Creating learning personas for collaborative learning in higher education: A Q methodology approach

Abstract

Although collaborative learning is acknowledged as important in higher education, there are many challenges when designing and implementing collaborative learning and research has found that many college students were frustrated with group work. This study was aimed at investigating students’ perspectives on various sources of frustrations in group learning and creating learner personas that can be helpful for faculty and instructional designers to design positive collaborative learning experiences. Using Q methodology, five learner personas with rich narratives were identified: goal-oriented collaborator, fairness-oriented independent learner, learning-oriented collaborator, instruction-dependent learner, and adapted collaborator. This paper discusses the implications, benefits, and limitations for instructional design.

Keywords

• Collaborative learning
• Frustrations
• Learner personas
• Q methodology
• Higher education