The effects on student motivation in the classroom when working in groups, pairs, or alone

Abstract

The research project was determining the effects on motivation in the science classroom when working in groups, with a partner, or alone. My 8th grade Earth science class worked on three chapters during the project. During the chapter on atmosphere the students did all assignments alone. During the chapter on meteorology the students did all of their assignments with a randomly selected partner. During the chapter on climate the students did all of their assignments with a randomly selected group of four. The data from surveys given to the students showed that they preferred to work with a partner or in a group. However, data from cumulative class GPAs taken before the project started and compared to cumulative class GPAs from each chapter showed GPAs going down. The largest decline was during the pair work chapter on meteorology, followed by the group work chapter on climate, and finally the individual work chapter on atmosphere. In conclusion, the students preferred to work with a partner or in a group, however, their cumulative class GPAs showed that they did better work on their assignments when they worked on them alone.