The Fallacies of Collaboration: A Critique of Group Work in Technical Communication Pedagogy
http://www.stc.org/confproceed/1995/PDFs/PG7982.PDF

Shirk, Henrietta Nickels
STC Proceedings
1995

Abstract:

Collaboration through group writing assignments has become an accepted standard activity in most technical communication textbooks and classrooms. Some of the commonly-held fallacies connected with the view of collaboration’s benefits over individual efforts are that it produces better products, creates an equitable distribution of work, and provides greater motivation. It is also erroneously assumed that the success of collaboration depends on the study and effective practice of the principles of group dynamics and that collaborative techniques can accurately simulate “real life” readers and workplace experiences. Further research in group dynamics is required to accurately assess the value of group work in classroom settings.