A student has to be a good fit in order for online learning to work effectively for them. Therefore, some maybe concerned if students are able to handle an online learning environment. Picciano (2011) mentions that in order to take full advantage of distance education students need to have some level of maturity. This is especially true for students that must work in distance cooperative learning settings. Hall (2008) spoke about the four stages of group projects known as: forming, storming, norming, and performing.
The main aspect of this that stuck out to me was the storming stage. I feel like this is often skipped when working together cooperatively and left to be discovered by other group members as they move through the other stages. I think it is important to determine what each person brings to the table both good and bad. This can sometimes be difficult to accomplish in an online setting when so many personalities come together. A study conducted on the creating effective online group learning determined that sometimes groups can have low participation and/or dysfunction when partaking in these types of learning groups and that it can sometimes be alleviated by the instructor (Brindley, Walti & Blaschke, 2009). Which brings into question which is more effective in pulling a group through, the instructor or team leader? Hall (2008) suggests that when a group is struggling to perform then the leader must step up. I am on the fence and feel that it would depend on the age level of the group involved. What are your thoughts? Nevertheless, I feel that it is important for students to work together whether it is in a traditional classroom setting or distance. “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17, NIV).
References
Brindley, J. E., Walti, C., & Blaschke, L. M. (2009). Creating effective collaborative learning groups in an online environment. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 10(3), 1-10. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/675/1271
Hall, D. (2008). The Technology Director’s Guide to Leadership. ISTE ISBN 978-1-56484-244-2.
Picciano, A. G. (2011). Educational leadership and planning for technology (5th ed.). Hunter College, NY: Allyn & Bacon.