Group Reflections, with Proper Help

 For the second article I took a look at this week for EME 6414 I decided to check out Effects of group reflection variations in project-based learning integrated in a Web 2.0 learning space by Kim, Hong, Bonk, and Lim. The authors explore the use of Web2.0 in the classroom but from the specific lens of group collaboration. More specifically they are focused on the role of group reflection in the learning process in connection to Web 2.0.

What is interesting about their approach is that they test three different methods of  reflection, namely self-reflection, group reflection, and instructor led reflection. This allows the authors both to understand the benefits of reflecting as a group and how the instructor presence also benefits that reflection. 

The authors start by emphasizing the team nature that social media and new forms of technology such as smart phones allows. Through their common interests students can collaborate through apps such as Facebook or LinkedIn. They note that while previous studies have focues on the role of technology in the classroom little work has been done on integrating group reflection into these studies. I was however impressed by some of the previous finding on group reflection which emphasized that through reflection pieces members of a team come to a greater appreciation of the full scope of the contributions of each member of the team. 

One interesting finding of the study was that the group reflection group game their own group the lowest self-ratings and yet their overall effectiveness was better than the self-reflection group. According to the authors some of the "burdens and inefficiencies" experienced by the group reflection group may have caused them to rate themselves lower, although they were actually fairly effective as a team. 

As a final note, the authors point to one potential strength of adding instructor guidance to the group reflection piece. By adding in the instructor role the "awkwardness and frustration from inefficient group reflection" can be overcome.