Duke Learning Innovation and Lifetime Education

Ideas for Great Group Work

Many students, particularly if they are new to college, don’t like group assignments and projects. They might say they “work better by themselves” and be wary of irresponsible members of their group dragging down their grade. Or they may feel group projects take too much time and slow down the progression of the class. This blog post by a student— 5 Reasons I Hate Group Projects —might sound familiar to many faculty assigning in-class group work and longer-term projects in their courses.

We all recognize that learning how to work effectively in groups is an essential skill that will be used by students in practically every career in the private sector or academia. But, with the hesitancy of students towards group work and how it might impact their grade, how do we make group in-class work, assignments, or long-term projects beneficial and even exciting to students?

The methods and ideas in this post have been compiled from Duke faculty who we have consulted with as part of our work in Learning Innovation or have participated in one of our programs. Also included are ideas from colleagues at other universities with whom we have talked at conferences and other venues about group work practices in their own classrooms.

Have clear goals and purpose

Students want to know why they are being assigned certain kinds of work – how it fits into the larger goals of the class and the overall assessment of their performance in the course. Make sure you explain your goals for assigning in-class group work or projects in the course. You may wish to share:

  • Information on the importance of developing skills in group work and how this benefits the students in the topics presented in the course.
  • Examples of how this type of group work will be used in the discipline outside of the classroom.
  • How the assignment or project benefits from multiple perspectives or dividing the work among more than one person.

Some faculty give students the option to come to a consensus on the specifics of how group work will count in the course, within certain parameters. This can help students feel they have some control over their own learning process and and can put less emphasis on grades and more on the importance of learning the skills of working in groups.

Choose the right assignment

Some in-class activities, short assignments or projects are not suitable for working in groups. To ensure student success, choose the right class activity or assignment for groups.

  • Would the workload of the project or activity require more than one person to finish it properly?
  • Is this something where multiple perspectives create a greater whole?
  • Does this draw on knowledge and skills that are spread out among the students?
  • Will the group process used in the activity or project give students a tangible benefit to learning in and engagement with the course?

Help students learn the skills of working in groups

Students in your course may have never been asked to work in groups before. If they have worked in groups in previous courses, they may have had bad experiences that color their reaction to group work in your course. They may have never had the resources and support to make group assignments and projects a compelling experience.

One of the most important things you can do as an instructor is to consider all of the skills that go into working in groups and to design your activities and assignments with an eye towards developing those skills.

In a group assignment, students may be asked to break down a project into steps, plan strategy, organize their time, and coordinate efforts in the context of a group of people they may have never met before.

Consider these ideas to help your students learn group work skills in your course.

  • Give a short survey to your class about their previous work in groups to gauge areas where they might need help: ask about what they liked best and least about group work, dynamics of groups they have worked in, time management, communication skills or other areas important in the assignment you are designing.
  • Allow time in class for students in groups to get to know each other. This can be a simple as brief introductions, an in-class active learning activity or the drafting of a team charter.
  • Based on the activity you are designing and the skills that would be involved in working as a group, assemble some links to web resources that students can draw on for more information, such as sites that explain how to delegate and share responsibilities, conflict resolution, or planning a project and time management. You can also address these issues in class with the students.
  • Have a plan for clarifying questions or possible problems that may emerge with an assignment or project.   Are there ways you can ask questions or get draft material to spot areas where students are having difficulty understanding the assignment or having difficulty with group dynamics that might impact the work later?

Designing the assignment or project

The actual design of the class activity or project can help the students transition into group work processes and gain confidence with the skills involved in group dynamics.   When designing your assignment, consider these ideas.

  • Break the assignment down into steps or stages to help students become familiar with the process of planning the project as a group.
  • Suggest roles for participants in each group to encourage building expertise and expertise and to illustrate ways to divide responsibility for the work.
  • Use interim drafts for longer projects to help students manage their time and goals and spot early problems with group projects.
  • Limit their resources (such as giving them material to work with or certain subsets of information) to encourage more close cooperation.
  • Encourage diversity in groups to spread experience and skill levels and to get students to work with colleagues in the course who they may not know.

Promote individual responsibility

Students always worry about how the performance of other students in a group project might impact their grade. A way to allay those fears is to build individual responsibility into both the course grade and the logistics of group work.

  • Build “slack days” into the course. Allow a prearranged number of days when individuals can step away from group work to focus on other classes or campus events. Individual students claim “slack days” in advance, informing both the members of their group and the instructor. Encourage students to work out how the group members will deal with conflicting dates if more than one student in a group wants to claim the same dates.
  • Combine a group grade with an individual grade for independent write-ups, journal entries, and reflections.
  • Have students assess their fellow group members. Teammates is an online application that can automate this process.
  • If you are having students assume roles in group class activities and projects, have them change roles in different parts of the class or project so that one student isn’t “stuck” doing one task for the group.

Gather feedback

To improve your group class activities and assignments, gather reflective feedback from students on what is and isn’t working. You can also share good feedback with future classes to help them understand the value of the activities they’re working on in groups.

  • For in-class activities, have students jot down thoughts at the end of class on a notecard for you to review.
  • At the end of a larger project, or at key points when you have them submit drafts, ask the students for an “assignment wrapper”—a short reflection on the assignment or short answers to a series of questions.

Further resources

Information for faculty

Best practices for designing group projects (Eberly Center, Carnegie Mellon)

Building Teamwork Process Skills in Students (Shannon Ciston, UC Berkeley)

Working with Student Teams   (Bart Pursel, Penn State)

Barkley, E.F., Cross, K.P., and Major, C.H. (2005). Collaborative learning techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R., & Smith, K. (1998). Active learning: Cooperation in the college classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.

Thompson, L.L. (2004). Making the team: A guide for managers. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

Information for students

10 tips for working effectively in groups (Vancouver Island University Learning Matters)

Teamwork skills: being an effective group member (University of Waterloo Centre for Teaching Excellence)

5 ways to survive a group project in college (HBCU Lifestyle)

Group project tips for online courses (Drexel Online)

Group Writing (Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill)

7 Tips to More Effectively Work on Group Projects

Want to work more effectively on group projects in your college classes? Check out these tips to help you and your group streamline the process.

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When you're in college, it is up to you to complete the work necessary to earn your degree. That said, assigning group projects is a common practice in higher education. Not to mention, many job roles require that you work as a team. So, the sooner you learn to master this type of interaction, the better. These seven tips can help, making your group project a success.

1. Start off the group project on the right foot.

Before you even begin the group project, meet as a group and introduce yourselves. Maybe even do a quick ice breaker, such as asking each member what they ate for breakfast or the best book they ever read. Taking a moment to get to know each other starts the group on the right foot. It helps each of you develop a greater level of comfortability, which is going to be important as you strive to work cohesively in the days and weeks ahead. If you are all in the same vicinity, perhaps you can hold this meeting in person. If you are scattered about, hold this meeting virtually so everyone can attend. Online platforms such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom can be used for this purpose.

2. Designate a group leader.

Although it is important to hold each member of the group on the same level, designating someone as a leader gives each of you someone to go to if problems arise. Assigning someone to oversee the entire project also creates one more point of checks and balances. Ask for volunteers. If more than one person wants this role, have a group vote. If no one raises their hand, consider stepping up. This is a great opportunity to build your leadership skills, which can serve you well once you enter your career.

3. Set clear expectations for all group members.

One reason some groups fail to meet their objective is that the members aren't really clear about what they are responsible for completing. Avoid this by deciding upfront who will do what. Be extremely clear so every member knows what they must do to contribute to the final project. The clearer you are when setting these expectations, the fewer misunderstandings you will have as the group project progresses.

4. Be honest about your abilities.

Ideally, each group member should be assigned a task that matches his or her strengths. This leads to a higher quality finished product, a project that allows each member to shine. If you are competitive by nature, it may be tempting to want to be responsible for a task that is above your abilities. Stretching yourself is great, but not when it is at the expense of your team. With that in mind, don't promise something you can't deliver. Be honest about your strengths so the team can decide how you can best meet its needs.

5. Set deadlines and stick to them.

Napoleon Hill once said that " a goal is a dream with a deadline ." Setting mini-deadlines throughout the project keeps the team on task. It enables you to achieve your ultimate goal, which is to turn in the best project possible. Each project is different so, as a team, create a timeline that is realistic and allows you to submit your project on time. Decide what needs to be done at each step. The more specific you are, the better.

6. Meet regularly to check in.

Regular check-ins create accountability. It encourages members to complete their portion of the project on time because they know that they'll have to face the rest of the group on a pre-set day and time. Meeting often also gives the team the opportunity to step in if something goes off course. Maybe a member had an emergency that prevented them from doing their part. Other members can quickly step in and pick up the slack. As with the initial meeting, these check-ins can be done in person or online. Be sure to choose a time when everyone is available. This may require some flexibility as you work around different schedules.

7. Be respectful to all members…always.

Above all, always be respectful to each group member. Keep in mind that people have varying communication styles and some are naturally better at working as a team. Knocking them for their weaknesses doesn't further the group as a whole, nor does it speak well for you on a personal level. One strategy for always acting respectfully is to imagine that the other person is a family member that you respect—such as a sibling, parent, or grandparent—and treat them accordingly. Remember that the way you interact with them shapes the way you are viewed. Would you rather be known as someone who is patient and considerate or someone who easily loses their temper and puts their needs above those of the group?

The Bottom Line on Group Projects

Working in a group isn't always easy. However, following these seven tips can make your team project a greater success, and it will better prepare you for team projects once you complete your degree and enter your field.

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The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Group Writing

What this handout is about.

Whether in the academic world or the business world, all of us are likely to participate in some form of group writing—an undergraduate group project for a class, a collaborative research paper or grant proposal, or a report produced by a business team. Writing in a group can have many benefits: multiple brains are better than one, both for generating ideas and for getting a job done. However, working in a group can sometimes be stressful because there are various opinions and writing styles to incorporate into one final product that pleases everyone. This handout will offer an overview of the collaborative process, strategies for writing successfully together, and tips for avoiding common pitfalls. It will also include links to some other handouts that may be especially helpful as your group moves through the writing process.

Disclaimer and disclosure

As this is a group writing handout, several Writing Center coaches worked together to create it. No coaches were harmed in this process; however, we did experience both the pros and the cons of the collaborative process. We have personally tested the various methods for sharing files and scheduling meetings that are described here. However, these are only our suggestions; we do not advocate any particular service or site.

The spectrum of collaboration in group writing

All writing can be considered collaborative in a sense, though we often don’t think of it that way. It would be truly surprising to find an author whose writing, even if it was completed independently, had not been influenced at some point by discussions with friends or colleagues. The range of possible collaboration varies from a group of co-authors who go through each portion of the writing process together, writing as a group with one voice, to a group with a primary author who does the majority of the work and then receives comments or edits from the co-authors.

A diagram illustrating the spectrum of collaboration in group writing with "more in-person collaboration" on the left and "less in-person collaboration" on the right.

Group projects for classes should usually fall towards the middle to left side of this diagram, with group members contributing roughly equally. However, in collaborations on research projects, the level of involvement of the various group members may vary widely. The key to success in either case is to be clear about group member responsibilities and expectations and to give credit (authorship) to members who contribute an appropriate amount. It may be useful to credit each group member for their various contributions.

Overview of steps of the collaborative process

Here we outline the steps of the collaborative process. You can use these questions to focus your thinking at each stage.

  • Share ideas and brainstorm together.
  • Formulate a draft thesis or argument .
  • Think about your assignment and the final product. What should it look like? What is its purpose? Who is the intended audience ?
  • Decide together who will write which parts of the paper/project.
  • What will the final product look like?
  • Arrange meetings: How often will the group or subsets of the group meet? When and where will the group meet? If the group doesn’t meet in person, how will information be shared?
  • Scheduling: What is the deadline for the final product? What are the deadlines for drafts?
  • How will the group find appropriate sources (books, journal articles, newspaper articles, visual media, trustworthy websites, interviews)? If the group will be creating data by conducting research, how will that process work?
  • Who will read and process the information found? This task again may be done by all members or divided up amongst members so that each person becomes the expert in one area and then teaches the rest of the group.
  • Think critically about the sources and their contributions to your topic. Which evidence should you include or exclude? Do you need more sources?
  • Analyze the data. How will you interpret your findings? What is the best way to present any relevant information to your readers-should you include pictures, graphs, tables, and charts, or just written text?
  • Note that brainstorming the main points of your paper as a group is helpful, even if separate parts of the writing are assigned to individuals. You’ll want to be sure that everyone agrees on the central ideas.
  • Where does your individual writing fit into the whole document?
  • Writing together may not be feasible for longer assignments or papers with coauthors at different universities, and it can be time-consuming. However, writing together does ensure that the finished document has one cohesive voice.
  • Talk about how the writing session should go BEFORE you get started. What goals do you have? How will you approach the writing task at hand?
  • Many people find it helpful to get all of the ideas down on paper in a rough form before discussing exact phrasing.
  • Remember that everyone has a different writing style! The most important thing is that your sentences be clear to readers.
  • If your group has drafted parts of the document separately, merge your ideas together into a single document first, then focus on meshing the styles. The first concern is to create a coherent product with a logical flow of ideas. Then the stylistic differences of the individual portions must be smoothed over.
  • Revise the ideas and structure of the paper before worrying about smaller, sentence-level errors (like problems with punctuation, grammar, or word choice). Is the argument clear? Is the evidence presented in a logical order? Do the transitions connect the ideas effectively?
  • Proofreading: Check for typos, spelling errors, punctuation problems, formatting issues, and grammatical mistakes. Reading the paper aloud is a very helpful strategy at this point.

Helpful collaborative writing strategies

Attitude counts for a lot.

Group work can be challenging at times, but a little enthusiasm can go a long way to helping the momentum of the group. Keep in mind that working in a group provides a unique opportunity to see how other people write; as you learn about their writing processes and strategies, you can reflect on your own. Working in a group inherently involves some level of negotiation, which will also facilitate your ability to skillfully work with others in the future.

Remember that respect goes along way! Group members will bring different skill sets and various amounts and types of background knowledge to the table. Show your fellow writers respect by listening carefully, talking to share your ideas, showing up on time for meetings, sending out drafts on schedule, providing positive feedback, and taking responsibility for an appropriate share of the work.

Start early and allow plenty of time for revising

Getting started early is important in individual projects; however, it is absolutely essential in group work. Because of the multiple people involved in researching and writing the paper, there are aspects of group projects that take additional time, such as deciding and agreeing upon a topic. Group projects should be approached in a structured way because there is simply less scheduling flexibility than when you are working alone. The final product should reflect a unified, cohesive voice and argument, and the only way of accomplishing this is by producing multiple drafts and revising them multiple times.

Plan a strategy for scheduling

One of the difficult aspects of collaborative writing is finding times when everyone can meet. Much of the group’s work may be completed individually, but face-to-face meetings are useful for ensuring that everyone is on the same page. Doodle.com , whenisgood.net , and needtomeet.com are free websites that can make scheduling easier. Using these sites, an organizer suggests multiple dates and times for a meeting, and then each group member can indicate whether they are able to meet at the specified times.

It is very important to set deadlines for drafts; people are busy, and not everyone will have time to read and respond at the last minute. It may help to assign a group facilitator who can send out reminders of the deadlines. If the writing is for a co-authored research paper, the lead author can take responsibility for reminding others that comments on a given draft are due by a specific date.

Submitting drafts at least one day ahead of the meeting allows other authors the opportunity to read over them before the meeting and arrive ready for a productive discussion.

Find a convenient and effective way to share files

There are many different ways to share drafts, research materials, and other files. Here we describe a few of the potential options we have explored and found to be functional. We do not advocate any one option, and we realize there are other equally useful options—this list is just a possible starting point for you:

  • Email attachments. People often share files by email; however, especially when there are many group members or there is a flurry of writing activity, this can lead to a deluge of emails in everyone’s inboxes and significant confusion about which file version is current.
  • Google documents . Files can be shared between group members and are instantaneously updated, even if two members are working at once. Changes made by one member will automatically appear on the document seen by all members. However, to use this option, every group member must have a Gmail account (which is free), and there are often formatting issues when converting Google documents back to Microsoft Word.
  • Dropbox . Dropbox.com is free to join. It allows you to share up to 2GB of files, which can then be synched and accessible from multiple computers. The downside of this approach is that everyone has to join, and someone must install the software on at least one personal computer. Dropbox can then be accessed from any computer online by logging onto the website.
  • Common server space. If all group members have access to a shared server space, this is often an ideal solution. Members of a lab group or a lab course with available server space typically have these resources. Just be sure to make a folder for your project and clearly label your files.

Note that even when you are sharing or storing files for group writing projects in a common location, it is still essential to periodically make back-up copies and store them on your own computer! It is never fun to lose your (or your group’s) hard work.

Try separating the tasks of revising and editing/proofreading

It may be helpful to assign giving feedback on specific items to particular group members. First, group members should provide general feedback and comments on content. Only after revising and solidifying the main ideas and structure of the paper should you move on to editing and proofreading. After all, there is no point in spending your time making a certain sentence as beautiful and correct as possible when that sentence may later be cut out. When completing your final revisions, it may be helpful to assign various concerns (for example, grammar, organization, flow, transitions, and format) to individual group members to focus this process. This is an excellent time to let group members play to their strengths; if you know that you are good at transitions, offer to take care of that editing task.

Your group project is an opportunity to become experts on your topic. Go to the library (in actuality or online), collect relevant books, articles, and data sources, and consult a reference librarian if you have any issues. Talk to your professor or TA early in the process to ensure that the group is on the right track. Find experts in the field to interview if it is appropriate. If you have data to analyze, meet with a statistician. If you are having issues with the writing, use the online handouts at the Writing Center or come in for a face-to-face meeting: a coach can meet with you as a group or one-on-one.

Immediately dividing the writing into pieces

While this may initially seem to be the best way to approach a group writing process, it can also generate more work later on, when the parts written separately must be put together into a unified document. The different pieces must first be edited to generate a logical flow of ideas, without repetition. Once the pieces have been stuck together, the entire paper must be edited to eliminate differences in style and any inconsistencies between the individual authors’ various chunks. Thus, while it may take more time up-front to write together, in the end a closer collaboration can save you from the difficulties of combining pieces of writing and may create a stronger, more cohesive document.

Procrastination

Although this is solid advice for any project, it is even more essential to start working on group projects in a timely manner. In group writing, there are more people to help with the work-but there are also multiple schedules to juggle and more opinions to seek.

Being a solo group member

Not everyone enjoys working in groups. You may truly desire to go solo on this project, and you may even be capable of doing a great job on your own. However, if this is a group assignment, then the prompt is asking for everyone to participate. If you are feeling the need to take over everything, try discussing expectations with your fellow group members as well as the teaching assistant or professor. However, always address your concerns with group members first. Try to approach the group project as a learning experiment: you are learning not only about the project material but also about how to motivate others and work together.

Waiting for other group members to do all of the work

If this is a project for a class, you are leaving your grade in the control of others. Leaving the work to everyone else is not fair to your group mates. And in the end, if you do not contribute, then you are taking credit for work that you did not do; this is a form of academic dishonesty. To ensure that you can do your share, try to volunteer early for a portion of the work that you are interested in or feel you can manage.

Leaving all the end work to one person

It may be tempting to leave all merging, editing, and/or presentation work to one person. Be careful. There are several reasons why this may be ill-advised. 1) The editor/presenter may not completely understand every idea, sentence, or word that another author wrote, leading to ambiguity or even mistakes in the end paper or presentation. 2) Editing is tough, time-consuming work. The editor often finds himself or herself doing more work than was expected as they try to decipher and merge the original contributions under the time pressure of an approaching deadline. If you decide to follow this path and have one person combine the separate writings of many people, be sure to leave plenty of time for a final review by all of the writers. Ask the editor to send out the final draft of the completed work to each of the authors and let every contributor review and respond to the final product. Ideally, there should also be a test run of any live presentations that the group or a representative may make.

Entirely negative critiques

When giving feedback or commenting on the work of other group members, focusing only on “problems” can be overwhelming and put your colleagues on the defensive. Try to highlight the positive parts of the project in addition to pointing out things that need work. Remember that this is constructive feedback, so don’t forget to add concrete, specific suggestions on how to proceed. It can also be helpful to remind yourself that many of your comments are your own opinions or reactions, not absolute, unquestionable truths, and then phrase what you say accordingly. It is much easier and more helpful to hear “I had trouble understanding this paragraph because I couldn’t see how it tied back to our main argument” than to hear “this paragraph is unclear and irrelevant.”

Writing in a group can be challenging, but it is also a wonderful opportunity to learn about your topic, the writing process, and the best strategies for collaboration. We hope that our tips will help you and your group members have a great experience.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Cross, Geoffrey. 1994. Collaboration and Conflict: A Contextual Exploration of Group Writing and Positive Emphasis . Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

Ede, Lisa S., and Andrea Lunsford. 1990. Singular Texts/Plural Authors: Perspectives on Collaborative Writing . Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.

Speck, Bruce W. 2002. Facilitating Students’ Collaborative Writing . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Many students have had little experience working in groups in an academic setting. While there are many excellent books and articles describing group processes, this guide is intended to be short and simply written for students who are working in groups, but who may not be very interested in too much detail. It also provides teachers (and students) with tips on assigning group projects, ways to organize groups, and what to do when the process goes awry.

Some reasons to ask students to work in groups

Asking students to work in small groups allows students to learn interactively. Small groups are good for:

  • generating a broad array of possible alternative points of view or solutions to a problem
  • giving students a chance to work on a project that is too large or complex for an individual
  • allowing students with different backgrounds to bring their special knowledge, experience, or skills to a project, and to explain their orientation to others
  • giving students a chance to teach each other
  • giving students a structured experience so they can practice skills applicable to professional situations

Some benefits of working in groups (even for short periods of time in class)

  • Students who have difficulty talking in class may speak in a small group.
  • More students, overall, have a chance to participate in class.
  • Talking in groups can help overcome the anonymity and passivity of a large class or a class meeting in a poorly designed room.
  • Students who expect to participate actively prepare better for class.

Caveat: If you ask students to work in groups, be clear about your purpose, and communicate it to them. Students who fear that group work is a potential waste of valuable time may benefit from considering the reasons and benefits above.

Large projects over a period of time

Faculty asking students to work in groups over a long period of time can do a few things to make it easy for the students to work:

  • The biggest student complaint about group work is that it takes a lot of time and planning. Let students know about the project at the beginning of the term, so they can plan their time.
  • At the outset, provide group guidelines and your expectations.
  • Monitor the groups periodically to make sure they are functioning effectively.
  • If the project is to be completed outside of class, it can be difficult to find common times to meet and to find a room. Some faculty members provide in-class time for groups to meet. Others help students find rooms to meet in.

Forming the group

  • Forming the group. Should students form their own groups or should they be assigned? Most people prefer to choose whom they work with. However, many students say they welcome both kinds of group experiences, appreciating the value of hearing the perspective of another discipline, or another background.
  • Size. Appropriate group size depends on the nature of the project.  If the group is small and one person drops out, can the remaining people do the work? If the group is large, will more time be spent on organizing themselves and trying to make decisions than on productive work?
  • Resources for students. Provide a complete class list, with current email addresses. (Students like having this anyway so they can work together even if group projects are not assigned.)
  • Students that don't fit. You might anticipate your response to the one or two exceptions of a person who really has difficulty in the group. After trying various remedies, is there an out—can this person join another group? work on an independent project?

Organizing the work

Unless part of the goal is to give people experience in the process of goal-setting, assigning tasks, and so forth, the group will be able to work more efficiently if they are provided with some of the following:

  • Clear goals. Why are they working together? What are they expected to accomplish?
  • Ways to break down the task into smaller units
  • Ways to allocate responsibility for different aspects of the work
  • Ways to allocate organizational responsibility
  • A sample time line with suggested check points for stages of work to be completed

Caveat: Setting up effective small group assignments can take a lot of faculty time and organization.

Getting Started

  • Groups work best if people know each others' names and a bit of their background and experience, especially those parts that are related to the task at hand. Take time to introduce yourselves.
  • Be sure to include everyone when considering ideas about how to proceed as a group. Some may never have participated in a small group in an academic setting. Others may have ideas about what works well. Allow time for people to express their inexperience and hesitations as well as their experience with group projects.
  • Most groups select a leader early on, especially if the work is a long-term project. Other options for leadership in long-term projects include taking turns for different works or different phases of the work.
  • Everyone needs to discuss and clarify the goals of the group's work. Go around the group and hear everyone's ideas (before discussing them) or encourage divergent thinking by brainstorming. If you miss this step, trouble may develop part way through the project. Even though time is scarce and you may have a big project ahead of you, groups may take some time to settle in to work. If you anticipate this, you may not be too impatient with the time it takes to get started.

Organizing the Work

  • Break up big jobs into smaller pieces. Allocate responsibility for different parts of the group project to different individuals or teams. Do not forget to account for assembling pieces into final form.
  • Develop a timeline, including who will do what, in what format, by when. Include time at the end for assembling pieces into final form. (This may take longer than you anticipate.) At the end of each meeting, individuals should review what work they expect to complete by the following session.

Understanding and Managing Group Processes

  • Groups work best if everyone has a chance to make strong contributions to the discussion at meetings and to the work of the group project.
  • At the beginning of each meeting, decide what you expect to have accomplished by the end of the meeting.
  • Someone (probably not the leader) should write all ideas, as they are suggested, on the board, a collaborative document, or on large sheets of paper. Designate a recorder of the group's decisions. Allocate responsibility for group process (especially if you do not have a fixed leader) such as a time manager for meetings and someone who periodically says that it is time to see how things are going (see below).
  • What leadership structure does the group want? One designated leader? rotating leaders? separately assigned roles?
  • Are any more ground rules needed, such as starting meetings on time, kinds of interruptions allowed, and so forth?
  • Is everyone contributing to discussions? Can discussions be managed differently so all can participate? Are people listening to each other and allowing for different kinds of contributions?
  • Are all members accomplishing the work expected of them? Is there anything group members can do to help those experiencing difficulty?
  • Are there disagreements or difficulties within the group that need to be addressed? (Is someone dominating? Is someone left out?)
  • Is outside help needed to solve any problems?
  • Is everyone enjoying the work?

Including Everyone and Their Ideas

Groups work best if everyone is included and everyone has a chance to contribute ideas. The group's task may seem overwhelming to some people, and they may have no idea how to go about accomplishing it. To others, the direction the project should take may seem obvious. The job of the group is to break down the work into chunks, and to allow everyone to contribute. The direction that seems obvious to some may turn out not to be so obvious after all. In any event, it will surely be improved as a result of some creative modification.

Encouraging Ideas

The goal is to produce as many ideas as possible in a short time without evaluating them. All ideas are carefully listened to but not commented on and are usually written on the board or large sheets of paper so everyone can see them, and so they don't get forgotten or lost. Take turns by going around the group—hear from everyone, one by one.

One specific method is to generate ideas through brainstorming. People mention ideas in any order (without others' commenting, disagreeing or asking too many questions). The advantage of brainstorming is that ideas do not become closely associated with the individuals who suggested them. This process encourages creative thinking, if it is not rushed and if all ideas are written down (and therefore, for the time-being, accepted). A disadvantage: when ideas are suggested quickly, it is more difficult for shy participants or for those who are not speaking their native language. One approach is to begin by brainstorming and then go around the group in a more structured way asking each person to add to the list.

Examples of what to say:

  • Why don't we take a minute or two for each of us to present our views?
  • Let's get all our ideas out before evaluating them. We'll clarify them before we organize or evaluate them.
  • We'll discuss all these ideas after we hear what everyone thinks.
  • You don't have to agree with her, but let her finish.
  • Let's spend a few more minutes to see if there are any possibilities we haven't thought of, no matter how unlikely they seem.

Group Leadership

  • The leader is responsible for seeing that the work is organized so that it will get done. The leader is also responsible for understanding and managing group interactions so that the atmosphere is positive.
  • The leader must encourage everyone's contributions with an eye to accomplishing the work. To do this, the leader must observe how the group's process is working. (Is the group moving too quickly, leaving some people behind? Is it time to shift the focus to another aspect of the task?)
  • The leader must encourage group interactions and maintain a positive atmosphere. To do this the leader must observe the way people are participating as well as be aware of feelings communicated non-verbally. (Are individuals' contributions listened to and appreciated by others? Are people arguing with other people, rather than disagreeing with their ideas? Are some people withdrawn or annoyed?)
  • The leader must anticipate what information, materials or other resources the group needs as it works.
  • The leader is responsible for beginning and ending on time. The leader must also organize practical support, such as the room, chalk, markers, food, breaks.

(Note: In addition to all this, the leader must take part in thc discussion and participate otherwise as a group member. At these times, the leader must be careful to step aside from the role of leader and signal participation as an equal, not a dominant voice.)

Concerns of Individuals That May Affect Their Participation

  • How do I fit in? Will others listen to me? Am I the only one who doesn't know everyone else? How can I work with people with such different backgrounds and expericnce?
  • Who will make the decisions? How much influence can I have?
  • What do I have to offer to the group? Does everyone know more than I do? Does anyone know anything, or will I have to do most of the work myself?

Characteristics of a Group that is Performing Effectively

  • All members have a chance to express themselves and to influence the group's decisions. All contributions are listened to carefully, and strong points acknowledged. Everyone realizes that the job could not be done without the cooperation and contribution of everyone else.
  • Differences are dealt with directly with the person or people involved. The group identifies all disagreements, hears everyone's views and tries to come to an agreement that makes sense to everyone. Even when a group decision is not liked by someone, that person will follow through on it with the group.
  • The group encourages everyone to take responsibility, and hard work is recognized. When things are not going well, everyone makes an effort to help each other. There is a shared sense of pride and accomplishment.

Focusing on a Direction

After a large number of ideas have been generated and listed (e.g. on the board), the group can categorize and examine them. Then the group should agree on a process for choosing from among the ideas. Advantages and disadvantages of different plans can be listed and then voted on. Some possibilities can be eliminated through a straw vote (each group member could have 2 or 3 votes). Or all group members could vote for their first, second, and third choices. Alternatively, criteria for a successful plan can be listed, and different alternatives can be voted on based on the criteria, one by one.

Categorizing and evaluating ideas

  • We have about 20 ideas here. Can we sort them into a few general categories?
  • When we evaluate each others' ideas, can we mention some positive aspects before expressing concerns?
  • Could you give us an example of what you mean?
  • Who has dealt with this kind of problem before?
  • What are the pluses of that approach? The minuses?
  • We have two basic choices. Let's brainstorm. First let's look at the advantages of the first choice, then the disadvantages.
  • Let's try ranking these ideas in priority order. The group should try to come to an agreement that makes sense to everyone.

Making a decision

After everyone's views are heard and all points of agreement and disagreement are identified, the group should try to arrive at an agreement that makes sense to everyone.

  • There seems to be some agreement here. Is there anyone who couldn't live with solution #2?
  • Are there any objections to going that way?
  • You still seem to have worries about this solution. Is there anything that could be added or taken away to make it more acceptable? We're doing fine. We've agreed on a great deal. Let's stay with this and see if we can work this last issue through.
  • It looks as if there are still some major points of disagreement. Can we go back and define what those issues are and work on them rather than forcing a decision now.

How People Function in Groups

If a group is functioning well, work is getting done and constructive group processes are creating a positive atmosphere. In good groups the individuals may contribute differently at different times. They cooperate and human relationships are respected. This may happen automatically or individuals, at different times, can make it their job to maintain the atmospbere and human aspects of the group.

Roles That Contribute to the Work

Initiating —taking the initiative, at any time; for example, convening the group, suggesting procedures, changing direction, providing new energy and ideas. (How about if we.... What would happen if... ?)

Seeking information or opinions —requesting facts, preferences, suggestions and ideas. (Could you say a little more about... Would you say this is a more workable idea than that?)

Giving information or opinions —providing facts, data, information from research or experience. (ln my experience I have seen... May I tell you what I found out about...? )

Questioning —stepping back from what is happening and challenging the group or asking other specific questions about the task. (Are we assuming that... ? Would the consequence of this be... ?)

Clarifying —interpreting ideas or suggestions, clearing up confusions, defining terms or asking others to clarify. This role can relate different contributions from different people, and link up ideas that seem unconnected. (lt seems that you are saying... Doesn't this relate to what [name] was saying earlier?)

Summarizing —putting contributions into a pattern, while adding no new information. This role is important if a group gets stuck. Some groups officially appoint a summarizer for this potentially powerful and influential role. (If we take all these pieces and put them together... Here's what I think we have agreed upon so far... Here are our areas of disagreement...)

Roles That Contribute to the Atmosphere

Supporting —remembering others' remarks, being encouraging and responsive to others. Creating a warm, encouraging atmosphere, and making people feel they belong helps the group handle stresses and strains. People can gesture, smile, and make eye-contact without saying a word. Some silence can be supportive for people who are not native speakers of English by allowing them a chance to get into discussion. (I understand what you are getting at...As [name] was just saying...)

Observing —noticing the dynamics of the group and commenting. Asking if others agree or if they see things differently can be an effective way to identify problems as they arise. (We seem to be stuck... Maybe we are done for now, we are all worn out... As I see it, what happened just a minute ago.. Do you agree?)

Mediating —recognizing disagreements and figuring out what is behind the differences. When people focus on real differences, that may lead to striking a balance or devising ways to accommodate different values, views, and approaches. (I think the two of you are coming at this from completely different points of view... Wait a minute. This is how [name/ sees the problem. Can you see why she may see it differently?)

Reconciling —reconciling disagreements. Emphasizing shared views among members can reduce tension. (The goal of these two strategies is the same, only the means are different… Is there anything that these positions have in common?)

Compromising —yielding a position or modifying opinions. This can help move the group forward. (Everyone else seems to agree on this, so I'll go along with... I think if I give in on this, we could reach a decision.)

Making a personal comment —occasional personal comments, especially as they relate to the work. Statements about one's life are often discouraged in professional settings; this may be a mistake since personal comments can strengthen a group by making people feel human with a lot in common.

Humor —funny remarks or good-natured comments. Humor, if it is genuinely good-natured and not cutting, can be very effective in relieving tension or dealing with participants who dominate or put down others. Humor can be used constructively to make the work more acceptable by providing a welcome break from concentration. It may also bring people closer together, and make the work more fun.

All the positive roles turn the group into an energetic, productive enterprise. People who have not reflected on these roles may misunderstand the motives and actions of people working in a group. If someone other than the leader initiates ideas, some may view it as an attempt to take power from the leader. Asking questions may similarly be seen as defying authority or slowing down the work of the group. Personal anecdotes may be thought of as trivializing the discussion. Leaders who understand the importance of these many roles can allow and encourage them as positive contributions to group dynamics. Roles that contribute to the work give the group a sense of direction and achievement. Roles contributing to the human atmosphere give the group a sense of cooperation and goodwill.

Some Common Problems (and Some Solutions)

Floundering —While people are still figuring out the work and their role in the group, the group may experience false starts and circular discussions, and decisions may be postponed.

  • Here's my understanding of what we are trying to accomplish... Do we all agree?
  • What would help us move forward: data? resources?
  • Let's take a few minutes to hear everyone's suggestions about how this process might work better and what we should do next.

Dominating or reluctant participants —Some people might take more than their share of the discussion by talking too often, asserting superiority, telling lengthy stories, or not letting others finish. Sometimes humor can be used to discourage people from dominating. Others may rarely speak because they have difficulty getting in the conversation. Sometimes looking at people who don't speak can be a non-verbal way to include them. Asking quiet participants for their thoughts outside the group may lead to their participation within the group.

  • How would we state the general problem? Could we leave out the details for a moment? Could we structure this part of the discussion by taking turns and hearing what everyone has to say?
  • Let's check in with each other about how the process is working: Is everyone contributing to discussions? Can discussions be managed differently so we can all participate? Are we all listening to each other?

Digressions and tangents —Too many interesting side stories can be obstacles to group progress. It may be time to take another look at the agenda and assign time estimates to items. Try to summarize where the discussion was before the digression. Or, consider whether there is something making the topic easy to avoid.

  • Can we go back to where we were a few minutes ago and see what we were trying to do ?
  • Is there something about the topic itself that makes it difficult to stick to?

Getting Stuck —Too little progress can get a group down. It may be time for a short break or a change in focus. However, occasionally when a group feels that it is not making progress, a solution emerges if people simply stay with the issue.

  • What are the things that are helping us solve this problem? What's preventing us from solving this problem?
  • I understand that some of you doubt whether anything new will happen if we work on this problem. Are we willing to give it a try for the next fifteen minutes?

Rush to work —Usually one person in the group is less patient and more action-oriented than the others. This person may reach a decision more quickly than the others and then pressure the group to move on before others are ready.

  • Are we all ready-to make a decision on this?
  • What needs to be done before we can move ahead?
  • Let's go around and see where everyone stands on this.

Feuds —Occasionally a conflict (having nothing to do with the subject of the group) carries over into the group and impedes its work. It may be that feuding parties will not be able to focus until the viewpoint of each is heard. Then they must be encouraged to lay the issue aside.

  • So, what you are saying is... And what you are saying is... How is that related to the work here?
  • If we continue too long on this, we won't be able to get our work done. Can we agree on a time limit and then go on?

For more information...

James Lang, " Why Students Hate Group Projects (and How to Change That) ," The Chronicle of Higher Education (17 June 2022).

Hodges, Linda C. " Contemporary Issues in Group Learning in Undergraduate Science Classrooms: A Perspective from Student Engagement ,"  CBE—Life Sciences Education  17.2 (2018): es3.

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Setting Up Effective Group Work

Truly collaborative group work is complex and messy, so we have a few tips and tools to get students working interdependently.

Three middle school students lean over a laptop while working on a class project.

Research supports what we probably already knew about student collaboration: It’s integral to learning. We know that collaboration helps students build their interpersonal and social and emotional skills. We know that students don’t learn facts in a vacuum; social learning helps them build a more meaningful understanding of the world.

Everyone loves collaboration. But simply bring up group work and... that’s a different conversation. Group work is one of the most common types of student collaboration. It’s also complicated and messy, and never quite works out as well as we’d like. Some students feel like they’re doing most of the work. Others feel left out. Motivation wanes. Assignments get cobbled together, and nobody feels like they have real ownership of the work.

Or worse yet: Nobody feels a strong sense of ownership of the learning.

Collaborative group work is complex and messy by nature—it’s supposed to be that way. Working through that complexity is part of what we want students to experience. But if we really want to promote and model positive collaboration, it’s worth taking a second look at how we structure and assign group work to our students.

Practical Tips

If you’re designing an activity, lesson, or unit that involves collaborative group work, here are a few ideas to consider.

1. Ask yourself: Does this assignment actually need to involve group work? Can the tasks be broken down into meaningful, equitable parts? Before anything else, decide exactly what you want students to learn and make sure it’s suited to group collaboration. If the work doesn’t break down easily (and equitably), maybe it’s worth considering a different route.

2. Break down the work for students ahead of time. Effective group work takes a lot of scaffolding. Don’t expect students to know how to divvy up the work on their own. Working together to break down and delegate responsibilities is one of the most challenging tasks for any group, even for adults. Breaking down tasks ahead of time models for students how it can be done. Over time, consider transferring some of this responsibility to them.

Make sure the distribution of work—what each student’s roles and responsibilities will be—is very clear to everyone. Do your best to create tasks that are interdependent—the kind that require kids to work both independently and together. 

3. Give students a framework to understand their roles and responsibilities. Traditional group work roles (think: timekeeper or note taker) tend to be administrative. While that division is well-intentioned, the roles don’t (usually) serve our learning goals directly and fall short of supporting true collaboration.

What if we structured the roles differently? When students share ownership of what they’re learning, everyone should have multiple roles to play: one task to own individually; a role in supporting a peer; and the responsibility to assess both themselves and someone else in their group. Interdependence is key. You can check out this graphic organizer for an example of how this might look in a group of four students.

The work of collaborating in groups can be difficult to coordinate and challenging to complete. But it’s also a great opportunity to practice communication and collaboration skills. Visual brainstorming tools, such as mind maps and virtual corkboards, can help students get organized and comfortable sharing their ideas. 

Using a digital tool can be a big help. The three online tools below are specifically for group brainstorming. Kids can add text, videos, and images at any time (remotely or during class). And by organizing group work visually, students will develop valuable presentation skills while working creatively as a part of their team.

Mural : Designed for multiple users to share ideas, Mural allows kids to work together on projects in class or remotely. Students can watch their boards grow as group members add text, videos, and images. In addition, they can move and revise items during the brainstorming process as if they were moving Post-it notes around. The paid version allows teachers to create secure rooms, or folders, to house mural boards and control sharing.

MindMeister : Great for older kids, this mind-mapping website has a simple interface with extensive sharing functionality. Students can browse through premade templates or build their own map by choosing a main theme and building out nodes with notes, images, attachments, and links. Bonus: Any node can contain team assignments, due dates, and email reminders, so groups can easily visualize and organize their interdependent responsibilities. Stormboard : Students create and add “stickies” to a virtual whiteboard where group members (or a whole class) can comment and vote. These stickies can be text, images, or videos, and users can color-code and rearrange them on the board to easily organize ideas as they brainstorm.

  • Effective Teaching Strategies

10 Recommendations for Improving Group Work

  • September 12, 2014
  • Maryellen Weimer, PhD

Many faculty now have students do some graded work in groups. The task may be, for example, preparation of a paper or report, collection and analysis of data, a presentation supported with visuals, or creation of a website. Faculty make these assignments with high expectations. They want the groups to produce quality work—better than what the students could do individually—and they want the students to learn how to work productively with others. Sometimes those expectations are realized, but most of the time there is room for improvement—sometimes lots of it. To that end, below is a set of suggestions for improving group projects. A list in the article referenced below provided a starting place for these recommendations.

  • Emphasize the importance of teamwork—
  • Teach teamwork skills—Most students don’t come to group work knowing how to function effectively in groups. Whether in handouts, online resources, or discussions in class, teachers need to talk about the responsibilities members have to the group (such as how sometimes individual goals and priorities must be relinquished in favor of group goals) and about what members have the right to expect from their groups. Students need strategies for dealing with members who are not doing their fair share. They need ideas about constructively resolving disagreement. They need advice on time management.
  • Use team-building exercises to build cohesive groups—Members need the chance to get to know each other, and they should be encouraged to talk about how they’d like to work together. Sometimes a discussion of worst group experiences makes clear to everyone that there are behaviors to avoid. This might be followed with a discussion of what individual members need from the group in order to do their best work. Things like picking a group name and creating a logo also help create a sense of identity for the group, which in turn fosters the commitment groups need from their members in order to succeed.
  • Thoughtfully consider group formation—Most students prefer forming their own groups, and in some studies these groups are more productive. In other research, students in these groups “enjoy” the experience of working together, but they don’t always get a lot done. In most professional contexts, people don’t get to choose their project partners. If the goal is for students to learn how to work with others whom they don’t know, then the teacher should form the groups. There are many ways groups can be formed and many criteria that can be used to assemble groups. Groups should be formed in a way that furthers the learning goals of the group activity.
  • Make the workload reasonable and the goals clear—Yes, the task can be larger than what one individual can complete. But students without a lot of group work experience may struggle with large, complex tasks. Whatever the task, the teacher’s goals and objectives should be clear. Students shouldn’t have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out what they are supposed to be doing.
  • Consider roles for group members—Not all the literature recommends assigning roles, although some does. Roles can emerge on their own as members see what functions the group needs and step up to fill those roles. However, this doesn’t always happen when students are new to group work. The teacher can decide on the necessary roles and suggest them to a group with the group deciding who does what. The teacher can assign the roles, but should realize that assigning roles doesn’t guarantee that students will assume those roles. Assigned roles can stay the same or they can rotate. However they’re implemented, roles are taken more seriously if groups are required to report who filled what role in the group.
  • Provide some class time for meetings—It is very hard for students to orchestrate their schedules. Part of what they need to be taught about group work is the importance of coming to meetings with an agenda—some expectation about what needs to get done. They also need to know that significant amounts of work can be done in short periods of time, provided the group knows what needs to be done next. Working online is also increasingly an option, but being able to convene even briefly in class gives groups the chance to touch base and get organized for the next steps.
  • Request interim reports and group process feedback—One of the group’s first tasks ought to be the creation of a time line—what they expect to have done by when. That time line should guide instructor requests for progress reports from the group, and the reports should be supported with evidence. It’s not good enough for the group to say it’s collecting references. A list of references collected should be submitted with the report. Students should report individually on how well the group is working together, including their contributions to the group. Ask students what else could they contribute that would make the group function even more effectively.
  • Require individual members to keep track of their contributions—The final project should include a report from every member identifying their contribution to the project. If two members report contributing the same thing, the teacher defers to the student who has evidence that supports what the student claims to have done.
  • Include peer assessment in the evaluation process—What a student claims to have contributed to the group and its final product can also be verified with a peer assessment in which members rate or rank (or both) the contributions of others. A formative peer assessment early in the process can help members redress what the group might identify as problems they are experiencing at this stage.

Students, like the rest of us, aren’t born knowing how to work well in a group. Fortunately, it’s a skill that can be taught and learned. Teacher design and management of group work on projects can do much to ensure that the lessons students learn about working with others are the ones that will serve them well the next time they work in groups.

Reference: Hansen, R.S. (2006). Benefits and problems with student teams: Suggestions for improving team projects. Journal of Education for Business, September/October, 11-19.

Reprinted from Improving Group Projects. The Teaching Professor, 27.6 (2013): 4-5. © Magna Publications. All rights reserved.

This Post Has 7 Comments

Maryellen, I don't know how you continue to "hit it out of the park" — everything you share is right on! Thanks for your dedication to helping us teach better!

Thanks. Very helpful!

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Library Connect

Tips for an effective start to group assignments

  • by The Library
  • posted November 26, 2020

tips for group assignments

In the excitement of starting a group assignment, it can be easy to overlook how you’re going to work together as a team.

Below are 3 tips that might help smooth the path to a successful group assignment.  At your first group meeting, all group members should:

  • Swap contact details and times each person is available, then set realistic goals together
  • Decide group roles and assignment writing roles based on the skills of your team members
  • Decide what the process is if someone is not performing as agreed

For more help on getting started with group assignments, check out the  Group Projects  and  Assignment Preparation  pages on the  Library website .

Meeting on campus? The Library has  bookable spaces  that your group can use. Alternatively, you can meet online in Microsoft Teams—if you need help with Teams, more information and support is available here.

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How Do I Facilitate Effective Group Work?

Two male students of color working together on homework at a table.

Successful group work is characterized by trust, psychological safety, clarity of expectations, and good communication; being in the same location while working is not essential to group effectiveness (Duhigg, 2016; Kelly, 2008; Salmons, 2019). Below we offer strategies and examples that work for short-term collaborative group work (e.g., discussions in an online, hybrid/flexible, or in-person class) and long-term collaborative assignments (e.g., group projects), ending with additional considerations for long-term collaborative work.

STRATEGIES & EXAMPLES

Provide opportunities to develop connection and trust.

Engage students with community building activities.  Groups work best when students feel connected and trust each other. Brief  icebreaker activities  are fun and allow students to get to know each other before delving into group work. If using a video conferencing platform such as Zoom or Echo360, ask students to type a word or emoji about how they are doing into the chat, or during in-person classes students can share this orally or via an audience response system. Let students practice group work in  Moodle  or  Blackboard  with some low-stakes group assignments.

Create group norms.  In the first few weeks of class, create participation norms that all students agree upon as a class or within their small groups. Discuss with students how certain social identities (e.g., women in STEM, transgender students) can be unintentionally marginalized during group work as a justification for creating norms around respectful and inclusive communication (Oakley, Felder, Brent, & Elhajj, 2004). Vary the groupings of students so that students can meet other students and hear different perspectives, particularly in the first weeks of class. Refer back to the agreed-upon norms when conflict arises.

Proactively check in with groups.  It’s important to pay attention to both process and the accomplished task. As you drop into groups during class time or consult with groups in office hours, note who does and does not speak; consider asking questions about process such as who is generating ideas and how they know everyone is on board with these ideas. Check in individually with quieter students. Remember, how you address group functioning models how they should interact with each other (Kelly, 2008).

(Over)communicate and Reinforce Expectations

Communicate the purpose.  Communicate in writing and orally the skills students will develop by the end of their group work experience and why this is a valuable task or project to do in groups (as opposed to individually). You might ask students to connect skills they will learn to their personal goals and describe how they will know if they’ve developed these skills apart from your feedback.

Describe the tasks.  In writing, describe the tasks in detail, including steps in the process with due dates/deadlines, resources needed, technology for communication, and expectations for group work. This means giving students clear topics, questions, deliverables, or goals for group work. Consider assigning rotating task roles such as discussion director, connector, summarizer, recorder, and reporter (Kennedy & Nilson, 2008). Create a space online for students to submit questions which are publicly answered for all to see; this can become an  FAQ forum . At the end of group work, have groups submit something that demonstrates their engagement with the task for a small amount of points, such as group decisions, remaining questions, or discussion notes.

Clarify the criteria.  Communicate specific details about how student work generated in groups will be assessed (i.e., rubrics, exemplars, grading scheme). Use positive, “do this” language rather than negative, “don’t do this” language when possible. Show examples that typify important or challenging aspects of the work with narrations (i.e., on video or in a commented document) of what makes the work exemplar.

Additional Tips for Long-term Collaborative Projects

Be sure students have a communication plan.  This can be specified as part of their group norms and processes at the beginning of the project. In addition, be clear how and when groups should communicate with you, where and in what format they should submit materials, and what to do if they encounter a problem.

Break apart the project into phases or milestones with clear deliverables at each stage.  Clearly specify how and where students should turn in work (i.e., online or in person), and use this format consistently for all deliverables.

Have students periodically check in about their group process and report back on their process.  At the beginning of the project, ask students to identify how they want to work together, what their expectations are for each other, and what collaborative tools the group wants to use. Have them post their group norms in an online forum. Include a requirement for a  "team effectiveness discussion"  or evaluation (self or peer) after students have some time to work together (e.g., 2nd milestone; See  Oakley et al. 2004  for a “Crisis Clinic” guide). Allow them to adjust norms and set goals for the next phase of group work.

Clearly connect homework, lectures, or other learning activities to the group project.  For example, after learning new concepts, students might be asked to turn in a brief “Application memo” which connects course content to their group project. An online session might end with an “Integrate it” discussion among group members to integrate new learning into their project. Homework might be called “Project Prep.” Name activities by their purpose so that students see the relevance and utility of each activity more easily.

Foster cross-group peer review.  Students will appreciate hearing what other groups are doing and can get ideas for their own projects. For example, have students share their milestones or group work with another group and have them record questions and feedback in a collaborative document. Review that document to provide feedback to the entire class, saving you from giving feedback to each group. Peer review can also be done as a workshop or group assignment activity in the LMS. 

Please contact the CTL with any questions or for more details about the examples shared at  [email protected] . For support with collaborative technology, email  [email protected] .

For questions on your LMS, Google, and other educational technology contact IDEAS at [email protected]

Duhigg, C. (2016, February 25).  What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team . The New York Times.

Kelly, R. (2008, August 11).  Creating trust in online education ,  Faculty Focus.

Kennedy, F. A., and Nilson, L. B. (2008).  Successful strategies for teams. Team Member Handbook .  Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation, Clemson University.

Oakley, B., Felder, R. M., Brent, R., & Elhajj, I. (2004).  Turning student groups into effective teams .  Journal of Student Centered Learning, 2 (1), pp. 9-34.

Salmons, J. (2019).  Learning to collaborate, collaborating to learn: Engaging students in the classroom and online . Sterling, VA: Stylus.

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Guide to Group Work

tips for group assignments

This page will inform you about the nature of group work, about what you should expect and the expectations teachers have of you in group learning situations.

Learning and working effectively as part of a team or group is an extremely important skill, and one that you will refine and use throughout your working life. Group projects should be among the most valuable and rewarding learning experiences. For many students, however, they are also among the most frustrating.

Here are some pointers to help you work effectively on your group tasks and assignments. These are mostly general principles that you should apply to group work here, in other courses and in the workplace.

Why we use group learning tasks

Learning in groups means that you need to share your knowledge and ideas with other students. There are two principal ways that you benefit from doing this:

  • you need to think carefully about your own ideas in order to explain them to others
  • you expand your own awareness by taking account of the knowledge and ideas of others.

When you work as a group on a project or assignment, then you have the opportunity to draw on the different strengths of group members, to produce a more extensive and higher quality project or assignment than you could complete on your own.

To do this effectively you need to learn group work skills, which are an extremely important part of your professional development. In most professions people are required to work in multidisciplinary project teams or teams with a responsibility for a specific task. Many professional organisations and employer groups stress the importance of interpersonal and group skills, such as communication, negotiation, problem solving, and teamwork. These skills can be as important as your subject knowledge in enabling you to be an effective professional.

This kind of group work is actually an ongoing process of generating ideas and planning as a group, working as an individual to carry out parts of that plan and then communicating as a group to draw the individual components together and plan the next step.

Skills in group work

Group work requires both interpersonal and process management skills. Group work is included in a course to provide a safe environment in which you can try out new ideas and practices and learn some group skills. Some of the skills you need to develop are outlined here, you will discover some others for yourself.

Interpersonal skills

  • Building positive working relationships
  • Communicating effectively in meetings
  • Negotiating to agree on tasks and resolve conflicts
  • Accommodating people with different cultural orientations and work habits

Process management skills

  • Identifying group goals and dividing work
  • Planning and complying with meeting schedules and deadlines
  • Managing time to meet group expectations
  • Monitoring group processes and intervening to correct problems

Interpersonal skills and considerations

  • Take some time early on to chat with and get to know each of your group mates. The better you know one another and the more comfortable you are communicating with one another, the more effectively you will be able to work together. The online discussion set up for your group can be used to exchange information about backgrounds and interests as an icebreaker that elicits information that may not normally be available. The online discussion often helps people who are shy or reluctant to speak in a conversational way.
  • feel comfortable voicing their opinions, and feel that these opinions will be listened to.
  • feel that all group members are contributing positively to the tasks by keeping to agreed procedures and plans and producing good quality work, on time.
  • feel that their feelings are being considered by team members, yet the goals and objectives of the group are not being compromised to accommodate the whim or the wants of a few members.

Make sure that you both express your views and listen to others. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing with your group mates, no matter how confident they may seem to be about what they are saying. When you disagree, be constructive and focus on the issue rather than the person. Likewise when someone disagrees with you, respect what they are saying and the risk that they took in expressing their opinion. Try to find a way forward that everybody can agree to and that isn't the opinion of just one confident or outspoken member.

Managing the process

Effective group work does not happen by accident. It involves deliberate effort, and because there are many people involved it must not be left up to memory; good note taking is essential. Following these steps will help you and your group to work effectively together.

  • Have clear objectives . At each stage you should try to agree on goals. These include a timetable for progress on the project as well as more immediate goals (e.g. to agree on an approach to the assignment by Friday). Each meeting or discussion should also begin with a goal in mind (e.g. to come up with a list of tasks that need to be done).
  • Set ground rules . Discussions can become disorderly and can discourage shyer group members from participating if you don't have procedures in place for encouraging discussion, coming to resolution without becoming repetitive, and resolving differences of opinion. Set rules at the outset and modify them as necessary along the way. An interesting rule that one group made was that anybody who missed a meeting would buy the rest of the group a cup of coffee from the coffee shop. Nobody ever missed a meeting after that.
  • Communicate efficiently . Make sure you communicate regularly with group members. Try to be clear and positive in what you say without going on or being repetitive.
  • Build consensus . People work together most effectively when they are working toward a goal that they have agreed to. Ensure that everyone has a say, even if you have to take time to get more withdrawn members to say something. Make sure you listen to everyone's ideas and then try to come to an agreement that everyone shares and has contributed to.
  • Define roles . Split the work to be done into different tasks that make use of individual strengths. Having roles both in the execution of your tasks and in meetings / discussions (e.g. Arani is responsible for summarising discussions, Joseph for ensuring everybody has a say and accepts resolutions etc.) can help to make a happy, effective team. See Sharing and organising work for more information.
  • Clarify . When a decision is made, this must be clarified in such a way that everyone is absolutely clear on what has been agreed, including deadlines.
  • Keep good records . Communicating on the online discussion for your group provides a good record of discussion. Try to summarise face-to-face discussions and especially decisions, and post them to the online discussion so that you can refer back to them. This includes lists of who has agreed to do what.
  • Stick to the plan . If you agreed to do something as part of the plan, then do it. Your group are relying on you to do what you said you would do not what you felt like doing. If you think the plan should be revised, then discuss this.
  • Monitor progress and stick to deadlines . As a group, discuss progress in relation to your timetable and deadlines. Make sure that you personally meet deadlines to avoid letting your group down.

Set up a contract

A useful tool to help with the steps above is a contract. Within the first week of each group task you and your group will need to negotiate and agree to a contract. In this signed agreement, you will outline what you are going to do, who is going to do what, and by when. As a guide to negotiating your group contracts a contract proforma is reproduced at the end of this document.

Sharing and organising work online

Two kinds of work must be shared: to make the team function and the task to be performed.

Making the team function

An effective team requires the following roles to work efficiently. It is useful to explicitly allocate these functions.

  • Facilitator or leader (depending on context) for making sure the aims of the meeting are clarified and for summarising discussions and decisions; to ensure the meeting keeps on track and ground rules are followed.
  • Note taker to keep a record of ideas that are discussed and decisions that are made and who is doing what.
  • Time keeper to make sure that you discuss everything you need to in the time available for the meeting.
  • Progress chaser to chase people up and make sure that the jobs get done by the time agreed and sort out problems if they are not.
  • Process watcher someone who has an eye on process rather than content and can bring problems to the attention of the team. It is important to be positive in this role and not judgemental.
  • Editor to compile contributions, identify gaps or overlaps, and ensure consistency in the final submission.

Sharing the task

Tasks need to be broken down into smaller parts and scheduled. Sometimes one part cannot be started until another part is finished so it may be worth drawing a simple time line.

  • Consider the resources that you have and those that you will need to find.
  • Define the outcome required.
  • Consider how will you know when you have done it well enough?
  • Divide the tasks among the team and
  • Set the deadlines for the sub-tasks and times for future meetings.

Team writing

Three methods are possible (and acceptable).

  • One person writes the lot -this tends to mean a narrow range of idea are used and the rest of the team don’t learn from the activity of preparing the report.
  • Each person writes one bit - it is then hard to make a single coherent report and you don’t learn about much except your own section.
  • Joint writing. This is the most productive way of approaching group tasks, and ensures the greatest benefits from collaboration. Eg: Each section has a writer and at least one reviewer with each team member being both a writer and a reviewer of some section. The final product should be reviewed by all team members prior to finalisation by the editor. Alternatively you can have a single writer with others editing, adding and proof reading and someone tidying up the finished report.

Check the following:

  • Is the objective of the exercise clear from the report?
  • Are the conclusions or recommendations clear?
  • Do conclusions follow from the body of the report?
  • Do the sections fit together well?
  • Does the report achieve the objectives (and the assessment criteria)?
  • Are the required components adequately covered?

Whichever method you use, all group members should agree on the process, and how they are going to maximise the collaborative approach to writing.

Collaborative writing

Writing collaboratively is one of the trickiest parts of group work. There are many ways to do this, and your group will have to resolve how to divide the work of writing, collating, editing and putting the final touches on your work. Writing by committee (six people crowded around a keyboard) is a recipe for conflict and lack of progress. The other extreme, where one person takes the most responsibility and ends up doing most of the work, is also unproductive and promotes resentment.

Try to divide the initial writing into tasks, and tackle these individually or in pairs. Once the first drafts of the components have been written, circulate all the components and read them. You will probably need to get together to discuss how to marry them together so that they are consistent with one another. Any members who were not involved in the initial writing can do some of this work. Then edit, improve and polish the manuscript.

Circulate the files as online discussion attachments, or set up a Google doc or Wiki for everyone to add to. If using attachments, ensure that everybody knows who has and is working on the current version; otherwise it becomes

Monitoring group effectives and overcoming problems

The checklist at the end of this document provides a list of common issues that emerge in group work. Use it regularly to identify problems before they get out of hand. If major problems and tensions do arise, use it to identify where things may be going wrong. First answer each question about yourself, then answer it about the group as a whole. Then get together as a group and discuss where each of you think there may be problems and consider how you might overcome these problems.

Group tasks and assignments may mean that marks are assigned to everybody in the group based on the result for the whole group. It is in everybody's interest to ensure an effective contribution from all group members, to make sure that the finished assignment is of high quality. Sometimes a system of peer assessment will be used to determine the relative contributions of everyone to the group process. This could be used to moderate the marks for the assignment, or simply as a way to provide feedback on your group work skills.

Teamwork checklist

Each member should complete this checklist. You will need time to reflect in order to make this a worthwhile exercise. You should complete this exercise reasonably regularly in order to monitor and improve how effectively your group is working.

  • Answer each question regarding your own performance in the group.
  • Answer each question regarding the rest of the group.
  • Get together with your whole group and discuss where you think any problems are arising.

Discuss what you are going to do to overcome these problems.

Adapted from Scoufis (2000).

Teamwork contract

Here's an example of how you might format a group contract.

We, the members of .....(group name)..... agree to the following plan of action regarding our work toward the group assignment tasks:

(The following is a list of items you may wish to include in your contract).

Meetings and communication

  • Times and places for in person meetings.
  • Frequency of checks to WebCT discussion area.
  • Rules and procedures during face-to-face meetings.
  • Who will summarise decisions, when will he/she post them on the discussion area.

Work and deadlines

  • How will the group come to agreement on a topic (what research are members expected to do before you meet / go online to discuss the topic)?
  • When will you make a final decision on a topic?
  • Who will write the first draft of and who will first edit each component? Deadlines.
  • Who will collate the whole submission and then circulate it for the group to comment on? Deadline.
  • Who will prepare and submit the final submission? Deadline.
  • What happens if members don’t meet agreed-to deadlines?
  • What happens if members do not contribute / come to meetings?

The agreement should be finalised within the first week. It must be signed and dated by the group members. Each member should get a copy, a copy should be posted on the discussion area and the original should be submitted to your tutor.

Acknowledgement

This document (version: BA300112) was developed by staff at the Learning and Teaching Unit at UNSW, and includes material adapted from handouts developed by faculty teaching staff at UNSW.

  • Gibbs, G. (1994). Learning in Teams: A student Manual. Oxford: The Oxford Centre for Staff Development.
  • Scoufis, M. (2000). Integrating Graduate Attributes into the Undergraduate Curricula. University of Western Sydney. (ISBN 1863418725).

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6 Rules for Making Group Work Effective

tips for group assignments

There are a number of factors that are requiring educators to consider the use of more group course work. One very practical reason is the increase in class size, driven primarily by financial pressures in higher education. Creating and managing individual assessments for larger classes is becoming increasingly difficult with faculty’s course load expanding. The good news is that this need to develop group-based programs and assessments provides an opportunity to address many of the deepest concerns that employers have about recent graduates. Group work frequently addresses key competencies, including teamwork, collaboration, leadership, critical thinking, problem solving, and oral and written communication. A 2018 study from NACE provided a comparison of employer vs. student proficiency perceptions for these key metrics, a result echoed by McGraw-Hill's 2018 Future Workforce Survey .

tips for group assignments

I have been using group course work for many years and have developed some rules and guidelines (supported by findings from recent pedagogical research):

  • Cap Group Work: it depends upon course level and course content, a good rule of thumb for individual vs. group grade allocation is to cap the group component at 30%. Higher allocations in graduate study can work well but are dependent on the type of assignment. Anything more than 50% causes students to be genuinely concerned about whether the grade is a true reflection of their own work.
  • Be Random: Always assign groups randomly. Results are a more accurate reflection of their individual capabilities.
  • Assign Later: Introduce group course work later in the semester. This allows time for students to build up core class concept competencies before having to work closely with their peers. This foundation will help improve outcomes down the road.
  • Minimize Assignments: Partition the group course work into a minimum of 2 assignments but no more than 3.
  • Consider Difficulty: Group assignments should be of reasonable complexity and integrate a number of course concepts.
  • Optimize Group Size: As a result of increased complexity, group size should be no less than 3 and no more than 5. If it is less than 3 it is too much work. If it is more than 5, it allows group members the opportunity to not effectively contribute.

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Teamwork Skills: Being an Effective Group Member

For groups to function effectively, it's important for students to think critically about the climate within their group and the process by which they accomplish their tasks. Although students can gain many of the skills described below through ad hoc interactions, instructors play a key role in making them explicit protocols.

To hone these skills, students need opportunities to practice and to receive regular feedback. Consider sharing the information below with your students, structure activities for them, and incorporate three components of feedback into your plan: instructor comments (oral and/or written); reflective group discussions and/or peer assessment; and self-reflection (see the reflection prompts in Appendix A for ideas). 

Communication skills 

To function successfully in a group, students need to be able to communicate clearly on intellectual and emotional levels. Effective communicators should be able to: 

  • Explain their own ideas; 
  • Express their feelings in an open but non-threatening way; 
  • Listen carefully to others; 
  • Ask questions to clarify others’ ideas and emotions; 
  • Sense how others feel based on their nonverbal communication (e.g., facial expressions, tone of voice, diminished participation);
  • Initiate conversations about the group climate or process if they sense tensions brewing; 
  • Reflect on their group's activities and interactions and encourage other group members to do so. 

Regular open communication, in which group members share their thoughts, ideas, and feelings, is key for successful group work. Unspoken assumptions and issues can be harmful to productive group functioning. Students’ ability to communicate openly with one another can help foster a healthy group climate and process. 

Skills for a healthy group climate 

To work together successfully, group members must demonstrate a sense of cohesion. cohesion emerges as group members: .

  • Get to know one another, particularly those with different interests and backgrounds. They are open to innovative ideas and diverse viewpoints. They also listen to others and elicit their ideas. They know how to balance the need for cohesion within a group with the need for individual expression. 
  • Trust one another enough to share their own ideas and feelings. A sense of mutual trust develops only to the extent that everyone is willing to self-disclose and be honest yet respectful. Trust also grows as group members demonstrate personal accountability for the tasks they have been assigned. 
  • Demonstrate support for one another as they accomplish their goals. They cheer on the group and support members individually. They view one another not as competitors but as collaborators: everyone in the group can and should have a role by which they contribute.
  • Communicate their opinions in a way that respects others, focusing on “What can we learn?” rather than “Who is to blame?” 

As an instructor, you can use several strategies to encourage students to develop a healthy group climate: 

  • Randomize group membership to increase the chances of students encountering peers with diverse backgrounds and interests. 
  • Design icebreaker activities that promote awareness and appreciation of inherent differences within a group. 
  • Walk students through effective strategies for identifying and overcoming group conflict.  
  • Encourage students to participate actively and pose questions to their peers. To encourage listening skills and ensure that everyone in the group speaks, try the “circle of voices” exercise. See the CTE Teaching Tip: Group Work in the Classroom: Types of Small Groups . 
  • Devote class time to help students reflect on their group dynamic and overall functioning. You can provide them with prompt questions to consider and/or facilitate a conversation driven by student insights, questions, and concerns. 

Skills for an effective group process 

In addition to knowing how to develop a healthy group climate, students need to exercise key skills to contribute to an effective group process. This process emerges when students: 

  • Agree on what needs to be done and by whom. Each student then determines what they need to do and takes responsibility to complete the task(s). They can be held accountable for their tasks, and they hold others accountable for theirs. 
  • Give and receive feedback about group ideas. Giving constructive feedback requires focusing on ideas and behaviours instead of individuals and offering suggestions for improvement. Receiving feedback requires the ability to listen well, ask for clarification if the comment is unclear, and being open to change and to other ideas. 
  • Help the group to develop and use central strategies to move toward their group goals. As such, they can facilitate group decision making and manage group conflict in a productive way, rather than approaching the instructor for guidance as the first step.  
  • Know how to plan and manage a task, how to manage their time, and how to run a meeting. For example, they ensure meeting goals are set, an agenda is created and followed, and everyone can participate. They stay focused on the task and help others to do so, too. 
  • Know which roles can be filled within a group (e.g., facilitator, idea-generator, summarizer, evaluator, mediator, encourager, recorder) and are aware of which role(s) they and others are best suited for. They are also willing to rotate roles to maximize their own and others’ group learning experience. 

As an instructor, use some of these strategies to help students develop an effective process within their groups: 

  • Design the group task so that the students must rely on one another to produce their best work. Group members will be more motivated and committed to working together if they are given a group mark. If you choose to evaluate in this way, be sure to make your expectations extremely clear. See the CTE Teaching Tip: Methods for Assessing Group Work for additional ideas. 
  • Invite students to develop a group contract in which they articulate ground rules and group goals. See the CTE Teaching Tip Making Group Contracts for details. Be sure that groups discuss how they will respond to various scenarios such as absent or late group members and those who do not complete their assigned tasks. 
  • Distribute a list of decision-making methods and strategies for conflict resolution and facilitate a conversation with students about these resources in class. The CTE Teaching Tip: Group Decision Making is a good place to start. You may also want to offer yourself as an impartial arbitrator in emergency situations but encourage students to work out problems among themselves. 
  • Provide students with guidelines for running a meeting, such as setting and following an agenda, specifying time limits, and monitoring progress on the agenda. Consult CTE Teaching Tip: Meeting Strategies to Help Prepare Students for Group Work for additional suggestions. 
  • Teach students effective methods for giving and receiving feedback and explain the purpose of feedback in your course. For sample methods, see CTE Teaching Tip: Receiving and Giving Effective Feedback . Create an assignment that involves them giving feedback to group members and make it part of their final grade. 
  • Help students recognize and make the most of their own and one another’s preferred roles. Outline with them a list of team roles (see the CTE Teaching Tip: Group Roles for examples), have them determine which role(s) suits them best, and give them time to discuss how their role(s) will complement those of other group members. Asking students to rotate their roles helps them to expand their skillset. 

Appendix A: Encouraging self-awareness and reflection in group work 

One of the most important things you can do as an instructor is to have students reflect regularly on their group experiences. Their self-reflection will reinforce and further develop critical teamwork skills. Based on your objectives for the group project, create a set of prompts using the questions below. Have students use these prompts to journal about their reactions to group climate and process. The journals encourage self-reflection and can help students see teamwork issues in new ways and create ideas for resolution. They can also provide a good basis from which students can choose comments to share with their group members in debriefing sessions.

If students submit their journals periodically throughout the term, give them feedback orally or in writing, and to the extent appropriate, discuss any trends that you have identified through observation or in the journals (remember to reassure students that other groups may be facing similar challenges). Also, requiring all students to submit a final reflective report after the group project can help them to see the value of the teamwork expertise they have developed through practice. 

  • What have you enjoyed the most/the least about getting to know your group members? 
  • How is your attitude towards your group members demonstrated in how you function within the group? 
  • How do you demonstrate trust and openness towards the other members and their ideas? 
  • How much do you feel you can rely on your group members to complete the required task(s)? 
  • How do you make sure that group members feel supported, encouraged, and appreciated for their work? 
  • How does the team ensure that all voices are heard? 
  • Do you participate willingly in discussions? If not, why not? 
  • Do others appear to understand your ideas? If not, why not? 
  • What do you do if another person’s ideas are unclear? 
  • What do you focus on when others speak? How could you improve your listening skills? 
  • How do you respond to others’ ideas? How do they respond to yours? What could be improved? 
  • What are your group’s ground rules and goals? What changes to these rules and goals might improve the functioning of your group? 
  • How is everyone encouraged to stay accountable for the tasks they have been assigned? 
  • To what extent do you and others follow the feedback methods laid out in class? How could you and your group members improve the way you give and receive feedback? 
  • To what extent does your group reflect on how well its goals are being achieved? How would more (or less) discussion about goals help or hinder your group’s functioning? 
  • How are decisions made in your group? Who is involved and in which ways? What has been effective about the processes you have used? How could your decision-making processes be improved? 
  • What happens if a group member is unhappy or uncomfortable with a decision made by the group? 
  • What conflicts have arisen within your group? How (if at all) have the conflicts been resolved? What role do you play in resolving these conflicts? What could you (or others) do to improve your group’s ability to deal productively with conflict? 
  • How do your meetings typically proceed? What do you accomplish and in how much time? What is effective about your group functioning during meetings? What changes would improve your meetings? 
  • Who has emerged as the leader in your group? Which other roles do you see team members playing? Which role(s) do you play? Which role do you prefer and why? 

If you would like support applying these tips to your own teaching, CTE staff members are here to help. View the  CTE Support  page to find the most relevant staff member to contact. 

References 

  • Bosworth, K. (1994). Developing Collaborative Skills in College Students. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 59. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. pp. 25-31. 
  • Breslow, L. (1998). Teaching Teamwork Skills, Part 2. Teach Talk, X, 5.  
  • Burke, A. (2011). Group work: How to use groups effectively. The Journal of Effective Teaching, 11(2), 87-95. 
  • Hills, H. (2001). Team-Based Learning. Burlington, VT: Gower. 
  • Lang, J. M. (2022, June 17). Why students hate group projects (and how to change that). The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/why-students-hate-group-projects-and-how-to-change-that   
  • Shier, M. (2020). Student Success. Victoria, BC: BCcampus. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/studentsuccess/  
  • UWaterloo’s  Student Success Office  
  • UWaterloo’s  Office of Academic Integrity  

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Group Work: Design Guidelines

by Shannon McCurdy, PhD, Physics

See also Group Work: Techniques

Learning Objectives How to Form Groups Group Size and Duration The Structure of Group Work Fostering Group Interaction Tips for Formulating Productive Group-Work Assignments

Learning Objectives

There are many learning objectives that can be achieved by having students collaborate either in pairs or in small groups. ( Bloom’s Taxonomy is a useful resource for formulating your learning objectives.) In groups, students can

  • summarize main points
  • review problems for exams
  • compare and contrast knowledge, ideas, or theories
  • solve problems
  • evaluate class progress or levels of skill and understanding

Think about your goals for the activity: what do you want your students to get out of their participation?

How to Form Groups

Small groups or learning teams can be formed in four ways: randomly, teacher-selected, by seat proximity, or student-selected. Random and teacher-selected group assignments avoid cliques and ensure that students interact with different classmates throughout the semester.

Once you know your students fairly well, teacher selection can be useful for grouping students. Consider selecting groups or pairs with varying strengths and skill levels, since research has shown that groups of problem solvers with diverse skills consistently out-perform groups of problem solvers who are highly skilled in the same way (Page, 2007, cited in Davis, 2009, 194).

You may also want to consider using your students’ attitudes toward group work as a mechanism to help you create groups. Take a one-question survey, or add this question to the initial survey you use at the beginning of the semester:

Which of the following best describes your experience of group work?

  • I like group work because my group helps me learn.
  • I question the value of group work because in the past I’ve ended up doing all the work.
  • I have little or no experience working in groups.
  • I have different experience of group work than the choices above. (Please explain.)

Those who check “B” can be put into a group of their own. They might find this to be the first time they are really challenged and satisfied by group work (adapted from Byrnes and Byrnes, 2009).

Group Size and Duration

Group size can vary, as can the length of time that students work together. Pairing is great for thirty-second or one-minute problem solving. Groups that work together for ten to 45 minutes might include four or five people. (If there are more than four or five, some members will stop participating). Groups can be formal or informal. Informal groups may be ad-hoc dyads (where each student turns to a neighbor) or ten-minute “buzz groups” (in which three to four students discuss their reactions to a reading assignment). Formal group assignments can serve semester-long group projects.

In large groups it is useful to assign roles within each group (examples: recorder, reporter to the class, timekeeper, monitor, or facilitator). If students are not used to working in groups, establishing some community agreements  with the class about respectful interaction before the first activity can foster positive and constructive communication.

It is useful to arrange the students in groups before giving them instructions for the group activity, since the physical movement in group formation tends to be distracting.

The Structure of Group Work

Successful group work activities require a highly structured task. Structure the task to promote interdependence for creating a group product. Create an activity for which it is truly advantageous for students to work together. Make this task clear to students by writing specific instructions on the board or on a worksheet. Include in your instructions:

  • The learning objective: Why are the students doing this? What will they gain from it? How does it tie into the rest of the course?
  • The specific task: “Decide,” “List,” “Prioritize,” “Solve,” “Choose.” (“Discuss” is too vague.)
  • The expected product: For example, reporting back to the class; handing in a sheet of paper; distributing a list of questions to the class.
  • The time allotment: Set a time limit. Err on the side of too little rather than too much. You can decide to give more time if necessary.
  • The method of reporting out; that is, of sharing group results with the class. Reporting out is useful for accomplishing closure. Closure is critical to the learning process. Students need to feel that the group-work activity added to their knowledge, skills, abilities, etc. Summary remarks from you can help to weave together the comments, products, and ideas generated by the small groups. However, group-work activity can also be concluded effectively by inviting individual students to synthesize the class’s overarching findings in the activity.

If your group work consists of a set of short problems for students to work through, as often happens in science and mathematics courses, there are many ways to structure the activity. Here are a few ideas, with some advantages and disadvantages.

You can give the whole class a single problem . Break into groups to solve it, then come back as a class and discuss the problem — either by having groups report out or by leading the discussion yourself. Then repeat.

  • Advantages: You know everyone is exposed to the correct way of thinking about things, so there is good closure for each problem.
  • Disadvantages: Potentially too much idle time for faster groups. This method can be very slow, so less material can be covered.

You can give each group a different problem  and have the groups report solutions back to the class.

  • Advantages : Students get some practice teaching as well as good exposure to problems and solutions.
  • Disadvantages : Students don’t get to practice as much problem solving.

You can give each group a different problem , have them solve it, and then have these groups split up and re-form in such a way that each new group has someone experienced with each of the problems. Then they can explain the solutions to each other.

  • Advantages : Students get a lot of practice explaining, as well as good exposure to problems.
  • Disadvantages : Students don’t get to practice many different problems.

You can give the whole class a set of problems  and discuss the set of problems with each group.

  • Advantages : Students work through more problems without significant idle time. You can address difficulties specific to each group.
  • Disadvantages : You may end up repeating yourself a lot. You also may be spread too thin, especially if several groups are stuck at the same time. If this happens, call the class back together when you find that all the groups are having difficulties at the same place.

Fostering Group Interaction

During group work, as tempting as it may be, do not disengage from your class and sit at the front of the room! Circulate and listen to your students. Are they on task, or are they talking about their weekend plans? Are students understanding the concepts and the assignment, or are they all stuck and confused? Do they have questions for you? Pull up a chair and join each group for a while.

On implementing group work for the first time in their section, some GSIs find that the students fall awkwardly silent when the GSI walks by or listens to their discussion. This is only temporary, and it should stop once your students are familiar with you and the group-work format. Because unfamiliarity drives this reaction, it is good to implement group work very early in the semester and to use it often in your section.

When a student in a group asks you a question, the natural reflex is to answer it. That’s your job, isn’t it? Well, not exactly — it’s lower on the list than empowering students to find answers to the questions they ask. Frequently a student asking a question hasn’t discussed it with the group yet and is not aware that members of the group either know the answer or have enough information to figure it out together. So especially early on, when your class is forming group-work habits, it is important not to answer questions — at least not at first. Instead, ask the other group members how they would approach the question. If no one in the group has an idea, you can either give the group a start on how to answer it, consult with a different group on the question, or answer the question yourself. (The latter is best considered a last resort.) Following this pattern will foster group interactions, and soon students will only ask you questions after they have discussed them with their group.

Tips for Formulating Productive Group-Work Assignments

  • Make sure you have specific and descriptive assignments. For example, instead of “Discuss projectile motion,” try “Solve for the final velocity of the projectile.” Instead of “Discuss the use of clickers in the classroom,” say “Analyze two cases and list criteria to evaluate the use of clickers in each one.” Giving specific group work helps students engage more deeply with content and helps them stay on task.
  • Ask questions that have more than one answer. (This may not work for all disciplines.) Students can then generate a variety of possible answers, explore what is involved with each, and evaluate them in comparison with the other answers.
  • Make the material that groups will analyze short — maybe just a short paragraph or a few sentences. Present it via handout, document camera, chalkboard, or another medium that all can easily see. Frequently, if groups have longer passages to analyze, their work goes well beyond the time-frame the GSI intends.
  • If the material is longer, provide concrete lines of questioning that are displayed prominently or handed out. This helps keep group work within the scale and time frame the GSI anticipates and reduces frustration.
  • Vary the format of the tasks. For example, on one day students might generate the questions they want to analyze; on another students may give arguments or provide evidence for or against a position or theory.

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Three Practical Tips for Effective Group Assignments

Three Practical Tips for Effective Group Assignments

Studying the Master in Management Program at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), I have group projects for all modules of semester 1 and 2.

Which means for every semester, I have to join 6 teams at the same time. Balancing between group meetings, group essays, and group presentations is not an easy task, especially when I still have to work on my individual assignments and prepare for the exams.

Below are three of my top tips which I use to manage my group work and get decent results for all the assignments.

1 Choose your team members well

I cannot stress how important this point is. If you are working with capable and responsible team members, then you can focus wholeheartedly on your assigned parts and spend the rest of the time on your individual assignments. Irresponsible members can drag the whole team down by not completing their parts or delaying the group progress. The best-case scenario is when you have a team of trustworthy people who are playing to their strengths. For example, a native English speaker can be the one to do the final proofreading or taking care of the main presenting parts, or people with good designing skills to be in charge of making the reports and slides beautiful.

Choosing your team members in semester two is easier than in the first semester since you have already worked with some of your classmates, and know their strengths, weaknesses and work ethics. And you can ask around for your friends’ recommendations. So, I suggest you form the teams as soon as possible. You don’t even need to wait for the semester to start making the team. This crucial task can be done as soon as you have your program information, which describes what kind of projects you have to carry out and how many people are there in each project. Additionally, you can choose to work with the same people for several modules at the same time so you can schedule group meetings much easier.

For semester 1, everyone is a wild card. You wouldn’t know much about them. My suggestion is to spend as much time as possible to get to know some of your classmates. And then, in the very first class of each module, sit near them so even if the professors assign group members by grouping the people who are sitting next to each other, you can have a better chance to be in the same team with them.

2 Have team leaders/managers for all the group assignments

Team leaders/managers are not the ones to make all the decisions or to have people report to them. Instead, their primary responsibility is to facilitate the group work by making sure that things are on track and are done according to the required standards. They also will be the one to come up with meeting agendas and to assign tasks for the members. In case there are conflicts between ideas, they will make the final decisions to pick a feasible option and let the whole team move on with the plan. Not everyone can be a good team leader. But having a competent leader can make the group work much more efficient.

Being a team leader is a big responsibility, especially when you have to manage people from many different backgrounds. But it is also a great learning experience to become effective managers in the future. I highly recommend anyone who aspires to be future managers/leaders to play the role of team leader but not for more than two projects at the same time, so they can deliver good results for the teams.

3 Have a team agreement

This agreement is very essential for good teamwork. It describes how team members interact with each other (e.g., Don’t interrupt when people are speaking). Some rules might sound fundamental (e.g., Read the assignment instruction before joining group meetings), but you may be surprised at how some people could not do such basic things. Those rules are better discussed in the first meeting, so everyone understands the expectations of the others. And then, the act of signing this agreement (even digitally or confirming via emails) can improve the commitments of team members. When there are inappropriate behaviors in the groups such as late submission, conflicting ideas,… team leaders can refer to the agreement to mediate much more efficiently (e.g., “We agreed to let others finish their sentences, didn’t we?”).

Regardless of the number of group assignments you have to do, I hope that these fundamental tips (choosing members well, having team leaders and making team agreements) can be useful to you. And please leave your most valuable tips for effective group projects in the comment section below so that other people can learn from your experience.

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How to survive in a group assignment

How to survive in a group assignment

Group projects can be a rewarding and fun learning experience, but it can be a nightmare for many students . One of the many few reasons group  assignments exist is to challenge a student's ability to think about their ideas and explain them to others. Group work requires both interpersonal and management skills such as learning to build good relationships with your groupmates and learning how to identify goals and delegate tasks equally.  To create effective group work, you should work together to manage a process. Following these steps will help you and your group to work together effectively.

Assign roles accordingly

Be sure to attend the first few classes during the start of uni as you’ll be asked to pick your group members. Split the work according to individual strengths and set clear objectives of the work to each group member equally. While you’re assigning tasks, this would be a great time to set boundaries such as setting a deadline or when to submit the assignment.

Keep in contact with your group members

In the early stages of forming your group, pick a regular mode of communication and stick with it. Group assignments are usually due long after they are formed, which is why it’s important to always keep in touch with your fellow group members. Whether it’s in class or online, start a discussion and check in with each other from time to time to see if anyone needs help.

Consult your teacher

The easiest way to ensure your group stays on track with the scope is to consult your teacher in class. Not only is communication important within your group, but it’s good to share your ideas with your lecturers or tutors. For example, you can run them through your group’s ideas to see if it aligns with your assignment objectives. You’ll be relieved once you have your topic and content approved by your teacher to avoid any future mistakes.

Review the work

Some assignment tasks are poorly defined. It’s important to review your assignment as a group so your final product makes sense. This is when you put your interpersonal and management skills to the test. How are your groupmates effectively working together? Are you working collaboratively? Try using a real-time collaboration tool like Google Docs so that multiple users can edit a document at the same time. This way, groupmates can review and keep track of the different tasks being done individually.

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MakeMyAssignments Blog

Tips for working in a Group Assignment

  • September 8, 2020
  • Academic Help , Assignment help , Assignment Writing Service , Education , Fun Stuff , general awareness , general knowledge , informative blogs , Some Advice , Tips

Students are often assigned with different types of assignments in their academic career, which also brings us to the aspect of writing group assignments for academics. According to teachers and experts, group assignments are considered to be the most effective means for learning that have been instituted by many educational organizations in the spirit of infusing teamwork among students. Participating in such effective and useful group assignments help students develop a lot of good qualities and skills that might benefit them in their academic as well as professional career. Besides teamwork, students also get the chance to develop their leadership skills that can be very helpful for their professional career.

However, as easy as it might sound right now, preparing group assignments is quite a tough job to perform. If you are also told to prepare effective group assignments for evaluation, then make sure that you think of some of the best ways to make your experience great, making it sound phenomenal to the ears of evaluators. You must prepare yourself well with the obstacles that come in the process of creating group assignments, as they are evaluated with more of a critical perspective than an individual assignment.

Well, you must not worry about your grades now regarding your group assignments for academics because this blog will help you guide with the process by offering some of the best tips acclaimed by highly experienced professionals in the field. Without wasting any of your time, let’s just take a look at this blog further to know more about it-

tips for group assignments

Exchange all the necessary details

The very first thing that you need to do when you join a group is that you share all the necessary details and information with your teammates. This is something that needs to be done immediately after the project gets assigned to students. Most of you might also think that since it is a group assignment , things would work eventually well with the pace and speed of your work. But in reality, since a lot of people are involved in a single project, the pace at which the individual parts of the assignment would work might vary. Once you have shared all the important details regarding your teammates, you can also create a group on one of the highly used social media platforms for better communication and discussion.

Assign a leader for the group

It is really important for a group to first assign its leader in charge for a better initiation of the assignment. This will also keep things in control and manageable to be performed well, eventually fetching good grades in academics. In most of the cases, students are eager enough to nominate themselves for the role of a leader, but they should always keep this thing in mind that the job of a leader is not an easy one, as it comes with many responsibilities and duties. Well, if you get the chance of becoming a leader of your group, make sure that you ensure connectivity and good communication among your group members and the kind of work they do. The leader should also be able to set a clear goal for the group in terms of the assignment given to them.

Create a timeline of events

While working for any group assignment for academics, it is important that you draw a timeline for it in order to meet the expectations of your work and its progress. This timeline should obviously include all the meeting details and the critical evaluation stage for every progress you make for your assignment . This should also mention all the details regarding your dates and submissions, with specific tasks to be performed accordingly, as mentioned before.

Divide the tasks equally

During your first meeting, you essentially assign the task to every teammate as per his calibre and idea to perform. But you also need to make sure that each of the work gets assigned equally to every teammate, with no reflections of discrimination in the division of work. Divide your work wisely into small categories of tasks, as this will help you manage your assignment effectively. Under this stage, the leader should act responsible and wise towards his duty of assigning the task, where enough time is invested in figuring out the right amount of work for every member of the group.

Therefore, all you need to make sure now is that your group follows these tips effectively for better evaluation of their project. Apart from just the group assignments, if you require any kind of help regarding your individual projects and assignments , feel free to contact our online academic writing services for professional help and guidance.

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10 tips to make traveling with a large group hassle-free

Posted: June 2, 2023 | Last updated: August 3, 2023

<p>Traveling with a large group can be wonderful. Bigger numbers mean more people to do things with, more memories to be made, and more folks to split expenses between. But without careful planning, group trips can also be miserable. There's nothing worse than misaligned expectations, budgets, and disagreements about the adventure ahead.</p>  <p><a href="https://usebounce.com/">Bounce</a> has assembled a list of first-rate tips for big-group travel in order to ensure the best group trip possible. Whether you're planning a long-awaited family reunion, a coworker offsite, or an adventure with friends, these tips are sure to make your trip go off without a hitch.</p>  <p>Of course, before you take off, or get too far into your planning, be sure to check the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-during-covid19.html">CDC</a> for guidance on travel during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The first step to a successful getaway is making sure everyone in your squad is safe and in adherence to current regulations.</p>

10 tips for traveling with a large group

Traveling with a large group can be wonderful. Bigger numbers mean more people to do things with, more memories to be made, and more folks to split expenses between. But without careful planning, group trips can also be miserable. There's nothing worse than misaligned expectations, budgets, and disagreements about the adventure ahead.

Bounce has assembled a list of first-rate tips for big-group travel in order to ensure the best group trip possible. Whether you're planning a long-awaited family reunion, a coworker offsite, or an adventure with friends, these tips are sure to make your trip go off without a hitch.

Of course, before you take off, or get too far into your planning, be sure to check the CDC for guidance on travel during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The first step to a successful getaway is making sure everyone in your squad is safe and in adherence to current regulations.

<p>Establishing a group leader or two should be one of the first steps when group traveling. These leaders aren't in charge of making every decision about the trip, but rather they are responsible for coordinating most aspects of travel: assigning tasks—like making dinner reservations or booking off-site adventures, disseminating information throughout the group, and booking tour guides or event tickets.</p>  <p>This will help make sure everyone going on the trip is aware of all dates and activities, on board with the plans, and conscious of how much everything will cost. Good leaders help maintain healthy social dynamics and assure no one feels out of the loop or uncomfortable with any proposed plans.</p>

Assign a group leader

Establishing a group leader or two should be one of the first steps when group traveling. These leaders aren't in charge of making every decision about the trip, but rather they are responsible for coordinating most aspects of travel: assigning tasks—like making dinner reservations or booking off-site adventures, disseminating information throughout the group, and booking tour guides or event tickets.

This will help make sure everyone going on the trip is aware of all dates and activities, on board with the plans, and conscious of how much everything will cost. Good leaders help maintain healthy social dynamics and assure no one feels out of the loop or uncomfortable with any proposed plans.

<p>Once you've established a group leader, get everyone together for a general planning meeting. Use this time to pick dates that align with everyone's work, family, and life schedules, identify a general destination, and come up with a broad framework for your vacation itinerary.</p>  <p>Now is the perfect time to decide things like whether you're all after a more active trip or a more relaxed getaway, if you want to stay in an all-inclusive resort or check out home shares, etc. Don't worry about the smaller details, like where to have dinner every night or what airline to fly, just yet—there will be plenty of time for those decisions down the line.</p>

Plan in advance

Once you've established a group leader, get everyone together for a general planning meeting. Use this time to pick dates that align with everyone's work, family, and life schedules, identify a general destination, and come up with a broad framework for your vacation itinerary.

Now is the perfect time to decide things like whether you're all after a more active trip or a more relaxed getaway, if you want to stay in an all-inclusive resort or check out home shares, etc. Don't worry about the smaller details, like where to have dinner every night or what airline to fly, just yet—there will be plenty of time for those decisions down the line.

<p>One specific thing your group should discuss in a planning meeting is the budget. It's likely everyone will have different ideas about how much they're able or willing to spend, and getting on the same page about finances early on is a key part of a successful group trip.</p>  <p>During this time, ask everyone about what they aren't willing to pay for—like alcohol or fancy dinners out—and the things they are willing to pay for—maybe private airport transfers or admission to cultural sites. Knowing where every member of your party stands on these issues can help you hammer out more detailed itineraries or even multiple itineraries for different subsets of the group. Arguably there are few instances more awkward than on-the-spot fights about splitting a dinner bill or staying behind on an excursion.</p>

Establish budget preferences

One specific thing your group should discuss in a planning meeting is the budget. It's likely everyone will have different ideas about how much they're able or willing to spend, and getting on the same page about finances early on is a key part of a successful group trip.

During this time, ask everyone about what they aren't willing to pay for—like alcohol or fancy dinners out—and the things they are willing to pay for—maybe private airport transfers or admission to cultural sites. Knowing where every member of your party stands on these issues can help you hammer out more detailed itineraries or even multiple itineraries for different subsets of the group. Arguably there are few instances more awkward than on-the-spot fights about splitting a dinner bill or staying behind on an excursion.

<p>Most group trips can often take weeks for everything—from flights to restaurant reservations—to get pinned down. While in the planning phases of travel, keeping everyone in the loop on itineraries and any new information will smooth out the trip overall.</p>  <p>Curating lists and itineraries on platforms like Google Docs or shared iPhone notes can help keep the party up to date. Dropping links for everything from the hotel to that one off-site day trip you're going to take—as well as notes about price, reservation time, etc.—ensures that everyone knows exactly what's being planned and can raise questions and concerns beforehand. And of course, group chats on platforms like WhatsApp can facilitate discussions.</p>

Document itineraries and preferences

Most group trips can often take weeks for everything—from flights to restaurant reservations—to get pinned down. While in the planning phases of travel, keeping everyone in the loop on itineraries and any new information will smooth out the trip overall.

Curating lists and itineraries on platforms like Google Docs or shared iPhone notes can help keep the party up to date. Dropping links for everything from the hotel to that one off-site day trip you're going to take—as well as notes about price, reservation time, etc.—ensures that everyone knows exactly what's being planned and can raise questions and concerns beforehand. And of course, group chats on platforms like WhatsApp can facilitate discussions.

<p>Many airlines, hotels, ground transportation companies, and tours offer group discounts to larger parties. As you're booking the various pieces of your trip, be sure to inquire about the possibility of a deal. Worst-case scenario, the company will tell you no, and best-case scenario, you'll be able to save a few of your hard-earned coins. This tip is particularly important for groups looking to travel on a budget or groups dealing with a huge budget disparity among their members.</p>

Check for group discounts

Many airlines, hotels, ground transportation companies, and tours offer group discounts to larger parties. As you're booking the various pieces of your trip, be sure to inquire about the possibility of a deal. Worst-case scenario, the company will tell you no, and best-case scenario, you'll be able to save a few of your hard-earned coins. This tip is particularly important for groups looking to travel on a budget or groups dealing with a huge budget disparity among their members.

<p>Before you go on the trip, consider establishing a routine for the members of the group. We're not talking about a hard and fast schedule broken down into 15-minute increments, but rather a general plan of how you want the days to go.</p>  <p>How long do you want to spend at each event? An hour at breakfast for example, or two hours at the pool each morning. Most importantly, what time should the group be awake by each day? Keeping the broad strokes of each day the same will help everyone feel calmer and in more control over their time away.</p>

Create a routine

Before you go on the trip, consider establishing a routine for the members of the group. We're not talking about a hard and fast schedule broken down into 15-minute increments, but rather a general plan of how you want the days to go.

How long do you want to spend at each event? An hour at breakfast for example, or two hours at the pool each morning. Most importantly, what time should the group be awake by each day? Keeping the broad strokes of each day the same will help everyone feel calmer and in more control over their time away.

<p>While hotels and all-inclusive resorts tend to be the first type of accommodations thought of when planning vacations, consider a homestay or group lodging instead. Unless you're after a very specific experience or destination, staying in a rented house or group of houses might be a better option. These properties are often more affordable and spacious.</p>  <p>Additionally, they offer more opportunities for cooking meals together or spending downtime as a group. After all, if you've chosen these specific people to go away with, you likely want to be with them as much as possible.</p>

Consider homestays or group lodging

While hotels and all-inclusive resorts tend to be the first type of accommodations thought of when planning vacations, consider a homestay or group lodging instead. Unless you're after a very specific experience or destination, staying in a rented house or group of houses might be a better option. These properties are often more affordable and spacious.

Additionally, they offer more opportunities for cooking meals together or spending downtime as a group. After all, if you've chosen these specific people to go away with, you likely want to be with them as much as possible.

<p>While spending time together is likely your top concern on a group trip, be conscious of how you plan to spend said time. Scheduling too many activities in a single day can leave people feeling tired and stressed, which can cause them to act irritable and anxious. And likely the last thing you want is to be stuck far from home with a group of cranky folks.</p>  <p>Limiting the number of activities you do in a day allows everyone to slow down and enjoy the moment rather than mentally rushing ahead to the next thing. Being less ambitious with planning also helps conserve energy for building happy memories rather than expending it all too early and burning out.</p>

Avoid too many activities in one day

While spending time together is likely your top concern on a group trip, be conscious of how you plan to spend said time. Scheduling too many activities in a single day can leave people feeling tired and stressed, which can cause them to act irritable and anxious. And likely the last thing you want is to be stuck far from home with a group of cranky folks.

Limiting the number of activities you do in a day allows everyone to slow down and enjoy the moment rather than mentally rushing ahead to the next thing. Being less ambitious with planning also helps conserve energy for building happy memories rather than expending it all too early and burning out.

<p>In any group of friends, coworkers, and family members, there are likely a variety of social and mental strengths. There might be one person who is exceptional with directions, another who's good at math and can always calculate the tip accurately, and a third whose outgoing nature makes it easy to ask strangers questions.</p>  <p>Whatever the strengths in your travel group, allow them to shine while you're away together. Giving everyone different jobs keeps any one person feeling overburdened and discourages anyone from turning into a control freak.</p>

Play to each person's social strengths

In any group of friends, coworkers, and family members, there are likely a variety of social and mental strengths. There might be one person who is exceptional with directions, another who's good at math and can always calculate the tip accurately, and a third whose outgoing nature makes it easy to ask strangers questions.

Whatever the strengths in your travel group, allow them to shine while you're away together. Giving everyone different jobs keeps any one person feeling overburdened and discourages anyone from turning into a control freak.

<p>Make sure you leave some time for solo exploration. Even if your group is in agreement about almost every aspect of the trip, there will always be at least one activity not everyone wants to do—and that's natural.</p>  <p>Scheduling time where everyone can head off and do their own thing increases the likelihood of each member of your group leaving the trip feeling happy, fulfilled, and satisfied. And as a bonus, you'll have a wealth of interesting stuff to talk about when you all reunite at the end of the day.</p>  <p>   <em>This story originally appeared on Bounce and was produced and   distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.</em>  </p>

Plan some time for solo exploration

Make sure you leave some time for solo exploration. Even if your group is in agreement about almost every aspect of the trip, there will always be at least one activity not everyone wants to do—and that's natural.

Scheduling time where everyone can head off and do their own thing increases the likelihood of each member of your group leaving the trip feeling happy, fulfilled, and satisfied. And as a bonus, you'll have a wealth of interesting stuff to talk about when you all reunite at the end of the day.

This story originally appeared on Bounce and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

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Global law enforcement effort cracks down on LockBit ransomware group

Jenna McLaughlin headshot

Jenna McLaughlin

tips for group assignments

A screenshot taken on February 19, 2024 shows a take down notice that a group of global intelligence agencies issued to a dark web site called Lockbit. Handout/via Reuters hide caption

A screenshot taken on February 19, 2024 shows a take down notice that a group of global intelligence agencies issued to a dark web site called Lockbit.

Law enforcement officials from 11 countries have joined forces to disrupt the activities of a major cybercrime group.

Among those in the community of cybersecurity researchers, the group, known as Lockbit, is considered one of the most dreaded, most prolific and often most harmful team of cybercriminals. The Department of Justice says Lockbit made over $120 million by holding victims' data for ransom.

Lockbit sells access to its destructive malware so that clients can launch ransomware attacks, holding victims' data hostage in exchange for payment. If victims don't pay, the group often dumps sensitive data publicly in what's known as double extortion.

The UK's National Crime Agency says it has taken control of the group's internal servers as well as its public website. Two arrests have been made — in Ukraine and in Poland. The group is already threatening to rebuild, but this operation should severely hamper their capabilities to launch attacks for the time being.

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COMMENTS

  1. Ideas for Great Group Work

    Ideas for Great Group Work October 11, 2016 Many students, particularly if they are new to college, don't like group assignments and projects. They might say they "work better by themselves" and be wary of irresponsible members of their group dragging down their grade.

  2. 7 Tips to More Effectively Work on Group Projects

    1. Start off the group project on the right foot. Before you even begin the group project, meet as a group and introduce yourselves. Maybe even do a quick ice breaker, such as asking each member what they ate for breakfast or the best book they ever read. Taking a moment to get to know each other starts the group on the right foot.

  3. Group Writing

    Pre-writing process Share ideas and brainstorm together. Formulate a draft thesis or argument. Think about your assignment and the final product. What should it look like? What is its purpose? Who is the intended audience? Planning and logistics Decide together who will write which parts of the paper/project. What will the final product look like?

  4. Group Work

    Size. Appropriate group size depends on the nature of the project. If the group is small and one person drops out, can the remaining people do the work? If the group is large, will more time be spent on organizing themselves and trying to make decisions than on productive work? Resources for students.

  5. Setting Up Effective Group Work

    1. Ask yourself: Does this assignment actually need to involve group work? Can the tasks be broken down into meaningful, equitable parts? Before anything else, decide exactly what you want students to learn and make sure it's suited to group collaboration.

  6. 10 Recommendations for Improving Group Work

    Emphasize the importance of teamwork— Before the groups are formed and the task is set out, teachers should make clear why this particular assignment is being done in groups. Students are still regularly reporting in survey data that teachers use groups so they don't have to teach or have as much work to grade.

  7. Tips for an effective start to group assignments

    posted November 26, 2020 Students In the excitement of starting a group assignment, it can be easy to overlook how you're going to work together as a team. Below are 3 tips that might help smooth the path to a successful group assignment. At your first group meeting, all group members should:

  8. How Do I Facilitate Effective Group Work?

    How Do I...? How Do I Facilitate Effective Group Work? Successful group work is characterized by trust, psychological safety, clarity of expectations, and good communication; being in the same location while working is not essential to group effectiveness (Duhigg, 2016; Kelly, 2008; Salmons, 2019).

  9. Guide to Group Work

    Guide to Group Work. This page will inform you about the nature of group work, about what you should expect and the expectations teachers have of you in group learning situations. Learning and working effectively as part of a team or group is an extremely important skill, and one that you will refine and use throughout your working life.

  10. 8 Ways to Improve Group Work Online

    Encourage students to celebrate their successes and to help one another identify what needs to be done next. No. 7: Be forgiving and adaptable. Both you and your students may need to revise the scope, the timeline and the responsibilities as the project unfolds. Build that flexibility in from the very beginning.

  11. 6 Rules for Making Group Work Effective

    Minimize Assignments: Partition the group course work into a minimum of 2 assignments but no more than 3. Consider Difficulty: Group assignments should be of reasonable complexity and integrate a number of course concepts. Optimize Group Size: As a result of increased complexity, group size should be no less than 3 and no more than 5.

  12. Teamwork Skills: Being an Effective Group Member

    Randomize group membership to increase the chances of students encountering peers with diverse backgrounds and interests. Design icebreaker activities that promote awareness and appreciation of inherent differences within a group. Walk students through effective strategies for identifying and overcoming group conflict.

  13. Tips for Group Projects Success in Online Classes

    Identify a leader. Online group projects should be a democratic process. It's important to identify a leader and group organizer who'll keep the project moving in a positive direction. A group member may volunteer this role, or it may be put up to a vote if multiple people show interest. Each group member can display leadership.

  14. 5 Tips for Working on Group Projects

    1. Have a kickoff meeting The first meeting is an opportunity to get to know your fellow team members, brainstorm ideas and create a plan for the project. For example: Does your group want to appoint a group leader? How often will the group meet? Will you work independently for some parts of the project, or will all tasks be a group effort?

  15. Group Work: Design Guidelines

    Random and teacher-selected group assignments avoid cliques and ensure that students interact with different classmates throughout the semester. Once you know your students fairly well, teacher selection can be useful for grouping students. Consider selecting groups or pairs with varying strengths and skill levels, since research has shown that ...

  16. How to Survive Online Group Projects

    Group assignments can also prepare you for jobs after graduation, when working in a team is often essential for success. LinkedIn's survey of the skills employers need most in 2020 includes five soft skills that can be developed and honed in online group assignments: creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability, and emotional intelligence.

  17. 10 Dos & Don'ts For Group Work & Student Grouping

    10) Don't be Rigid or Overcommitted. Sometimes a group just isn't going to work. It happens. They may start off fine, but then break down and become ineffective. Occasionally, they even become too conflict-ridden to 'fix' in time to save the assignment. You need to be willing to accept this, and open to changing things.

  18. Group Work Tips for Teachers: How to Arrange Students ...

    Select swatches with enough shades of each color to cater to the number of students in each group. Select a different color for each group. Cut up the swatches, and mix them up. Give each student a shade. Ask them to find their color family and to form a group. For example, all the shades of blue come together to form a group.

  19. Five ways to improve college students' group work

    Student Success Academic Life June 27, 2023 Academic Success Tip: Intentionally Organizing Group Work Professors can assign group work to students and ensure project and learning success using these five tips. By Ashley Mowreader Group projects can teach students communication, delegation and collaboration if designed correctly.

  20. Tips for Online Students Working on Group Projects

    1. When possible, choose group members with similar schedules. Online students reside in different time zones and can have opposing work schedules. 2. Be proactive and begin setting the groundwork early. As online learners, your time is extremely precious. 3. Align group roles and responsibilities with individual strengths and interests. 4.

  21. Three Practical Tips for Effective Group Assignments

    Balancing between group meetings, group essays, and group presentations is not an easy task, especially when I still have to work on my individual assignments and prepare for the exams. Below are three of my top tips which I use to manage my group work and get decent results for all the assignments. 1 Choose your team members well

  22. How to survive in a group assignment

    Are you working collaboratively? Try using a real-time collaboration tool like Google Docs so that multiple users can edit a document at the same time. This way, groupmates can review and keep track of the different tasks being done individually. Further reading: How to avoid plagiarism Should you be considering a virtual internship?

  23. Tips for working in a Group Assignment

    Exchange all the necessary details The very first thing that you need to do when you join a group is that you share all the necessary details and information with your teammates. This is something that needs to be done immediately after the project gets assigned to students.

  24. 8 Tips for Developing Your Leadership Skills

    How to develop yourself as a leader: 8 tips. No matter where you are in your leadership journey, you can challenge yourself to grow and hone your skills. Use the following tips to set goals, explore strategies, and evaluate your progress. 1. Identify your strengths and weaknesses.

  25. PDF Strategies for Essay Writing

    Tips for Reading an Assignment Prompt When you receive a paper assignment, your first step should be to read the assignment prompt carefully to make sure you understand what you are being asked to do. Sometimes your assignment will be open-ended ("write a paper about anything in the course that interests you").

  26. 10 Essential Managerial Skills and How to Develop Them

    Discover the skills you need to be effective in a manager position and get tips for developing your managerial skills. Effective management requires various key skills, from good communication and conflict management to strategic thinking. ... Join a public speaking group or take a public speaking or business writing class. Look for ...

  27. 10 tips to make traveling with a large group hassle-free

    Bounce has assembled a list of first-rate tips for big-group travel in order to ensure the best group trip possible. Whether you're planning a long-awaited family reunion, a coworker offsite, or ...

  28. Odysseus Lander Tips Over After First Successful U.S. Moon Landing

    Shares of Houston-based Intuitive Machines slumped more than 30% on Monday after the lander's mishap was announced, Reuters reported. The first private company to land on the moon and the first ...

  29. Global law enforcement effort cracks down on LockBit ransomware group

    Law enforcement officials from 11 countries have joined forces to disrupt the activities of a major cybercrime group. Among those in the community of cybersecurity researchers, the group, known as ...