11 have long been claimed to exist in Western countries may not be effective for students in
Asia. Another study conducted by Topping et al. 2007 in Scotland has also supported
the view that group work does not always result in positive outcomes. While in one project they could show that group work was effective for the primary students, in
another project, they failed to prove the effectiveness of group work in improving the grades of the secondary students. This result indicates further that the benefits of group
work may be uncertain and inconsistent to appear as the effective way to enhance students‟ attainment.
5. Conditions for Successful Group Work
The factors which might play important roles in determining whether group work is successful or not are basically related to group formation, grading policies, and also
task complexity Fiechtner Davis as cited in Falchikov, 2001; Oakley et al., 2004.
a. Group Formation
According to Oakley et al. 2004, group formation usually covers aspects such as who becomes the decision maker for the group choice
– teacher or student, the number of students involved in a group, and the proficiency level of the students. They view that an
ideal group formation covers three up to five students with varied competence levels who are carefully selected by the teacher. If students are allowed to choose their own group,
Oakley et al. believe that more-competent students will form their own groups, whereas
12 the remaining less-competent students, with no other choice, have to be united in other
groups. This condition, they claim, will not give beneficial impacts for the skill development of their students. They reveal that more-competent students tend to only
divide a task into individual responsibilities without discussing the task beforehand, while less-competent students tend to do the task in a meaningless way. On the other hand,
Oakley et al. believe that if the teacher can take a part in forming the so-called ideal group, less-competent students can get learning benefits from more-competent students,
and the stronger students can also benefit in comprehending the material better by tutoring the less-competent students.
b. Grading Policies
Regarding grading policies, Oakley et al. 2004 insist to use peer ratings, as also known as peer assessments, to encourage each member to work harder for the group
assignment. According to them, there are two common styles in using peer ratings. The first is academic-related, which is about the final product of the task or project, while the
second one concerns about the social contribution among members. From these two styles, Oakley et al. favor the second style over the first for a number of reasons. They
claim that the first style will consent only more-competent students who tend to contribute the most ideas on the task. Realizing this, Oakley et al. find that weaker
students may feel dejected to work harder since they may think their ideas will not be counted in the peer ratings process. Meanwhile, by applying the second-style peer
ratings, they believe that all members, regardless of their competency level, can work
13 more supportively to develop the target task since it is the social contribution which is
reckoned more. In addition, Fiechtner and Davis as cited in Falchikov, 2010 also insist that good peer ratings should be worth 21 up to 40 of the total grade of the
assignment.
c. Task Complexity
According to Fiechtner and Davis as cited in Falchikov, 2010, the activities assigned in class should be sufficient to give each group chances to improve the solidity
level within a group. In achieving this aim, however, they also recommend teachers not to assign too many activities at the same time. Besides, teachers should also ensure that
the activities given are varied, related to course objectives, and also able to allow an adequate amount of time for in-class group work.
As a final point, although the results of the studies might vary from other similar studies, it is worth noting that these factors may be very significant to be taken into
account when teachers assign their students to work in groups.
C. THE STUDY
1. Research Question
This study tried to answer the following questions: What are Satya Wacana Senior High School students‟ perceptions toward the
advantages and disadvantages of group work?
