AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF LECTURERS' VIEWS OF OUT-OF-CLASS ACADEMIC COLLABORATION AMONG STUDENTS

Abstract

This article reports an exploratory study of lecturers' perceptions of out-of-class academic collaboration (OCAC) among students at a large Singapore university. Two types of OCAC were investigated: collaboration initiated by students, e.g., groups decide on their own to meet to prepare for exams, and collaboration required by teachers, e.g., teachers assign students to do projects in groups. Data were collected via one-on-one interviews with 18 faculty members from four faculties at the university. Findings suggest that OCAC, especially of a teacher-required kind, is fairly common at the university. Faculty members' views on factors affecting the success of OCAC are discussed for the light they might shed on practices to enhance the effectiveness of OCAC.

Keywords

• assessment
• collaboration
• cooperative learning
• group dynamics
• out-of-class study
• project work.