Group Work: Social Influence and Study Technology Use in Large Undergraduate Science Lecture Courses

• In Event: Poster Session 6
  In Poster Session: Insights on Technologies + Pedagogies (K–12, Higher Education, Massive Open Online Courses)

Abstract

Web-enabled study tools are becoming increasingly prevalent in undergraduate lecture courses, but very little is known about the process by which students integrate these tools into their study practices. In this discussion, the results of a study of students’ domestication of a practice problem review website are reported. Students’ tendency to adopt and use the practice problem website was informed by their interaction with their peers in out of class study groups. Students’ use of the practice problem website tended to reflect the strategies of peers they studied with as the semester progressed. Students used the tools in a variety of ways, including exam preparation, as a diagnostic tool for identifying difficult subjects, and as a collaborative study tool.

Author

• Michael Brown, Iowa State University