Strategies for effective group work

Set ground rules

Work together to set ground rules (if you all agree they are more likely to be kept).

These rules may involve:

Attendance
Acceptable behaviour
Consequences of not contributing
Doing work on time
Respecting others

Roles and tasks

Be clear on who will take on which role
Divide tasks fairly
Set deadlines for completion
Keep a record of what you have agreed
Decide how and when you will communicate with each other
When assigning tasks, consider the strengths and weaknesses of your teammates, and try to give them roles which relate to their strengths

Speaking and listening

Encourage each other
Listen to others
Build on others’ ideas
Share ideas
Include everyone
Show when you agree
Admit mistakes
Politely disagree, e.g. ‘Why do you think that?’
Summarise

When having a discussion and someone is talking:

Encourage speakers by acknowledging what they said
Think about what they are saying
Listen for key points
Think of a question you could ask
Let them finish
Think of a positive comment

Give yourself a target, e.g. make at least one comment/suggestion
Write down what you want to say
Make eye contact
Be clear and brief
Don’t speak too quietly
Act confidently even if you don’t feel it

Speaking to a group can be a cause anxiety for some students so:

Give yourself a target, e.g. make at least one comment/suggestion
Write down what you want to say
Make eye contact
Be clear and brief
Don’t speak too quietly
Act confidently even if you don’t feel it

What if someone isn’t contributing?

You will be working with some people you know and some you don’t. Things are going well, and you have developed ground rules, appointed a group coordinator, and have had regular meetings.

However, as time goes on problems arise as two group members aren’t contributing; one has even stopped coming to meetings and hasn’t produced anything yet. The group is getting annoyed as they see all their hard work being compromised.

Solution

Firstly, you might want to find out if there’s a genuine reason this person hasn’t been engaging with the group. For example, they might have been ill or had a situation which prevented them from contacting you. They might even be struggling with their assigned tasks and not feel comfortable sharing this with the group. If this is the case, it would be best to reach out and try to support them, and offer any help they might need.

If there isn’t a genuine reason, it might be a good idea to remind them of the rules and what you set out in your group agreement (this is precisely why it’s a good idea to do that!) It might be best to send an email so that you can keep a copy in writing.

Sometimes just doing it yourself might be the only way, but this is obviously not an ideal situation. You could report it to your tutor as a last resort after you’ve given them a chance. Again, not ideal but they might be able to do something about it. This is where it’s good if you’ve kept a record of the interaction you’ve had with them.

You might have had some other ideas – if so, please share them with your group!