Bridging the gaps between students' perceptions of group project work and their teachers' expectations

Caroline Koh*, C. Wang, Oon Tan, Woon Liu, Jessie Ee

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The authors report findings from a study into students' and teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of group project work (PW) in promoting students' motivation and learning. The authors gathered students' views on whether PW satisfied their basic psychological needs, affected their motivation, and created opportunities for life skills development. In addition, the authors interviewed 13 of the teachers to assess the extent to which their perceptions matched those of their students. The findings showed that, in general, the students recognized the benefits of PW and perceived themselves as fairly motivated to do PW. However, some of the teachers felt that their students' lack of motivation and competence hindered their performance in PW. Nevertheless, when teachers and students were able to reconcile their differences and reciprocate each other's expectations, PW was carried out effectively, with students and teachers benefiting from the experience.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)333-348
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Educational Research
Volume102
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 1 2009
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Education

Keywords

  • Cooperative learning
  • Motivation
  • Project work
  • Self-determination

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