---
title: "Is student groupwork achieving the goals we intend? Identifying the risks and benefits of groupwork"
type: "article"
space: "Scholarship of Teaching and Learning"
author: "Joanna Crabtree"
created: 2025-08-26T16:33:09Z
updated: 2025-08-26T23:49:19Z
tags: ["sotl-research-project", "toolkit-for-student-group-work"]
url: "https://employees.senecapolytechnic.ca/spaces/267/scholarship-of-teaching-and-learning/articles/news/23392/is-student-groupwork-achieving-the-goals-we-intend-identifying-the-risks-and-benefits-of-groupwork"
---

# Is student groupwork achieving the goals we intend? Identifying the risks and benefits of groupwork

Melissa Warner, PhD, principal investigator and faculty member in the School of Management & Human Resources, led a research-based inquiry aimed at enhancing student group work to foster greater engagement and learning among both neurotypical and neurodiverse students in a college business school setting.

Project findings:

- Collaborating in diverse groups broadens students’ perspectives, deepens intercultural and neurodiversity understanding, and enhances global awareness.
- Group work supports the development of communication and problem-solving skills, especially among international and early-semester students by encouraging peer interaction and collaboration.
- To improve the effectiveness and inclusivity of group work in the classroom, consider the following strategies:
    - Integrate short, targeted training for students on how to work effectively in groups
    - Build group skills through practice in a smaller assignment in the classroom before large, summative assignments
    - Prioritize hands-on Faculty support over formal groupwork tools like peer evaluations
    - Be strategic with group work requirements; groupwork is overdone and overused
    - Keep groups small in size \(2-3 is ideal for maximizing benefits and minimizing challenges\)

For more information, including student recommendations for group work, download Melissa’s [Faculty Toolkit for Student Group Work](https://employees.senecapolytechnic.ca/spaces/267/scholarship-of-teaching-and-learning/files/22295/faculty-toolkit-for-student-group-work-pdf). The toolkit is a direct outcome of her SoTL research and designed to help Seneca faculty enhance the effectiveness of student group work.