INSTRUCTORS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR ROLE IN ONLINE GROUP WORK

Amidst the proliferation of online higher education courses, instructors are not readily adopting online group work. Yet, group work is recognised as important to the development of collaborative teamwork skills. Employers of business graduates consider collaborative teamwork skills as one of the most important to look for in a prospective employee. By understanding the perceptions instructors have about their role in group work, then ways can be found to increase the use of online group work as a means of addressing this problem. Individual practices of group work were examined. Data was gathered in three stages from instructors and educational developers. The data was analysed using a phenomenographic approach. The outcomes of the research are reported as five categories of conception, which are: Starter; Co-ordinator; Trusted Advisor; Evaluator; and Actuator. Within the categories, four dimensions of variation are shown in a hierarchical structure of low complexity to comprehensive. The categories of conception and the dimensions of variation describe all of the conceptions found during analysis. The categories do not describe individuals but capture the conceptions of the respondents in a finite set of categories of conception. The outcomes of this research have the potential to inform instructors new to online group work or those striving to improve their practice.