The benefits of group work

• A network of support is created through the acknowledgement of a shared goal 
• Productivity is increased as a broader range of skills are applied to the task at hand
• Increased self-awareness due to giving and receiving peer feedback and acknowledging your own strengths and weaknesses
• Group work is a fact of working life and the ability to work as part of a group is a desirable trait in candidates for most jobs 
• Development of interpersonal skills such as speaking and listening; development of leadership skills 

Group discussions are a common component of lectures and seminars. Your lecturer may ask you to divide into groups and discuss your thoughts on a topic, theory or theme that applies to your course. Group discussions might cause you a feeling of dread and anxiety, but they are useful tools for developing your perspectives, your critical thinking skills and your future employment skills. Take a look at the Marjon Study Skills guide to Participating in Group Discussions. 

Why group assignments?

Group assignments are used at university as they nurture skills that are necessary in employment and further study such as project planning, time management, working with others and communication skills; such as assertiveness, tact and diplomacy (Sinfield & Burns, 2013). Group assignments also allow students to learn from one another, and measure their performance against their peers (Race, 2007). 

Getting started

If you have been tasked with a group assignment, it can be tricky to know where to start. You can use the Marjon Study Skills group assignment planner to plan your assignment, generate ideas, and distribute work fairly. (Please note, this opens as a Word document for editing.) If you are conducting a group presentation, you may find Cottrell’s (2019) Project Planner useful for division of work, order of presentation, rehearsals and finessing. 

Tips for group assignments

• Play to your strengths, but fairly: If a member of the group is particularly good at something, exploit these strengths, but make sure that they aren’t unduly burdened with more work than others because of these skills. Group assignments are a great opportunity to develop skills and you can learn from group members. 
• Use a planner: Keep all group members on track by using a planner. That way, each group member will be clear on their area of responsibility, as well as creating a sense of shared ownership among group members. 
• Use online tools to pool resources and ‘meet’: If face-to-face meetings are difficult, then use the mass of online tools and resources to make online meetings happen. If you aren’t sure what’s available, then start with the Marjon TelKit.
• Value contributions: A group assignment might be difficult for you if you are used to completing assignments in a specific way. Try to remain objective and consider the contribution made by the individual rather than the means of achieving it. You might discover something in a coworker that you consider to be an excellent asset to your group. 
• Evaluate your group performance: Once your assignment is complete, spend some time as a group evaluating your contributions, how well it went, what could be done differently and what you have learned. This will help you in future group work projects: and job interviews! You can also evaluate your performance as a group at the midpoint of your assignment. Learn Higher (n.d.) have a great evaluation sheet for this here (p. 26). 

References

Cottrell, S. (2019). The study skills handbook. (5th ed). London, UK: Red Globe Press. 

Race, P. (2007). How to get a good degree: Making the most of your time at university. (2nd ed). Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press. 

Sinfield, S. & Burns, T. (2013). Essential study skills: The complete guide to success at university. (3rd ed). London, UK: Sage. 

Click here for Marjon Study Skills Group Work Ground Rules

Non-attendance

As part of your first group meeting, you should establish some ‘ground rules’; one of these ground rules should be how to deal with non-attendance of meetings. You should specify how group members should notify the group of non-attendance and the actions that will be taken should non-attendance be repeated without good reason. 

Dealing with conflict

On occasion, group discussions might become heated! This might be due to a difference in opinion or imbalanced interactions.  Nonetheless, these are useful opportunities to develop your conflict-resolution skills. This guide from Ryerson University’s Learning and Teaching Office is great for tips on conflict resolution in group discussions. 

Unfairness

Unfairness can be deliberate or completely unintentional. Remember that as a member of a group, you will only work optimally if each group member is assigned an equal role and is provided the opportunity to work in an equal capacity to the rest of the group. Belbin (1981) stated that an array of personalities, skills and behaviour were the key to successful teams, due to their various strengths and weaknesses. Understand how group roles can lead you and your group to success! 

Saboteurs

Cottrell (2019) describes these group members as individuals who spend group time complaining about the task or work, bringing up the shortcomings of group members or consistently turn up late and unprepared to group meetings. As a group member, you should feel empowered in bringing your group back to task and keeping everyone focused. Allocating each group member with a purpose can help with this. Read more about this here. 

Free-riders

One of the most common causes of disharmony in a working group is free-riding, or ‘social loafers’ (Freeman & Greenacre, 2010). These terms refer to group members who ‘don’t pull their weight’ and choose to ‘free-ride’ on the hard work of other group members despite having the ability to contribute. This can be a great source of frustration for groups and it might lead to worries that this individual ends up with the same mark as all of the others in the group, despite little contribution. Extensive research has been done into this element of group dynamics and group assessment criteria will be developed to tackle this specific issue. If you have concerns about this, then speak to your module leader. Another way of tackling this is to split tasks up at every level, rather than separating chunks. That way, every group member contributes to every stage of the assignment, and success is dependent on each group member equally. 

Mixed abilities

Sometimes, a group member can feel a little at sea when placed with others who are working at a different level of ability and understanding. This might be misconstrued as laziness or an unwillingness to contribute by other members of the group when this isn’t the case. This can be resolved in meetings, whereby group members check that they are all ‘up to speed’ with the same level of knowledge, and if not, suggestions are made for all group members to enact upon in order to reach the same level. Keep your group meetings judgment free to encourage those who might feel anxious about admitting that they don’t understand something, and pool your knowledge until all group members are familiar with the topic at hand. Try using a standardised self-assessment (Ryerson University, 2019, Appendix E) as a group to ascertain your level of knowledge and compare results to note where some group members thrive or require some extra help. 

Independence

Some people struggle in a group setting as they are very used to a certain standard of work, methods or achievement, and are not prepared to relinquish any control over their own assessments or methods; or rely on other people for their grades! However, this type of person is likely to be tremendously dedicated to the effort and a good source of criticism (if done constructively). A way to overcome this obstacle is to invest some time in getting to know all group members outside of the project, where relationships can be built on personal similarities and interests, rather than academic achievement (Barr, Dixon & Gassenheimer, 2005). 

Collusion 

When working closely with other students it is vital that your collaboration doesn’t become collusion. Collusion is a form of academic dishonesty whereby a group students work together on a piece of work in an unauthorised capacity. If your assessment guidelines state clearly that an assignment such as a report or a presentation needs to be written and assessed as a group then you are absolutely fine to go ahead and work together on all aspects of the project. However, if you are expected to work as a group and then produce separate assignments, then these assignments must be your own work and not the work of any other group members. You can find out more on how to avoid collusion here. 

References

Barr, T.F., Dixon, A.L. & Gassenheimer, J.B. (2005). Exploring the “lone wolf” phenomenon in student teams, Journal of Marketing Education, p 1-10. 

Cottrell, S. (2019). The study skills handbook. (5th ed). London, UK: Red Globe Press. 

Freeman, L. & Greenacre, L. (2010). An examination of socially destructive behaviors in group work, Journal of Marketing Education, p 1-13. 

Ryerson University. (2019). Best practices: Group work. [PDF]. Retrieved from https://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/lt/resources/handouts/Group_Work.pdf

• Active Listening – Skills You Need 
• Successful Group Projects – University of Leicester
• Contributing to seminars and tutorials – University of Leicester
• Marjon Study Skills Guide to Forming a Study Group
• Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono (in Marjon Library, 160/DEB) – good for group decision-making
• Best Practices: Group Work – Ryerson University – this resource includes a group work contract, a self-evaluation rubric and a group charter. 
• Dealing with Group Conflict – Ryerson University