Working with groups
Reflect
Imagine this....
Your last assessment task is a group work activity that is worth a lot of marks. You are a bit worried about this as you haven't worked with groups before. Everything seems to be due at once and you're finding it hard to get the group together. A group member has a friend who has done this subject before and offers their notes to get you started.
What do you do?
The video below shows students responding to this scenario. Would you respond the same way?
Learn
Group work at UOW
There will be many occasions in your studies where you will be required to work in groups. Group work can challenge you in many ways (good and bad).
The following video describes strategies and tools you can use when doing group work.
Chapman Learning Commons, Working in Groups, Creative Commons attribution license.
Benefits
- You can clarify your ideas and concepts through discussion
- You can be an active learner and develop your interpersonal and communication skills.
- You can learn from other group members by listening to their ideas and perspectives.
- You can develop and practice problem solving, critical thinking, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.
Challenges
- It takes time to co-ordinate schedules, and arrange meetings. Especially if you trying to meet online.
- Some group members may not contribute a fair share of effort.
- Confusion about what is expected from each group member.
- Personality clashes, misunderstandings, and differences of opinion.
Planning
Careful planning at the start of a group activity will eliminate many potential problems.
Understand your purpose
- Check your Subject Outline for the assessment criteria. This should tell you what your group will be assessed on.
- Ask your tutor to clarify if you have any questions, this will prevent time-wasting on unnecessary work.
- Make sure that the group shares the same understanding of the task and the timelines.
Know your group
- Know who is in your group - exchange contact details and agree how you are going to communicate.
- Plan regular meeting times - either online or face-to-face.
- Know your own role within the group.
Work effectively together
- Make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and respond.
- Allocate tasks/roles - be clear about who is doing what and set deadlines.
- While you are all together, write up a list of tasks and who is allocated to that task and circulate to everyone.
- Establish a strategy to cope when something goes wrong.
Apply
Group work can be challenging, take a minute to think about what you would do if this happened to you...
What should you do when one person always takes over group discussions?
INCORRECT. When you are working in a study group or on a group assessment task it is important that everyone is involved. Group activities help you develop important skills for how to handle group interactions. Stay positive and speak up!
CORRECT! It is also a good idea to allocate times for each group member to speak so everyone has a chance to talk and be listened to.
What should you do when you are working on a group assessment task and one person never speaks up to offer an opinion?
INCORRECT. Don't put them on the spot, they might be shy and find it difficult to communicate with stronger speakers. Find other ways they can take part. It is a good idea to set up group expectations about everyone contributing equally but differently.
CORRECT! It is also a good idea provide opportunities to contribute in other ways, perhaps by writing up the notes.
What should you do when you are working on a group assessment task and one group member doesn't do any work?
INCORRECT. This is an example of academic misconduct. It is a good idea to try and deal with the issue in a reasonable way first and find out why they aren't contributing.
CORRECT! It is also a good idea to ask them what help they need to complete their part of the task.