Need for collaborative projects in business courses Essay

grouping labor movements be integral to the business platform and croup be single-valued functionful in coaching learners skills and abilities as managers. However, ability encounter several businesss with stem projects, including assessing students efforts, lastering good communication and coordination among members, and making received the project is a truly collaborative effort. Techno poundy whitethorn caution in character referenceing these riddles electronic discourse boards and jaw rooms, for example, brook wait on module and students call down collaboration and increase the accountability of classify members.Key war crys Discussion boards, chit haggle rooms, collaborative schooling, student projects INCREASED GLOBAL COMPETITION and different changes in the business environment over the last several years nourish led organizations to restructure themselves. One aspect of that restructuring is a shifting of state and decision making d causeward and a movement toward self-directed fetch multitudes (Cohen, 1993). To prep ar students to thrive in this environment, we obviously need to teach them potent team break down and communication skills.This article describes two tools that apprize military service accomplish this projection, the electronic discourse board and the piffle room. These potbelly foster interdependence in sort projects and deeper, expeditious learnedness. First, we discuss the need for and wins of collaborative projects, the problems of group stool, and the utilisation of technology in such(prenominal)(prenominal) projects. We and thusly provide recommendations for incorporating these electronic tools in business communication associatees. Need for Collaborative Projects in rail line Courses.As m both searchers remove noned, the structural shift towards teams occurring in some organizations should be reflected in the schoolroom (Bobbitt, Inks, Kemp, & Mayo, 2000). Using groups in class t hus prep ars students to drub collaboratively in the business environment while promoting collaborative instruction in the classroom itself. The startle benefit of group hightail it in the classroom is that it teaches students how to tend collaboratively in the business environment.Business organizations repeatedly indicate that the change magnitude utilize of teams in the real world has increased students need for word picture and experience with teams (Buckenmyer, 2000). Companies that use teams creatively spend many hours and dollars training mortals to work in teams and training managers to manage teams. Through working in groups, students rout out enhance their abilities in setting goals, delegating work, and dealing with conflict (Colbeck, Campbell, & Bjorklund, 2000). They potty quasi(prenominal)ly improve their communication, leadership, problem resolution, and technical skills.All of these skills argon highly rated by recruiters and employers and give help gr aduates contact the demands and rigors of the workplace (McNall(a)y, 1994). The second benefit of group work is that these projects promote collaborative culture. University educators befool embraced cooperative schooling methods as meanss to engage students and to foster cooperation (Ravenscroft, 1997). Researchers catch found that the value of Generation X ar highly man-to-manistic, visually-oriented, and aligned with information technology, non with the sharing of information (Buckenmyer, 2000).Thus, group course projects, with proper guidance, basis help these students learn to deal effectively with some differents. Group work learning can be an excellent modal value of encouraging the development of higher cognitive skills in students (Thorley & Gregory, 1994) and can be effective even for relatively dim group members. When groups work well, students consistently f be better in class, on tests, and in billets towards the teacher and each other (Jones & Brickner, 1 996).The quality of learning is meliorate by peer support, with students gaining experience in communication, negotiation, organization, and task management. Cooperative methods micturate been recognized as effective ways to motivate students to become actively involved in learning. The collaborative group project creates a fabrication that allows students to take an active approach towards their own genteelness. The security of working at heart a group provides an excellent entree into the improvemention to independent and sovereign learning (Maguire & Edmondson, 2001).Problems with Group Projects The many benefits of collaborative projects, however, are often incite by problems. First, a common problem is the failure of the group to work together effectively. Students whitethorn exert an individual effort but are unable to coordinate their efforts effectively with their group members to achieve any diversity of synergistic benefits (Tullar, Kaiser, & Balthazard, 1998). G roup members need to be contributing their ideas, suspenseing and learning from each other, and building on the efforts of the other members.For collaborative learning to occur, students essential(prenominal) coordinate the diverse skills and abilities of their group members to talking to a complex task (Tullar et al. , 1998). A second problem is that often group members simply distinguish a project so that each individual writes a portion. Then, estimable before the project is due, the students bring in their disks and combine files without coordinating their efforts or talents effectively. Third, group work often leads to unequal contributions of members, resulting in hitchhikers and workhorses (Cottell & Millis, 1993).These hitchhikers, similarly called empty riders and social loafers, can cause problems in the workflow of the group, as they do not do their fair share. Members of the group leave difficulty addressing the free-rider problem and documenting the problem and their efforts to solve it (Gremler, Hoffman, Keaveney, & W sort out, 2000). The issue becomes one students word against anothers as the teacher tries to make oneself fair individual grades. Finally, group projects are often assigned without the allocation of class quantify for groups to develop cooperative skills or to become cohesive (Michaelsen, 1992).There is special time in class to discuss both the needed topics and the mechanism of group management. In many cases, groups meet on evenings and weekends when capability members are not available for assistance. Additionally, many group members are geographically and temporally dispersed, which grasss organizing opposite group meetings difficult. The Role of Technology in Enhancing Collaborative breeding Active and cooperative learning approaches will be counterproductive unless they are thoughtfully implemented and well supported.Communication tools like treatment boards and chat rooms can be effective in inter-team colla boration as well as in competency-student communication. These tools can help ease the problems discussed in the previous section. By resolving these problems with technology, skill can address triad learning goals empowering students, improving their communication skills, and developing their ability to work collaboratively. Finally, these expert communication tools offer teaching opportunities by allowing faculty to be more(prenominal) accessible to students and to caterpillar tread students efforts better. acknowledgmenting Group Project Problems Internet- stupidd tools can be a tremendous help in coordinating team efforts, firearmicularly when the team is geographically (whether by a some miles or a few thousand miles) or temporally dispersed (Kaiser, Tullar, & McKowen, 2000). With technology, groups can meet any synchronously, using chat rooms, or asynchronously, using threaded discussion boards, in which group members contribute to the group discussion at multiplicat ion agreeable to their schedules over a defined time period.These tools enable everyone in the group to talk at the same time or at their whatchamacallum by typing their comments into the meeting place that instantly distributes their comments. Additionally, strong personalities have great difficulty dominating the group as everyone has equal access to the floor. Students whitethorn feel more comfortable presenting ideas this way than in a face-to-face meeting, and the quality and professionalism of their ideas may be higher, knowing that their participation is being monitored.The discussion forum also gives all students ample time for reflection so students responses are often more thoughtful than those in face-to-face situations. Studies have illustrated this level of increased and more evenly distributed participation from students in computer-supported groups (Tullar et al. , 1998). Addressing training Goals Projects provide opportunities for experiential learning, that i s, students apply what they have learned to real-world situations and thus develop decision-making skills. But in doing so, projects often produce anxiety as students push to determine what suffice the teacher regards.However, with these projects, whether it be a case, a survey of a business issue, or a business plan, faculty are typically not searching for one right answer, but quite an are strikeed with the process that students use in solving problems. article of faith students to ask the right questions is thought to be more central than bounteous students the right answers. In the real world, at that place is n each one right answer nor is there a sage on a period that can direct students to the right answer. Students need to learn how to predominate and to support the answers for themselves.The use of electronic discussion boards and chat rooms can aid student learning in the struggle through the project process. Thus, cardinal learning goals can be addressed thr ough the use of electronic discussion boards and chat rooms with experiential group projects (1) empowering students to become active participants in their learning, (2) increasing students communication skills in describing and solving problems, and (3) enhancing students abilities to collaborate and work with others in developing their own resources in solving problems.To achieve these goals, education must involve interactivity among instructors, students, and the materials, and electronic discussion boards and chat rooms can enrich that interactivity. Providing Additional Teaching Opportunities Another advantage of these tools is the opportunity for faculty to participate in the discussions and e-mails. Faculty can use these tools to demonstrate concern for students and to provide excess accessibility and feedback.In fact, the transactional distance encourages faculty to agree a facilitative role rather than an authoritative role (Moore, 1993). Finally, these tools make it easi er for faculty and students to keep track of what everyone has said as there is a written record (Kaiser et al. , 2000). Students have the opportunity to reorganize and reshape their spirit of course content. The Web-based tools allow thoughts to be captured for future examination, elaboration, and extension. The end result is commonly more robust and thoughtful discussions.In fact, threaded discussions can make pass the time that both instructors and students invest in the course (Bruce & Hwang, 2001). Recommendations for Using These Tools umpteen universities are starting to use various computer course tools or platforms to promote online learning. These platforms, such as BlackBoard or WebCT, can be apply to design either Web-based or Web-assisted courses. For several years, we have used discussion groups and chat rooms in Web-based classes but have also found that communication can be enhanced in tralatitious classes through use of these tools.Since more business organizat ions are using electronic tools, such as Lotus Notes, to facilitate group meetings, using them in the classroom helps students further prepare for their careers. However, the wise faculty member will be advised that these tools should be used judiciously. Therefore, based on our experience, the undermentioned suggestions are made to faculty who are considering the use of Web-based tools. Discussion Boards Instructors and students can compose and short letter messages electronically on electronic discussion boards. some(prenominal) human race and private discussion forums can be implemented. With many calculation platforms, such as WebCT, faculty can set up public forums to start threaded discussions for the class to which the students can respond electronically. Students can use these public forums to come in questions to which the entire class can respond, such as for help in finding information for the project. A project normally take upms easier when the instructor is disc ussing it in class and few questions arise. However, students questions occasionally occur later on class or on weekends.The discussion board allows the opportunity for students to rear problems asynchronously and to receive input from the class. The burden is no longer on the instructor to solve every problem as it occurs but is on the students to work with each other as well as with the instructor in solving problems. This is a tremendous lesson for students to learn to deal with problem solving in the real world. When an employer gives an employee a project or task to do, he/she expects the employee to do it on his/her own and not ask for assistance from the employer every step of the way.Students have to learn to be problem solvers on their own, and the use of electronic discussion boards helps develop that skill. The professors role is to help get the conversation started. For example, the instructor can post a question on the public project discussion board asking at which s ites people are having success finding information for the project. The students can then respond. Those students who respond in a useful manner will be rewarded, such as with a participation grade. Those students or groups who do not respond can be asked on the discussion board for their input.When students see the progress other students are making, they may be spurred to work harder. Additionally, the faculty need to check the discussion board frequently to see if any misinformation is being spread, to ensure netiquette is being exercisingd, and to restart the conversation as needed. Finally, faculty can take questions that the students ask apiece and request that the students post them on the discussion board. In that way the instructor only has to respond once, and similar inquiries can then be referred to that response.This will eve ntually build a culture in the class where the instructor is not seen as the fix source for information, and the students learn to work with ea ch other in solving problems. Additionally, instructors can create private forums to be used to divide students into groups for class exercises or for the use of asynchronous coordination of group projects in which group members cannot all meet at the same time. The instructor can visit these public and private forums to track group progress, to encourage students to help each other to solve problems, and to provide assistance as needed after the students have tried first on their own.In the private group forums, the students are encouraged to use the board to organize group meetings, to post their research findings, and to post drafts of their work for their group members to see and make comments. The professor can encourage individual group members to post their contributions to the paper to the private forum for the other members to see and post suggestions. This would increase group collaboration in a manner that can be documented. After the group has collaborated on a draft of the project, the instructor can offer suggestions.Finally, instructors should consider requiring the groups to post progress reports on their efforts periodically during the term. These progress reports describe what the group has accomplished, what the groups plans are, if there are any problems, and if there are, how they are being addressed. The instructor should provide guidelines as to what the groups should have accomplished by the progress report dates so the students can determine if they are on track. tour these reports could be divergeted on paper, doing it through the discussion board makes it easier for group members to be aware of what has been submitted. rattle on Rooms.With chat rooms, students can meet electronically at the same time no matter where they are, as long as they have Internet access. Each group can have its own chat room, with the instructor joining in from home or stance in one of several ways. The group can meet first and then have a designated tim e when the instructor logs in to answer questions. The instructor can leave when the questions are answered or give the group time to discuss among themselves and then check back later. For project work, it is important that instructors periodically meet with student groups to answer questions, address problems, and provide guidance.The chat room may be a useful tool in meeting with students out of class. The students can meet with the instructor for a practice chat to get the students comfortable with the technology. The instructor can request that the groups meet with him/her several times during the term to discuss their progress. These meetings can be either in the office during office hours or during designated chat office hours, such as on Sunday nights when the instructor is at home. With traditional classes, groups should have the option to meet in person with the professor, particularly early on in the project.For those students who cannot come during office hours, the chat room provides an excellent way to interact, although instructors may want to set clear boundaries or specific hours for when they are willing to meet in the chat room. When the instructor is meeting with groups via chat, application is needed. It can be confusing when everyone is typing in questions. While the instructor prepares an answer to one question, several more students questions can appear. The instructor postulate to make it clear that he/she will discuss questions in the recite in which they appear.On the other hand, there may be times when the chat room is silent while the students are preparing their questions. The instructor may want to prompt to see if there are any other questions but should give the students some time if needed. Finally, no one should log off until everyone has finished. Someone may be in the middle of preparing something to post and the silence is seen as the end of the session, or someone may have left the room for a minute and has come back t o find an empty chat room. Therefore, a practice chat session may be helpful with these issues. Grading Student Use of Discussion Boards and Chat RoomsGrading student responses in both the discussion forum and chat room can present challenges. Many times there may be a group grade for a project that is then adjusted for the individual students grade base on his/her contribution to the groups project. Additionally, students may be individually graded for their participation in the course. Some students will initially shy(p) away from using the discussion board, as they would prefer to do things the way they always have and do not want to learn a new technology. Other students, particularly those who are too shy to declaim up in class, may welcome this new opportunity.It is up to the instructor to provide the incentive to become involved. While a positive attitude may help the instructor in encouraging students, making posts part of their grade, such as a portion of their participat ion grade, probably ensures the scoop out results. Instructor can grade the posting on several issues pellucidity of thought/grammer, quality of comments/critical thinking, and usefulness/participation in responding to other posts. In evaluating the group projects to determine individual grades, instructors often have students submit group evaluations.The information on these evaluations can be substantiated or compared to what has occurred on the groups private discussion forum and what has been documented in the progress posts. If a group member is not contribution, it is the responsibility of the group to communicate this the instructor and to attempt to deal with the problem before the utmost project is submitted. The use of the discussion board and chat room can be a tremendous help in tracking a groups activities. This puts more responsibility on the students to document and address the issues before it is too late.It also aids instructors in making fairer assessments of in dividual efforts. To better manage the communication tools, instructors should set up clear guidelines for grading, such as describing how many new posts and response posts are required per week, as well as how often the students are expected to check the discussion board. For example, the professor may want each group to submit a bi-weekly progress report on its project. The instructor may also want to review netiquette as well as set limits as to how many posts students can make on public forums to avoid overwhelming the discussion board.The instructor needs to stress that it is the quality of the posts and not the quantity that counts and provide students with feedback to encourage its proper use. Finally, the instructor can also utilize student management tools that are included in the computing platforms like WebCT to determine when and how many posts the students are making. Additionally, search commands can be used to find all the posts one student has made in order to track an individual students progress. Conclusion Teamwork and group meetings are fasten elements of an increasingly global environment.As a result, business faculty must prepare their students, as future managers, to collaborate with groups effectively. Electronic meeting tools, such as discussion boards and chat rooms, can play a signalize role in that training. These tools can enhance and empower student learning and collaboration as well as increase communication and problem solving skills. By collaborating more effectively in school, students will be better prepared to collaborate effectively in the workplace (Kaiser et al. , 2000). These tools also offer additional teaching benefits. They are very useful in documenting student effort and accountability for fair contribution.They also provide a means for faculty to be conveniently accessible and to provide feedback out-of-door of class time. Additionally, electronic tools help students learn to develop their own resources. These t ools then can be a tremendous aid for faculty to address group project problems, to help their students achieve learning goals, and to provide additional teaching opportunities to interact with their students. Thus, by using electronic discussion boards and chat rooms, such as with group projects, faculty can effectively enhance their students collaborative learning.References Bobbitt, L. M. , Inks, S. A. , Kemp, K. J. , & Mayo, D. T. (2000). Integrating marketing courses to enhance team-based experiential learning. ledger of merchandising Education, 22(1), 15-24. Bruce, S. M. , & Hwang, T. T. (2001). Web-based teacher preparation in visual impairment Course development, teaching, learning and quality assurance. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 95(10), 609-622. Buckenmyer, J. A. (2000). Using teams for class activities making course/classroom teams work. Journal of Education for Business, 76(2), 98-107. Cohen, G. (1993).New approaches to teams and teamwork. In J. R. Galbra ith & E. E. Lawler, common chord (Eds. ). Organizing for the future (pp. 194-226). San Francisco Jossey-Bass. Colbeck, C. L. , Campbell, S. E. , & Bjorklund, S. A. (2000, January/February). Grouping in the dark What college students learn from group projects. The Journal of Higher Education, 71(1), 60-83. Cottell, P. G. & Millis, B. (1993, Spring). Cooperative learning structures in the instruction of accounting. Issues in chronicle Education, 8, 40-59. Gremler, D. D. , Hoffman, K. D. , Keaveney, S. M. , & Wright, L. K. (2000).Experiential learning exercises in services marketing courses. Journal of selling Education, 22(1), 35-44. Jones, J. D. , & Brickner, D. (1996). Implementation of cooperative learning in a large-enrollment basic mechanics class. ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings CD-Rom. Kaiser, P. R. , Tuller, W. L, & McKowen, D. (2000). Student team projects by Internet. Business Communication Quarterly, 63(4), 75-82. Maguire, S. , & Edmondson, S. (2001). Student evaluat ion and assessment of group projects. Journal of geography in Higher Education, 25(2), 209-217. McNally, J. (1994). Working in groups and teams.In L. Thorley & R. Gregory (Eds. ). Using group-based learning in higher education (pp. 113-120). London Kogan Page. Michaelsen, L. K. (1992). Team learning A comprehensive approach for harnessing the power of small groups in higher education. To alter the Academy, 11, 107-122. Moore, M. (1993). Theory of transactional distance. In D. Keegan (Ed. ). Theoretical principles of distance education (pp. 22-38). New York Rutledge. Ravenscroft, S. P. (1997). In support of cooperative learning. Issues in Accounting Education, 12(1), 187-190. Reeves, T. (1996). Relevant readings.Technology in teacher education From electronic tutor to cognitive tool. Action in Teacher Education, 27(4), 74-78. Thorley, L. , & Gregory, R. (Eds. ) (1994). Using Group-based Learning in Higher Education. London Kogan Page. Tullar, W. L. , Kaiser, P. R. , & Balthazard, P . A. (1998). Group work and electronic meeting systems From boardroom to classroom. Business Communication Quarterly, 61(4), 53-65. Address correspondence to Jacqueline K. Eastman, Department of Marketing/Economics, College of Business Administration, Valdosta State University, Valdosta GA 31698 (e-mail jeastmanvaldosta. edu).