Supporting Teamwork in Blended and In-Person Delivery Modes in Large Class Size Through Cooperative Learning and Real-Time Collaboration Platforms

Abstract

Primary barriers to the adoption of team-based learning in higher education pertain to classroom management difficulties regarding the large class size, no access to physical infrastructure, and the lack of implementation of student-centered pedagogical approaches. To overcome these challenges, this study proposes the use of collaborative technological environments in conjunction with teamwork pedagogy. The study investigates this approach by comparing two implementations of a large-size undergraduate course: (a) the in-person mode when an active learning classroom was assigned to the course, and (b) the blended mode when a portion of traditional face-to-face instruction was replaced with web-based online learning to facilitate teamwork interactions. The study used the Team Learning Model to characterize students’ beliefs about their collaborative and social processes as they worked in teams as part of a semester-long project. The results indicated that students exhibited positive attitudes toward teamwork regardless of the delivery mode, with only affective connectedness showing significant differences between the two semesters for the initial survey rounds. However, this difference was no longer present in the later survey rounds, suggesting that the blended learning environment was successful in addressing social interaction and had a similar effect on students’ team-based learning when teaching in-person. Implications relate to the demonstration of the design of a collaborative technological learning environment and the integration of team-based pedagogies to facilitate socialization processes in large class size settings.