Allocation of tertiary students for group work: methods and consequences

Abstract While the benefits of group work are well noted, for some academics, a dilemma exists about methods used to allocate students to groups and the rationales for doing so.  This article reports on a review of current literature to describe the different methods available for group selection, the pedagogical rationales which underpin those selection strategies and the associated teaching and learning outcomes. The major group selection processes identified in the literature include student selection, academic selection, random selection and mixed pair selection. Eleven studies were identified which directly compared two group selection methods in face-to-face teaching at tertiary institutions from electronic databases. Outcomes examined included student satisfaction, academic and affective outcomes and students’ preference for future groupings. The overwhelming finding was that randomly selected groups did not have favourable learning outcomes compared to any other group selection process. Student selected groups had improved student satisfaction and most favourable learning outcomes. These findings will inform academic’s teaching decisions related to the best group selection process for achieving their intended learning outcomes