Enhancement of Professional Behaviours and Perceptions of Critical Skill Job Preparedness through the Use of a Group Work Contract in Fourth-Year Nutritional Science Students

Abstract

Collaborative group assignments in undergraduate education are important for promoting skill development and preparation for the workplace; however, they are subject to the challenges associated with group dynamics. We determined the effectiveness of a Group Work Contract to facilitate professional behaviours and positive experiences amongst fourth year nutritional science students (n=144) while working collaboratively to complete a Group Literature Critique Assignment designed to promote scientific literacy and critical thinking skills. Changes in students’ attitudes and approaches to group work were assessed before and after completion of the contract and the assignment via two online surveys (Pre- and Post-Group Work Surveys). Completion of the Group Work Contract improved group dynamics including i) frequency of communication, ii) distribution of effort between group members, iii) mutual reliability, iv) respectfulness and inclusivity. Students also reported fewer group problems and an improved ability to work collaboratively in problem solving (P<0.05). Importantly, students reported reduced feelings of anxiety related to group learning and perceptions of achieving a better outcome versus working alone and learning more as a result of working in a group (P<0.05). Additionally, students reported an improvement in their job readiness perceptions with respect to the development of their scientific literacy and critical thinking skills as a result of completing the Group Literature Critique Assignment (P<0.05). Collectively, this data demonstrates that structuring the group work process through the implementation of a Group Work Contract can support the development of positive and effective group dynamics resulting in reduced student anxiety about collaborative learning and perception of a better overall outcome.

Group Work and Distance Online Learning in Higher Education – Reflecting on the Covid-19 Experience in the Natural Sciences

“…The role of the lecturer or teacher cannot be overlooked in increasing the potential for successful group work (Killen 2016;Zhang, Burgos, and Dwason 2019;Zhang, Li, and Liu 2019). Potential issues associated with negative group work experiences could be circumvented through careful structuring of group work instructions and tasks (Cartwright et al 2021). In this study, all the students were in agreement that the lecturer had provided adequate instruction and information on the distance online tasks.…”

“…Success of group work, although empirically reported (Cartwright et al 2021;McKinney and Sen 2016), may not always be constant as contextual dynamics may differ. There is a difference between working in a group, i.e.…”

“…Even in face-to-face group work there are issues when working in a team. These include fairness in allocating the same mark even when there are unequal contributions by group members (Cartwright et al 2021;Chiriac 2014;McKinney and Cook 2018). The positive impact of group work in faceto-face contexts has been widely reported (Cartwright et al 2021;Govender and Pillay 2018;Zhang, Burgos, and Dwason 2019;Zhang, Li, and Liu 2019).…”

“…The ability of employees to work collaboratively is a much valued graduate attribute (McKinney and Cook 2018;Zhang, Burgos, and Dwason 2019;Zhang, Li, and Liu 2019). Group work is thus an effective constructivist pedagogy in higher education to develop students' cognition, personal, social and professional skills (Cartwright et al 2021;Govender and Pillay 2018;Rafferty 2013) and scientific literacy skills (Auerbach and Schussler 2017;Zhang, Burgos, and Dwason 2019;Zhang, Li, and Liu 2019). Group work should involve both meaningful interaction and successful task completion (Chiriac 2014).…”

“…Group work should involve both meaningful interaction and successful task completion (Chiriac 2014). However, it can be difficult for students to work together in an academic context (Cartwright et al 2021;McKinney and Cook 2018;McKinney and Sen 2016), and group pedagogy may appear challenging to lecturers and students without much experience in distance online learning contexts. Even in face-to-face group work there are issues when working in a team.…”