Academic social loafing in teamwork among university students: Effect of intervention

Over the past few decades, there has been a growing emphasis on the appropriateness of group-based activities in student learning. Therefore, this study aimed to provide practical evidence or activities for reducing social loafing with the performance implications of teamwork in students. The planning, intervening, assessing, and reflecting steps of the action research design were used in this study. Cognitive and constructivist theoretical frameworks were adhered to in this investigation. Eighty summer students from Debre Markos University in Ethiopia participated in the study. Interviews, survey exams, and classroom observations were utilised to get the information participants needed. As a result, before intervention, most students had not engaged in group projects effectively. Additionally, students’ survey test scores for the group work were statistically significant on both the pre-test and post-test. Students’ collaboration scores on the pre-test and post-test showed no gender differences. Based on these findings, the instructor or researcher implemented several tasks or activities to maximise the effectiveness of teamwork. These included forming cohesive and small teams, establishing specific demands and outcomes, providing a peer evaluation opportunity, outlining the importance of the task, assigning dividing assignments, and evaluating the process and output of the group’s performance. The researcher suggested that other instructors apply these interventions to improve team effectiveness.