All students found that their individual projects led to development and learning. Letting students choose a development project encouraged ownership and motivation. It also led to a wide range of topics, some of which were almost existential and related to identity, whereas other projects were more concrete. There was no assessment in the end, and we assume that this contributed to a learning environment with a perceived low risk of failure (Perkins, 2013).

The students’ project work took place within the social framework of their peers and teachers. This framework held great potential for learning in that students were prompted to articulate and clarify their ideas, problems, and strategies to communicate them to their peers. The process of articulation also helped the students understand their own selected problem on a deeper level. Therefore, we argue that doing individual projects within the forum of a group can lead to indirect social and collaborative forms of learning.

Our study indicates that acknowledging differences in the processes of sharing is important for enhancing mutual identification in a group. However, students’ experiences of a group hierarchy may work against mutual identification and should be sought rectified to support collaborative learning.