In business schools across India, one of the most common pedagogical tools is the use of group work and group projects. A number of factors have driven the increase in the use of this form of active learning format. As instructor, it is essential to understand how students perceive group works, factors that influence their perception, and the importance of group work from the students' perspective. Understanding them will enable the instructor to efficiently use group works and aid in students learning and career development. This study examines the perception of students towards group work and the skills acquired through group work and group projects. In addition, attention is given to the influence of age and prior work experience on the students' perception of group work. The sample consists of 187 students undertaking a marketing course at a premier business school in India. The findings indicate that students' perception towards the group work is significant and students value the skills acquired through group projects for their future career development. Implications are provided.

One of the primary goals of management education is to help students prepare for the real world (Lordan, 1996). Faculty members often use a variety of active cooperative learning formats to enhance student learning in the classroom. The cooperative learning formats which include group projects, summer internship program, management research projects, aid in-class exercise and case analysis have received much attention in the marketing literature (Gatfield, 1999; Colbeck, 2000; and Brooks and Ammons, 2003). Group work and group project is one such experiential learning format that is more often used by faculty to bridge theory and practice. Group project is defined as an assignment that requires two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, to come together to achieve specific objectives (Young and Henquinet, 2000).

Faculties from marketing as well as from various other academic disciplines use group projects to help students grow both personally and professionally. There are several reasons for the use of this teaching pedagogy in the classroom. The benefits of using group projects are usually categorized into student-linked, faculty-linked and job-linked.

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