In the literature there is a lot of discussions on how to define PLN ( personal learning network). One that resonates with me is that is “a group of people who can guide your learning, point to learning opportunities, answer your questions and give you their benefit of their knowledge and experience.” (Tobin, 1998)

Establishing learning communities can happen informally, from work and life experiences, by having shared interests or by simply taking part of a network of professionals gather by the job itself or outside of work e.g. conferences. These can be pretty unconscious communities that we do not necessarily perceive as PLN, although they are indeed if we use the above the definition. In education however, “participants are actively involved in constructing knowledge.” (Oddone, 2019), hence PLN is somehow an implied goal and a more conscious community that is part of the student learning journey. With variants in the intentions for example the social motivation, working within the student network is often part of the learning outcomes and establishing such a PLN is actually part of the student expectations when joining a course.

When designing for interactive project-based courses (or PBL) it is common to use group-based activities as a teaching method throughout the course. Group work collaboration however, as a teaching or assessment method is sometimes used by default and it is not always the best pedagogical answer. Although team-based activities, such as reflection discussions or group work exercises, can be a good idea for gaining teamwork skills and a good solution to save resources for large groups, there are some trade-offs that should be considered.

Group work has a great impact on the student workload. In fact, it is advised that for the student time allocation calculation a ratio of 1:2 or even 1:5 in PBL should be applied. In groups, project planning tasks and team management takes up most of the students’ time, and unless these are specific learning outcomes it should be reconsidered. The effort of keeping the group together has a burden in the productivity, which often creates frustrations and tensions that can eventually affect the motivations for a deeper learning.

How to balance the value of establishing PLN without the burden of the collaborative group work in project-based courses? In my experience in executive education for example, networking is a specially added value. It is actually part of the students’ incentives to connect with other professionals from the industry whom they can learn from and get support from colleagues they trust because of the companies they represent. In this context, it is important to make a distinguish between networking and group work activities, and address these two with different teaching methods – instead of using the ‘group work by default’.

One technique that I have been using recently for small groups (30) in executive education courses – where teamwork is not really a learning outcome, is to set up individual project work combined with short sessions during the week for students to connect with others. Networking is then addressed by enabling moments of connection and exchange, for example by creating peer-to-peer and group support. This is allowing students to both get a more in-depth learning by conducting independent group work and by reflecting about their work together with their peers.

References
PLNs Theory and Practice by Kay Oddone, part 1.

PLNs Theory and Practice by Kay Oddone, part 2.

Tobin, D.R. (1998). Building Your Personal Learning Network