Level of Group Participation in Small-Group Tutorials and Student Achievement

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Abstract

Perspective: The key feature distinguishing cooperative settings from other learning settings is interaction among students; most educators would agree that group process is fundamental to the Problem-based Learning (PBL) tutorial. Research suggests that neither the group nor the individual setting is best for everyone; the benefits of a particular setting depend upon the experiences of the learner within that setting. Active participation in the group process is more beneficial for learning of the individual members of the group than a lack of any discernible involvement.

Objective: Our primary research question was: What is the longitudinal relationship between level of group participation in PBL and achievement? We expected to see a cumulative advantage for active participation of students over time in contrast to inert students.

Methods and Data Sources: Data were collected from UCLA medical school 1st and 2nd year students from classes 2013 and 2014 (n=316). The PBL tutor/facilitator in each Block observes and scores student participation levels or Group Process on a 7-point Likert scale of the PBL-evaluation form used in all 9 blocks. We divided the cohorts into low and high performing groups based on their initial Block 1 Group Process performance and looked at their future growth trajectories as a function of initial Group Process. MCAT scores were used as a measure of their initial ability and USMLE Step 1 scores were used as a measure of achievement. Linear Growth Modeling using Structural Equation Modeling was used to analyze growth curves. This study was deemed exempt from review by UCLA's Institutional Review Board.

Results: Analysis revealed that the intercepts of the low and high Group Process groups were 5.16 and 5.39, respectively. The mean increments of the slopes of the growth curves of the low and high group process groups were .04 and .06 for each block, respectively, and no interaction between the growth curves of the two groups was found. MCAT and Step 1 scores were both significantly different between the groups (F=8.073 and 16.275, p<.005, respectively), with a greater effect size for Step 1 (.052 vs. .100). ANCOVA analysis revealed a significant effect for Group Process on Step 1 after controlling for preexisting differences in MCAT scores (F=59.828, p<.0005.)

Significance: Findings show a continuous relationship between initial ability, group process, and achievement, indicating that competent students tend to engage more actively in group settings, which may subsequently contribute to the sustainability of their high achievement status.

Authors

• Paul F. Wimmers, University of California - Los Angeles

• Ming Lee, University of California - Los Angeles