Table 8 Students’ performances in collaboration
From: A case study of student development across project-based learning units in middle school chemistry
Units | Performances | Levels |
|---|---|---|
Unit 4 Low-Carbon Action | [Focus group interviews] R2: Do you prefer group work? Why? S: Yes. In the group, we will have different understanding of the same problem, which will help us understand it more deeply. R2: How well does your group work together? S: We did not know anything at first. I thought that group collaboration meant helping each other when we did experiments. I was the only one doing the work in the group, slowly everyone wanted to do something for our group. | Level 3: Collaboration consciousness |
Unit 5 Reasonable Use of Metal Products | [Focus group interviews] R2: Do you prefer group work? Why? S: Of course. Everyone’s ideas are different. A group should integrate everyone’s ideas. R2: How well does your group work together? S: When we were preparing the presentation PPT, my computer broke down, and I was very upset. My group members helped me finish the PPT, I found that everyone in our group is very good. We used a QQ telephone to discuss the problem together. After the PPT was completed, we sent it to the QQ group online so we could make suggestions and change the PPT together. | Level 4: Mutual contribution |
Unit 7 Soil Improvement | [Focus group interviews] R2: Do you prefer group work? Why? S: Yes. When I found that our bean seedlings were shorter than the other groups’, it was very depressed, because we were working very seriously. The four of us encouraged each other, saying “that’s all right,” and then we continued our experiments. The pH value was adjusted many times, the used test paper was piled up on the experimental table. Thanks to the mutual encouragement of the four people, our mood calmed down quickly, and we quickly became absorbed in the next experiment. R1: Can you comment on the other members of your group? S: I am assertive, and my minds will jump. The other girl in our group is calm and patient, who change me slowly. If other people do not tell me what they think, I feel that I am great enough. We should learn from each other. | Level 5: Valuable collaborative relationship |