Building community: Perceptions of group work
over a three-year undergraduate degree
program in computer science

Group work is an increasingly important activity in university courses not only in terms of perceived learning benefits but also in terms of social and interpersonal development. In this sense, group work can be seen as a microcosm of community development within the university. In addition, group work skills are among the most important generic attributes students should develop as preparation for the world of work. This is especially true for computer science students where teamwork is widespread in the professional community. However, teaching that involves group work is challenging and it is important to support student learning of group skills, to develop instruments for evaluating this aspect of teaching and to measure student development in group work skill as well as student perceptions of their group work experiences. In this paper we will report on a survey of third year students who we initially surveyed during their experience of group work in first year computer science. We will adopt a comparative and developmental analysis of this data to highlight how students grapple with the process of group work as they progress through the undergraduate years and to identify what they perceive as incentives for engaging in community building through group work. As expected some of the problems inherent in group work, such as division of labour, remain in third year but students appear to develop successful interpersonal strategies to preserve community and deliver a group outcome. How students can be supported in achieving these goals will also be discussed.