Working in groups
- What makes an effective group?
- Why work in groups?
- Get to know your group
- Resolving problems
- Working in groups online
What makes an effective group?
Deakin students are frequently asked to complete assignments in groups. While working effectively with others can be a very productive and satisfying experience, it can also be a very challenging task.
For groups to be effective, members need to work together to complete a task. The way group members relate to one another and perform a variety of roles is known as the dynamics of the team. It is not just the individual members who determine the group dynamics; the means of communication they use also has an impact. Members of a group may have to relate and communicate in a number of ways: face-to-face as a whole group, through phone links, via email or other electronic communication, or a combination of these.
When groups are ineffective it is often because they lack focus. The dynamics of the group may be poor, allowing some people to dominate while others contribute little. Where communication is poor, things don't get done. Time spent unproductively can be very destructive and lead students to feel angry and disillusioned.
Why work in groups?
By working in groups you gain experience and understanding about how tasks are often undertaken in the workplace. The successful completion of a group assignment usually means that you have acquired many very important skills, particularly communication, analytical and interpersonal skills, which are highly valued by employers. The capacity to listen, question, persuade, respect the opinions of others, help, share and participate is of lifelong value.
Working with others also allows for assignments to be broken into tasks and the workload to be distributed evenly. By working together, students are able to bounce ideas off each other and learn from each other. Members can contribute different skills and thus the group can achieve more than individual members could on their own.
Get to know your group
Often you will have an opportunity to select whom you will work with but sometimes, particularly if you are an off-campus student, this decision will be made for you. If you have not previously met the other members of the group, spend some time getting to know each other. Invite members to talk about themselves and exchange addresses. You may find that you will be working with students from interstate, overseas and from a diversity of backgrounds and interests. Build a good working relationship.
Establish guidelines
It is important for a group to establish an agreed set of protocols or ground rules for the way they behave and interact with each other. This might include respecting what people say, not talking behind their backs and encouraging open discussion.
Clarify assignment requirements
It is important for a group to establish an agreed set of protocols or ground rules for the way they behave and interact with each other. This might include respecting what people say, not talking behind their backs and encouraging open discussion.
Working on problems that are too general, not well defined or too large can be difficult. Clarify the purpose of the project and what skills you are expected to demonstrate; have an agreed purpose and set achievable goals.
Get to know your task. Break it down into sub-tasks. Identify what parts can be done independently and what parts are interdependent. You should have an agreed approach in terms of steps to be taken and a time line to show what tasks should be done.
Identify skills
A good group will capitalise on the strength of each member. Members of effective groups take on different roles to make sure the team runs smoothly and the goals of the group are achieved. Someone should be delegated to take on a leadership role and be responsible for guiding the process.
It is important to communicate about how to equitably allocate who does what in the group. The group might sort out roles according to their strengths, academic skills, preferred way of working or preferred roles. Decide on specific tasks and allocate these to individuals. Remember that because many tasks are interdependent, members of the group must work in a coordinated fashion.
Implement the plan
In order to maintain an effective working group, there are some further decisions that need to be made.
You need to agree on how frequently you should meet in order to work successfully together. The contact needs to be frequent to maintain momentum, although exactly what this means depends on the scale and nature of the task.
Secondly, the group must determine what is the most effective means to communicate. While face-to-face meetings are generally the most productive, you are likely to find yourself using email, the telephone or other means to correspond.
Resolving problems
Working in groups can be difficult. Interpersonal issues can arise. Students cannot always choose with whom they will work, and they may have been accustomed to working in a competitive rather than a cooperative learning environment.
A member of the team is not contributing. If a group member does not do the work agreed upon, you might need to refer to your ground rules. Try to find out why they are not being productive. Some people are very shy and need positive encouragement. They may be stuck and require some help and direction. Students may find certain tasks very challenging so identify each other's strengths and utilise them in the group.
It could be that if some members do not have the same level of motivation you may need to contact your lecturer.
There is conflict in the group. Groups often have difficulty in acknowledging and resolving conflict. However, using conflict effectively can ensure thorough debate and lead to a deeper understanding of issues. Do not mistake legitimate criticism for personal attack.
The group consists of people very different to you. It may be necessary to negotiate diversity in your group and accommodate individual work habits. Share information about your work styles. Remember that diversity helps to make a team strong and flexible.
A member of the group dominates. If some group members talk too much, suggest setting time limits in order to give each member a chance to speak. If a member of the group is dominating, you can politely point out that time is limited and refer to the ground rules.
Working in groups online
Most units that require you to work in a group will have an online discussion board set up for you in DSO so you can post messages to others in your group. This may include a brief introductory activity to start you working as a group. Make the most of this.
Add a couple of extra comments about when you are available and what your strengths and weaknesses are in terms of the assignment.
For example, 'I get really busy at work at the end of each month so won't have a lot of time to work on tasks around this time. I'm pretty good at formatting assignments and doing research, but my typing speed is a bit slow'. This helps to also set some sort of framework for the group.
Keep your messages short. Two or three paragraphs or less is about as much as anyone can effectively digest when reading online.
Guidelines for online group work
Check your group discussion board regularly. It is very frustrating when a team member proposes an idea, poses a question or contributes some work and then doesn't get a response for a week or more. Make sure you check your group discussion board at least weekly.
Show you are listening. Acknowledge an entry by a team member even if you have no comment to make so that they know someone is out there.
Agree on a time to meet online. One online learner at Deakin describes the way her group worked:
'A terrific team I worked with set a time of 8 pm on a Thursday to go online for a chat (four different time zones, so no small feat). Not everyone made it each week, but we resolved a lot of issues, came to agreements and set actions in a very concise time frame. In another group we all lived close by so we met once a week at one team member's home for the same reasons.'
Take part. There is nothing more frustrating than having someone on your team who contributes next to nothing, but reaps the rewards! Be honest - if you are unable to meet the deadlines the group sets because of other priorities, suggest what you can do instead. Don't just apologise after you have let the team down; make a point of committing to something you can do and then do it!
Treat each member with respect and value all contributions. Remember that you are talking to a person and not a computer. Don't write in capitals - it is considered to be like shouting. If you disagree with an idea (and at some point you probably will), explain your reasons clearly and suggest an alternative.
Do not take comments personally. Be prepared for group members to suggest changes to what you submit. If you were in a room together you would exchange ideas, add to each other's thoughts on a subject and come to an agreement by consensus. It feels harsher when comments are made in writing, but keep things in perspective.
Clearly define your assignment task. You may decide to ask each member to break the assignment into a series of section headings. This is a great preparation for allocating tasks as each member can then work on a heading. Set word limits for the different sections.
Work together. One of the most difficult tasks in a group assignment is creating flow. Allocate someone to the role of putting the document together and allow them scope to edit. Don't forget to leave time for formatting, proofreading, preparing contents tables and bibliographies and submitting the assignment. To be fair to the person undertaking the task, allow at least three days for this.
Just as with any team you will work with, some will function really well with apparent ease and some will not. Establish guidelines or routines clearly, be friendly, contribute regularly and inject some personality. You might just find that the experience of working in a group online is one of the most valuable ways of preparing for your future career.
