Grouping Strategy Effects on Students' Engagement in Technology-Enhanced Collaborative Learning

The technology enhanced collaborative learning (TECL) approach concerns with how information and communication technology might support learning in groups of students. This learning strategy can be employed to address students' disengagement concern within the academic settings; however, its effectiveness depends on different variables such as grouping strategies. The main goal of the current research was to investigate how the grouping strategies can enhance learners' engagement in a TECL based context. The study was conducted within a modernized learning environment as part of the UNITEL project. The participants were 38 undergraduate students enrolled in the “Educational Evaluation” course at the University of Isfahan in 2023-2024 academic year. The course offered in blended mode with TECL as its main learning approach which incorporated two different grouping strategies including student-selected grouping (SSG) and heterogeneously assigned grouping (HAG) strategies. Results revealed the SSG strategy improved students' overall engagement; however, this grouping strategy have not influenced the students' effective engagement significantly. This study suggests that, for the present generation of learners, a group strategy that promotes student control and autonomy within the learning environment may be more effective than a strategy emphasizing the diversity of students' abilities, experiences, and backgrounds.

I. Introduction

While technology is increasingly integrated into classrooms, educators have observed a concerning trend of low student engagement and active participation. Students are assuming more passive roles in classroom discussions, leading to a gradual decline in overall participation and interaction within the academic settings [1]. To address this concern, educators are required to take advantage of modernized teaching and learning approaches for technology integration such as technology enhanced collaborative learning (TECL).