The University of Toronto performed a study on the relationship to class size, class participation and grades. It included 25 courses with 25 instructors and 341 students. The conclusion was that students performed well in small online classes and that performance, defined as participation and grades, declined proportionally as class size increased. The study also looked at small group activities and found that large class performance improved by using small group activities. It also emphasized the importance of the software used for the small group discussions.

This is an unpublished research article on a model for group work in an online or blended course environment. The two salient points in this article are that the students must have unique skills for the online classroom. First they must be taught how to use the necessary technologies for collaboration and the second is that they must be taught social skills for online collaboration. The first point seems obvious, but I think the second point is often overlooked. We assume that students know how to interact with others, however interacting online is quite different than in person. Therefore these skills must be included in our curriculum.

This is a link to an article written by a Debbie Morrison who is an instructional designer trained at George Washington University. The two salient points made in this article are that students want group activities that are meaningful to them, in other words a project about a subject, in which they have a passion or at least strong interest. The other point addressed avoiding "social loafing" which was defined as individuals believing that less work is required on their part because of they are in a group. Some of her suggestions included a group charter and keeping the group size small, such as three participants per group.