills.