An Examination of the Factors Influencing Student Participation in Collaborative Approaches to Examination Preparation Paul Greenbank Edge Hill University

Introduction Collaborative (peer) learning involves students ‘learning with and from each other’ (Boud, 2001) Variety of contexts Examination: Managerial Decision-making (MDM)

This paper focuses on: Factors influencing the level of student participation in collaborative learning How barriers to student engagement in the process might be overcome

Research methodology Action research (from 2001) Participative action research Participant-observation

Collaborative approaches to examination preparation Earlier stages in the research identified the need to address: – Student values – Group working skills – Networks

Initiatives to address these issues are now firmly established on BSc. Business & Management programme Evidence indicates they have been successful Nevertheless, a significant number of students still choose NOT to participate in the collaborative learning process

Three key reasons for this: 1. The opportunity and ability to collaborate varies between students 2. Negative experiences of group working militate against collaboration 3. A lack of time, approaches to study and satisficing behaviour act as potential barriers to collaboration

1. Opportunity/ability to collaborate Students from other programmes feel disadvantaged Unfamiliar As one student said: – ‘People have done this sort of thing before. You feel a little out of it, and I don’t know, you feel that you are behind in some way’.

Networks As an information systems student said: – ‘Because I’m not from the business degree I don’t really have any friends to ask. I am too shy to ask other members of the class. I felt I would have learnt more from group work – it just wasn’t easy to get done. I felt left out’.

Response Additional (targeted) support Interventions have achieved mixed results

2. Negative experiences of group work Students choose not to engage Typical student comments: – ‘I prefer to work alone’ – ‘I simply prefer individual learning’ The decision to work alone appears to arise out of negative experiences of group working

Problems included: Socialising and its affect on performance – ‘I didn’t feel group collaboration would be one-hundred per cent useful because it would turn into a social gathering. When working in groups nothing gets done’. Distribution of benefits – ‘I know this sounds big headed [but] the others are going to get more from me and I’m not prepared to just give them this, if you like knowledge, and these sort of insights that I might have’. Free-riders

3. Time, approaches to study and satisficing behaviour Gap between intention and practice Pressure of time was the main reason provided by the students However: – Commuting time averages half-an-hour – Most term-time work takes place in evenings/weekends – Class time made available

‘Real’ reasons for not collaborating Other priorities ‘Serial approach’ to study Satisficing behaviour Response: appealed to their instrumental values

Conclusion When introducing collaborative approaches our experience suggests you need to: – Address the question of equity in access to collaborative learning – Encourage rather than force students to collaborate for exams – Work with existing values to improve participation in collaborative learning