With a growing trend in online learning you would want to generate a certain level of independence and give them an understanding among the group. This is critical the success of the online learning process. It is unfortunate that individuals work habits become more independent when working in a group and find no sense of personal achievement. Students tend to find difficulty in the meaning in their work when they are unable to have a sense of their individual accomplishments. There has also been research in goal difficulty, goal commitment, and the performance of the group, students will hold back in their individual efforts. It is easy to assume that when individuals feel that the group is working toward a common goal that is just as important to the other individuals in the group it becomes more effective. Communication and collaboration with distance learning proves to be more difficult than when involved in a face-to-face environment. You must assign roles and responsibilities among the group to give the individual a sense of personal success. Instructors must inform the group and make them understand that their individual performance is imperative to the team’s success. They must advise the group that they are responsible for the end goal.
When determining a group’s purpose you must consider the size of the group and how this will impact the outcome. It is often considered that smaller group sizes are more effective because individuals feel a a greater sense of accomplishment than when working in a larger group. It is also more difficult to determine an individual effort in larger groups. An ideal group size should be around five individuals or you are faced with the fact there is no cohesion within the group.
The cohesiveness of the group is the ability in which the group performs and bonds as a whole. It is suggested that an individual will not exert the required effort and is not an essential part in a group setting. The goals are more apt to be completed the more cohesive the group. When an individual feels they are involved in a quality group the better the response from that individual. Some individuals will slack if the feel that the core group is not close but if the feeling is that of a mutual bond then they feel