Small Group Learning in an Online Asynchronous Environment

Abstract

This article reports the results of a study conducted to examine the use of small group learning strategies in an online college course. The study examined the effect of four types of positive interdependence and the affiliation motive on learning and attitude in an asynchronous, collaborative learning environment. Results indicated no significant differences in achievement by type of interdependence, or by affiliation motive. Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation, indicating that participants with higher numbers of interactions attained higher posttest scores. Participants in reward groups had significantly higher agreement with several attitude statements that reflected benefit from working with others and being able to generate better ideas in groups. Furthermore, participants in all three types of structured interdependence, compared to groups with no interdependence, had significantly higher agreement with being able to learn more because team members knew it was their job to contribute to the group work. In addition, participants with high affiliation motive had significantly higher agreement with several attitude statements. Groups with no structured interdependence had the most cognitive interactions, role groups had the most group processing, and reward groups were most off task. Implications for integrating small groups in computer-mediated learning environments are discussed. Cooperative Learning and Affiliation Motive Over the past decade, there has been increased interest in using cooperative methods in college classrooms. During the 1990s, more than 170 studies were conducted to examine the influence of cooperative learning on college students and other adult learners. According to Johnson, Johnson, and Smith (1998), the results of this research are impressive when the magnitude of effect sizes in favor of cooperative over competitive and individual methods are considered. However, other researchers have found less success with cooperative learning for enhancing college student performance (Niehoff & Mesch, 1991; Cole & Smith, 1993; Klein, Erchul & Pridemore, 1994; Klein & Schnackenberg, 2000.) Regarding student motivation, some research on cooperative learning suggests that students working in groups are more motivated than those who work alone, but performance in these settings is influenced by one's affiliation motives (Klein & Pridemore, 1992). Cooper (1995) notes that even though the components of cooperative learning have been well defined, systematic research on the efficacy of each is still quite scarce, particularly for college populations. Distance Learning for Adult Reentry Students More than 190 traditional institutions are offering accelerated degree programs with evening, weekend, and distance features that cater to working adults (Wlodkowski, Mauldin, & Gahn, 2001). Accelerated programs for adults use far more active and collaborative learning processes than exist in traditional programs (Scott & Conrad, 1991). In the same manner that small groups in campus-based classes help to overcome anonymity (McKinney & Buxton, 1993), small groups in distance education classes may also reduce anonymity and isolation. Research on computer-mediated collaborative learning indicates that it can be can be as effective (Johnston, 1996) or more effective (Hall, 1997; Naidu et al., 1999; Uribe, Klein, & Sullivan, 2003) than face-toface collaboration. In 1999-2000, eight percent of all undergraduates participated in some type of distance education with one-third of those being enrolled in entirely distance education programs (National Center for Education Statistics, 2002). The prevalence of online collaboration in higher education is supported by the increasing availability of technology-mediated instruction and by growing business and industry demands for working in teams (Ben-Jacob & Levin, 1998; McIsaac & Gunawardena, 1996). In light of the mixed findings on what is motivating and constitutes effective instructional strategies for adults, research is needed to clarify the effectiveness of small group learning for adults in an asynchronous environment. The research questions addressed by this study were: