Developing real estate students professional capacities: The role of group work

Purpose: A well-established principle of curriculum design in higher education is that ëcapstoneí or final-year subjects should represent the culmination of student learning and skills development across the degree. This paper represents a case study highlighting the value and limitations of group work for capstone assessment in Real Estate, drawing on the final-year undergraduate subject ëProperty Analysis Studioí. Design/methodology/approach: The Critical Incident Technique (Flanagan 1954; Chell 2004) was adopted in order to gain a deeper understanding of learner perspectives. A feedback form was designed and administered to the cohort (n=61). Data was de-identified, transcribed, and coded using a grounded approach (Glaser & Strauss 1967). A member of the research team observed the studentsí group presentations and made field notes; these were similarly transcribed and coded. Data was then compared with an analysis of the overall academic performance of the cohort. Findings: Previous research on peer learning in higher education has found that students are often resistant to group work, with conflicts commonly arising in relation to assessment and the division of labour. The evidence from our research confirms these findings, with a proportion of the cohort reporting some negative experiences of group work. Nevertheless, the majority of students reported positive overall experiences of learning from peers. For this cohort, the value of developing teamwork skills in an authentic learning context was seen to outweigh the perceived disadvantages. Originality/Value: The case study represents an original contribution to research on peer learning, collaborative learning, and teamwork in Real Estate education.