The use of pedagogical techniques to promote collaborative learning has potentially wide-ranging social, psychological and academic benefits, including enhancing student motivation and learning. However, many factors surrounding forming and working in groups can affect the effectiveness of collaborative learning. Unfortunately, many of these factors are generally poorly researched and it would benefit educators to develop a better understanding of these issues. One such factor is how the presence (or absence) of strong diverse opinions in groups—which is often seen as a challenge to be overcome through collaborative learning (e.g. see the Jigsaw method)—affects eventual academic outcomes. In this study, I compared the learning outcomes of two cohorts of undergraduate university students: one cohort (n = 45) where students formed groups whose members had highly diverse opinions on conservation solutions (based on dimensions developed by Sandbrook et al., 2019), and one cohort (n = 42) where students formed more homogenous groups with lower diversity of opinion. Students in the cohort with diverse opinions were better able to achieve the course’s learning outcomes (P = 0.037), specifically performing better in communication-oriented learning outcomes (P < 0.001). These results suggest that having group members with diverse strong opinions is not necessarily a limitation. Conversely, when managed well, encouraging diversity of opinion in collaborative learning can enhance academic performance, even at a tertiary level.

Authors:
Ian Z. W. Chan, National University of Singapore, Singapore

About the Presenter(s)
Ian is a Lecturer at NUS, where he has unexpectedly become the “Statistics guy” in ecology, conservation and animal behaviour. Ian is passionate about inspiring the next generation to “Do justly, Love mercy and Walk humbly” for a better world.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-z-w-chan-59b534143

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ian-Chan-9

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