The pedagogical method in higher education is changing. Thus, the important focus in this time of change is active learning which one of its important elements is collaborative learning or small group work. Group work has been found good for students as well as instructors. Online learning is now a major medium in the world of education, especially after the worldwide pandemic. Online group work also has become popular in instructional strategy. Online groups are usually small, hence they are designed to help online students in developing some important skills, share and challenge others ’ ideas, and as preparation for future careers. In online learning, activities designed for interaction can help learners to get through the zone of proximal development. According to Vygostky (1978), the zone of proximal development (zpd) is the distance between “actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers" (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86). For the learners to get through this zpd, the learners need assistance from people around them. Learners can get through zpd when they are guides to focus on (a) social interactions and the presence of (b) more knowledgeable others. The purpose of this paper is therefore to investigate the experiences of students working in group online learning to explore its benefits through the Zone of Proximal Development, based on the data from 481 students at a public university. A quantitative survey that consists of 3 main sections with 42 items and a 5-point Likert scale was employed. Data revealed that students get more benefits from working in a group in an online environment than working individually. Findings show how online learning affects social interaction, inspires the participation of more knowledgeable others, and also improves interaction with content among learners. Findings reveal that learners found that they engage more in online group work if they are in the same group with their chosen group members, and also have the motivation to finish tasks with the support of their peers from the same group. In addition, it can improve students' language skills indirectly and further understanding of non-verbal cues. Findings indicate the benefits of working in groups as it can increase students' knowledge by learning communication skills. They learn how to justify others' opinions and vice versa, thus enabling them to have meaningful interactions. Students also learn how others solve communication problems. Besides that, there is a need for instructors to work and assist learners with the difficulty of communication presented by online environments. It would be informative for future research to investigate how students manage online group work over time, and how group work management is affected by various variables at the individual and group levels.
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In-Text Citation: (Sazali et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Sazali, A. R. B., Khamarudin, F. B., & Abdul Alahdad, S. N. B. (2022). Maximising The Zone of Proximal Development Benefits in Group Online Learning. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 12(6), 1418– 1437.
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