‘ Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed., (Ecclesiastes 4:9, The Bible)

Group projects have always been conducted in educational systems, and its benefits have thoroughly been researched to truly incentivize student’s learning.^[1] It cannot be denied that a collaborative effort between individuals will often result in a noticably impressive work, especially when each person plays their part.
This shows how vital this concept is, but even so, why does there exist a notorious discontent amongst students regarding group projects? How do some groups manage a successful project but others can result in the opposite? Are there methods to balance these two contrasts better?

“At their worst, team projects force high-achieving students to compensate for those less willing to put in effort. At their best, they foster productive collaboration and idea sharing among future professionals.”^[2]

[How do university students feel about group work?]
I put forward this research proposal in hopes of exploring how university students feel towards group projects, and suggest applicable strategies which can help promote efffective group systems within the college. Through studying the satisfaction of students in regards to group projects, there may be an overlooked approach which can improve the group project system.

To achieve this, I will explore both the positive and the negative arguments for academic group projects, the differences in the methodology of grouping, while also discerning the existing factors that influence the outcome of a group project for university students.
It is my hope that this research may be able to provide an interesting insight to the college from the perspective of the students.

Research Methodology

In the time of writing my proposal, my present primary research methodology can only explore the answers of this year’s cohorts of 33 students, yielding about 13-14 responses for my Twitter poll. This makes up for roughly a response rate of about 39-40% from my coursemates. However, they still provide interesting results which validates the research topic.

In the first poll, I asked if students thought it was fair if they were placed in group projects with random people. Using the word ‘fair’ was intentional, as it is a subjective word that fits my inquiry about the respondent’s emotions. We can notice that this question has elicited a mixed reception within these 13 students, with 46.2% believing it is fair, versus 53.8% believing it is an unfair method. However,it is also worth noting that a student had commented on this poll, stating that it is understandable in preparing students for the unpredictable workforce.

In my second poll, there is a very noticeable inclination towards students preferring individual work over group work. These findings hint at an underlying problem from the student’s perception of group work, and that my research should focus on identifying these causes.

In the next phase of my research, I intend to explore various methods of how students could be grouped, what can the students and teachers do in promoting quality group experiences, and if the faculty should consider marking students as a whole by group, or as individuals based on contribution.

Brief Scope Into Research

A brief scope into my research includes this NCBI research paper titled ‘Group Work‘, published 2018.
The paper mentions recommendations on how instructors and students can promote quality group experiences, with the following methods borrowed from this study:

1. Students should be assigned specific roles based by talent and background. By establishing proper roles for students, it provides them with a purpose they can immediately pursue. (p. 17)
2. The paper also mentions an interesting idea where groupmates would evaluate eachother when conducting long group projects. It immediately identifies individual contributions and can bring immediate attention on changing the group dynamics. (p. 12)

In this article by Inside Higher ED published in 2018, there is a brief section discussing different methods of grading group projects should they be graded individually or as a whole. The main issue with grading groups as a whole is that, assigning a single grade to a group of students can mean rewarding underperforming students for letting their peers complete most of the work, or marking down students who tried their best for a project that didn’t come together.(Mark L, 2018, .p 27.)

TeachHUB’s article on ‘Ways to Arrange Students For Group Work‘ explores the difference between teacher-assigned groups and student-chosen groups.

1. Allowing students the autonomy of choice in the classroom in picking their groupmates can allow them to easily establish communication and involvement in the process. It’s the most effective in group harmony, as everyone knows their strengths and limits.
2. Teacher-assigned groups introduce a lot of challenge, and as this is the most common mode of arranging groups, it is the riskiest as the student may not be able to coordinate with others as well as in a group where they can be with familiar people.

Finally, this research paper from Cogent Education titled ‘I hate/don’t hate/still hate group projects! A
tripartite ethical framework for enhancing student collaboration‘ by Jeffrey W. Murray gives a good view on the perception of students regarding group work. From the abstract, we see that students dislike group projects due to their grades potentially being jeopardized when it comes to being grouped with others that do not contribute. (p.1) Ending up in dysfunctional groups seem to be one of the biggest fears for students in group projects.

References:

Hammar Chiriac, E., (2021). Group work as an incentive for learning students experiences of group work.(
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4046684/) ^[1]

Lieberman, M. (2021). Group projects in online classes create connections and challenge instructors | Inside Higher Ed. Insidehighered.com. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2018/04/25/group-projects-online-classes-create-connections-and-challenge.^[2]

Chang, Y., Brickman, P., & Tanner, K. (2021). When Group Work Doesn’t Work: Insights from Students | CBE—Life Sciences Education. CBE—Life Sciences Education. Retrieved from https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.17-09-0199. [2]

Livingstone, David & Lynch, Kenneth. (2000). Group Project Work and Student-centred Active Learning: Two different experiences. Studies in Higher Education. 25. 325-345. 10.1080/713696161.^[3]

Wilson, K. J., Brickman, P., Brame, C. J. (2018). Group work. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 17(1), fe1. 10.1187/cbe.17-12-0258 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6007768/)

Kiser, S., 2021. Ways to Arrange Students for Group Work – TeachHUB. [online] TeachHUB. Available at: <https://www.teachhub.com/classroom-management/2019/09/30-ways-to-arrange-students-for-group-work/&gt;

As shown in my previous blog post, my niche is pixel art, which is a style of art. It’s distinguishable, and not something seen very common which holds true to the characteristics that I would consider ‘niche’. That is why it is especially important to fully delve into this topic and investigate if it is fitting to be a valid digital artefact, under the lens of ethnographic study.

How relevant is my niche to future careers in the creative industries?

Pixel art is often associated with video games for most people. Not only is it a matter of nostalgia for the old-school games with limited graphics, it is also an art style that is closest to symbolizing gaming.

Nowadays, there are many aspiring game developers across the globe and a number of them have made their own indie game development teams. A popular trend seems to be pixel art due to its cost-efficiency in its compact size, allowing most systems (even low-end PCs) to run their games as well as pixel artists generally being a more affordable alternative to 3D graphic artists. However, this is not to say these games do not end up being just as popular as mainstream games.

For instance, let us take “Shovel Knight“, a popular pixel art game for example.

Despite the seemingly aged graphics, this is a game that was developed in 2014 but reported sales upwards to two million copies sold across all platforms in just over five years.

Of course, only one example would not be convincing enough for a proper research. Introducing “Undertale“, a 2D roleplaying game developed in 2015, that is also entirely designed with pixel art graphics. It’s a game that shook the Internet by storm, and though the total sales are not officially disclosed, there is an estimate of over 3.5 million players from data dated at 2018.(Orland, 2021)

These are all evident that pixel artists are indeed a welcome resource in the gaming industry, as even simple graphics can still top the sales charts when it fulfills the criteria of being able to connect visually with the players.

Challenges with my niche

To be frank, though I have been doing pixel art for a long time as a casual hobbyist, I have little experience in doing actual traditional art. Thus, it is not a field that I am confident in. I fear that since this is an art-focused niche, I would have to market myself against the millions of other artists on the Internet. And it is very difficult to stand out, when it is an oversaturated market with incredible talents across the globe that can constantly make you reconsider your personal qualities when looking at the art of others.

That is why, despite pixel art being my chosen style of art, I would have to discover my own style within this style – for the lack of a better word. It is easy to make pixel art, but true mastery would definitely take many years especially to the average man.

Thus, I must make an attractive portfolio and build an online presence for success in this field. Many pixel artists are also expected to know how to animate, and thus it is also an aspect of the field that I am learning in my spare time.

References:

Web.archive.org. 2021. Two Million Copies of Shovel Knight Sold!! | Yacht Club Games. [online] Available at: <https://web.archive.org/web/20200215033824/https://www.yachtclubgames.com/2018/04/two-million-copies-of-shovel-knight-sold/&gt; [Accessed 12 September 2021].

Orland, K., 2021. Valve leaks Steam game player counts; we have the numbers. [online] Ars Technica. Available at: <https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/07/steam-data-leak-reveals-precise-player-count-for-thousands-of-games/&gt; [Accessed 12 September 2021].