Stages in Group Work: Is There A Relationship Among Them?

Abstract

Group work increases learning by allowing students to study and complete assignments with the assistance of their group members. However, it may result in an unequal distribution of obligations and contributions. Teams have long been used in education to teach students how to be productive team members. Today, educators prioritise the creation of collaborative learning environments, replacing lecture-style classrooms with student-centred ones. The goal of this study is to investigate learners' perceptions of learning strategies based on the four stages of Tuckman's Model, which include the forming, storming, norming, and performing stages. This is a quantitative study conducted online using survey methodologies, and the sample was drawn from Malaysian public universities. The survey's instrument was divided into four major sections. A survey of 231 Malaysian higher education students found that the performing stage of group work learning has high evaluation scores, indicating that despite uncertainties in the forming, storming, and norming stages, group members united to achieve the objectives. The storming stage had a positive relationship with all three stages, with a strong positive relationship between storming and forming. Overall, learners were satisfied with each stage. The current study indicates that future research should be conducted to discover ways for improving the effectiveness of group work in teaching and learning based on a pedagogical approach.