This research concentrates on the experiences of a cohort of undergraduate students as they took part in two assessed group projects. The research concentrates on the following key question: In what ways were students becoming more or less able to participate effectively in group projects because of their experience of similar projects? The literature review features an extensive overview of transfer research and experiential learning, in addition to charting the rise of skills-based initiatives in Higher Education. It also reviews the available literature on experiential learning in group situations revealing a dearth of research into the specific dynamics of students groups in Higher Education. After an initial design based on quasi-experimentation, the researcher adopted a more interpretive position. A significant feature of the methodology is a reflective account of the process of social science research as experienced by the researcher. The results section describes the key dynamics around which the students made sense of group work and in turn how they framed it in terms of a learning experience. In brief, the students' accounts of group work were characterised by several main themes: the issue of control and influence over others (which the role of 'student' was perceived to limit); the reciprocal nature of group work with its potential to influence grades; the public nature of group work through which the students presented themselves to others and the discrepancies which were revealed in group work between different ways of working. The discussion places the student firmly within the learning milieu that they create as students on a particular degree course. In doing so it provides a socia-interpretive explanation of development and transfer.

This is a participative case study of a self-facilitating, collaborative, women’s learning group. The group’s longevity afforded a unique opportunity to investigate, in depth, both what encouraged its members to join at its outset, and what has sustained the participation of its current members for thirteen years. Its longevity also provided an opportunity to explore the impact of sustained membership on the women in the group. These two components of the study are its most significant original contributions to the existing literature which does not appear to cover anything similar. The initial raison d’étre of the group was its members’ professional development and this forms a central strand of the investigation, along with identity and self-facilitation. A pragmatic research paradigm, the collaborative nature of the group and the writer’s dual role as both participant and researcher were all influential in the decision to use a participative approach. A range of methods, chosen by the participants, was utilised during the investigation which, whilst participatory, is not emancipatory research. This experimental divergence from how a participative approach is traditionally employed is offered for consideration by researchers who wish to work in a new way that minimises power in other, non-emancipatory situations. The findings support, contradict and add to the literature. The mutuality of longevity and the depth of discourse and learning experienced by group members is a particularly striking aspect of this study. As members of the group have aged, its focus has segued from professional development to encompass a much broader agenda: it has shifted from contributing to members’ professional identity to sustaining their perceptions of self as women who remain capable of complex, critical thinking as they move out of full-time work. The longevity of the group has also fostered deep attachments between group members, despite the differences between them: sustained membership of the group, in turn, provides sustenance for its members. The significance of grounding, ground rules and group composition are highlighted, as is the need to contemplate how members will leave a group during its formation. Alignment between participants in a group is identified as important for its continuation but not always possible. This research makes no claim to offer a definitive model for collaborative learning groups but, instead poses a series of questions for consideration by others who are interested in collaborative learning.

Elever i musikklasser med körinriktning i grundskolan ingår i en lokalt situerad musikkultur som är formad av traditioner med rötter i förra seklets första hälft. I denna tradition har konventioner om sång med barn utvecklats. Undervisning i musikklasser sker i stora grupper men den enskilda eleven internaliserar kunskapen om att sjunga individuellt. Varje elev bidrar med sitt individuella kunnande i musicerande tillsammans med andra. Studiens syfte var därför att belysa enskilda elevers lärande om att sjunga. Deltagarna i studien var musiklärare och elever i en årskurs fyra och en årskurs fem i musikklasser med körinriktning. Data samlades in genom observation och videodokumentation av en körlektion i respektive klass och genom enskilda intervjuer med åtta elever. Data analyserades ur ett kulturpsykologiskt perspektiv med fokus på kulturella redskap. Betydelsen av den individuella musikkulturella inramningens synliggjordes liksom elevernas strävan efter kvalitet. Samstämmighet visade sig mellan elevernas beskrivningar av förutsättningar för lärande, där den viktigaste faktorn som eleverna lyfte fram var möjligheten att få sjunga i ett, för eleven, bekvämt sångläge. Ett övergripande mönster i resultaten var att elever uppmärksammar de kulturella verktyg som distribueras i undervisningen med stor variation. / Students, who attend a special musical training which focus on choral singing and is offered in the Swedish compulsory school (i.e. musikklass in Swedish), are included in a locally situated music culture, which is shaped by traditions from the early twentieth century. In this tradition, conventions relating to singing with children have developed. Teaching choral singing in large groups is common in these music classes. However, students internalize knowledge about singing individually. Therefore, each student contributes his or her expertise about singing in music making together with other singers. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to highlight individual student learning about singing in a large choir group. The participants in this study were two music teachers and 8 students aged 10 an 11 years old who attended music classes with a focus on choral singing. Data were collected by observations and video documentations of one choir lesson in each grade and by interviews with the students. Data were analysed from a culture psychology perspective with a focus on cultural tools. The results showed the importance of the individual music cultural framing as well as the students’ pursuit of quality. Furthermore, the results showed consistency between the students descriptions of prerequisites for learning. The most important prerequisite, according to the students, was the opportunity for them to sing in a comfortable singing mode. Finally, an overall pattern in the results was the variation in how students pay attention to cultural tools distributed to them in choral teaching.