Edinburgh Napier University

  This chapter evaluates students' experiences of group work in media production education and investigates strategies for effective teaching and learning in that context. Working in groups can be challenging for students and for tutors supervising the logistics of practical production and assessment. Within the broader context of media education, media production education has lacked attention beyond debates over employability versus academic study. Strategies for teaching media production and students' experiences of learning through group practical work deserve further enquiry and discussion. This chapter examines theories of experiential education that have influenced strategies for effective group working and considers in particular the management of group dynamics within a media production and learning environment. Furthermore, the chapter evaluates the outcomes of a survey of student learning experiences of group work within the context of the literature relevant to media production pedagogy and academic practice concerned with groups and practical work. It is concluded that carefully managed group work in media production education represents positive, iterative learning processes. A need for theoretical frameworks dedicated to questions of media production education as well as areas for further research are identified.