Table 1.
Responses by students to the pre-survey questionnaire
| Items | Response (N=117) | |
|---|---|---|
| Have you ever prepared a scientific model? | 83% responded as Yes | |
| How would you like to work? | 87.2%- Group; 12.8%- Independently | |
| How have you prepared a model, during school time? | 94%- Group; 6%- Independently | |
| If you have prepared in the group, then how many members were in each group? Number of members in each group | Number of participants (N=117) | Percentage of participants |
| Less than 5 members | 23 | 19.66% |
| 5 to 10 members | 86 | 73.50% |
| More than 10 members | 01 | 0.86% |
| Independently | 07 | 5.98% |
| How well did the group work? | ||
| Good | 59 | 50.43% |
| Better | 20 | 17.09% |
| Best | 26 | 22.22% |
| Not satisfactory | 12 | 10.26% |
| Were there any conflicts within the group at any point in time? | 65.8%-Yes; 34.2%- No | |
| If, Yes, how you were able to manage it? | ||
| By discussing with each other | There are the usual | Majority wins |
| By always taking opinions from all not letting anyone become superior or anyone inferior By discussing with the guide, teacher I was the leader, so I helped communicate and create a bridge and a common understanding along with an emphasis on unity. By discussing it for a long time than coming to a different option By explaining to each other importance of group Chose the method of majority wins while trying to introduce the things the rest of them had to say about. |
disagreement regarding how to proceed with the project, we use to take a vote With majority and logic Talking to the mentor and sucking up By discussing the problems and having an unbiased solution Ignore Communication Making each other understand with calmness and no fighting |
Mutual understanding Yes definitely, had to explain to that member about the situation and then make them understand that what’s best for the group is going to be done Compromises make a group stronger. By distribution of work equally among group members according to their strengths We would come to a common conclusion and decision and then proceed, sometimes we would ask our guide to take a certain decision for us in case of conflicts |
| Did you like this way of concept learning? | 82.1%- Yes; 17.9%- No | |
| If yes, how and if no, then why? | ||
| Those who said YES to the above question | Those who said NO to the above question | |
| Because it is useful for us It increases our interaction and learning By preparing the model on various topics if required we learn in-depth It was fun. Because it is very interesting and useful it will give a more clear understanding of any topic It can improve our understanding and also imagination power It makes science more applicable Yes, it helps to learn better. You get to put many minds and work well. Very useful for long term memory It helps in exploring numerous ideas to work on and with many different experiences Yes it helps us to learn better |
No, because it’s very chaotic work and can’t be possible now to manage with the ongoing stuff. Workload during hostel hours is something I don’t like. Groups don’t function well unless there is a basic understanding and compatibility. Usually, one passionate person does all the job and the others row the boat of credit. Working independently or in pairs is much better as the workload can be shared and it brings out more creativity as two minds are better than one. But too many of them lead to unnecessary confusion Not everyone is willing to do her bit, or even contribute. The majority of work ends up on the shoulders of a few, but all get the credit Don’t like it, it indulges comparison, competition which increases the pressure |
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