The Effects of Group Composition of Self-Regulation on Project-based Group Performance

Collaborative learning encourages the use of high-level cognitive strategies, critical thinking, and interpersonal relationships. Despite these advantages, most instructors reveal the difficulties of using project-based collaborative learning; a common problem is the failure of the group to work effectively together. Thus, this study attempted to provide practical advice on group composition with self-regulation. In a college course, 31 groups with 129 students were asked to discuss and prepare the final presentation material and present it together as a collaborative work. All students' self-regulation skills were measured at the beginning of the semester, and the collective self-regulation was computed as an average of the individual scores of each group. The results of regression analysis indicate that the group's collective self-regulation shows a highly significant positive effect on group performance and satisfaction, as self-regulation predicts individual academic performance. The results also show that there is a significant positive relationship between students' self-regulation and participation in group work.