This miniproject undertook research into group work reluctance in mathematics education. The primary aim of this project was to gain a better understanding of both lecturers’ and students’ attitudes towards the use of discussion, group-based learning and similar teaching methods in undergraduate mathematics courses. The objective was to discover: why so many mathematics undergraduates dislike the group work teaching method; relate these attitudes to the students’ conceptions of teaching and learning and prior experience of these teaching methods both in mathematics and other subjects; investigate the reasons why mathematics lecturers rarely use these types of teaching methods; and then, from this understanding, to produce a set of guidelines to aid mathematics lecturers in their future use of group-based learning.
The purpose of the guidelines was to discuss the use of group work as a teaching method in undergraduate mathematics. Much has previously been written on the use of group work, however, mathematics is distinctive in that few topics in the subject at undergraduate level lend themselves to real debate or allow differences of opinion. Consequently, one of the first issues to be addressed here is the purpose of group work in undergraduate mathematics teaching. Establishing this leads to discussion on how this purpose might be achieved, indicating difficulties that might arise and strategies for avoiding them.
The guidelines resulted from a research study that was undertaken as a collaboration of three differing HEIs in the UK. Initially a survey of first year undergraduate students was conducted to find the extent to which students work in groups and their attitudes to this. Volunteer students were then interviewed to investigate these issues in more detail. Finally, members of staff were interviewed, some who had replied to an email request, and some who were approached directly, being known to have extensive experience over a number of years of using formal group work with their students. The students were drawn from the three HEIs; the staff were drawn from four institutions.
The phrase ‘group work’ was taken throughout to include all activities in which students work in a pair or group, literally whenever they work together. This broad definition includes tasks which are specifically designed for, and assessed in, groups (referred to as ‘formal group work’) and when the students come together naturally to help each other with their mathematical work, (referred to as ‘informal group work’). In some cases this latter activity might go against a direct instruction from their lecturer, when the work is to be assessed, and it is important to acknowledge that it may still happen.