In today’s work culture and dynamic environment educational institutions and organizations require students and employees to work together in groups at certain tolerant and coordinative levels, thus proving “experience of working in group or teams” (Blease, 2006 cited Kelly, and P.2007). The students are asked to work in groups as it allows students to learn interactively. Moreover the researchers report that, regardless of the subject matter; students working in small groups tend to learn more of what is taught and retain it longer than when the same content is presented in other instructional formats (Barbara Gross Davis, Tools for teaching).
There are number of possible reasons why students are asked to work in small groups. Some of them are as follows:
- Generating a broad array of possible alternative points of view or solution to a problem
- Giving students a chance to work on a project that is too large or complex for an individual
- Allowing students with different background to bring their special knowledge, experience , or skills to a project , and to explain their orientation to others
- Giving students a chance to teach others
- Giving students a structured experience so they can practice kills applicable to professional situations
There are numbers of benefits for students working in groups for short period of time or large projects such as:
- Students who have difficulty talking in class may speak in a small group.