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Getting Group Work Right - Student Blog

by University of Liverpool Library on 2023-03-06T11:39:00+00:00 | 0 Comments

Orange backdrop graphic, with cartoon group of people working, with KnowHow logo and blog title

Throughout your time at university you will tackle many group projects. These can be more challenging since it requires reliance upon other students and a lot of teamwork. However these projects are so important for life after university since employers often require evidence of a candidates willingness to work in a team or ability to adapt. This means it’s key to develop those teamworking skills when given the opportunity.

Organisation

The first step of any group project is to arrange a planning meeting with every member of the group. Depending on the compatibility of timetables this can be very easy or a struggle. It’s good to utilise programs like google forms or doodle poll if this step is proving difficult. Once that first meeting is arranged its important to know what to cover in that meeting. As a group, you need to understand what the task is asking you to do, how to best complete it, and what areas people feel like they can do best. Once all that has been established, it’s time to delegate tasks, agree on a time for a second meeting, and decide what needs to be done by then. To maintain that initial organisation, it’s important to have regular meetings and to communicate any updates or issues that are happening over the course of the project.

Communication

The greatest skill people develop during group work is communication. Without it, group projects fall apart as people lose track of what’s going on and what other group members are doing. A Teams channel can be a brilliant resource here as it will maintain chat records so people can go back over it, a calendar for deadlines can be added, collaborative files can be stored and edited, and many other features. It also means that all members of the group can communicate without a specific social media since it’s a part of Microsoft Office.

Of course this isn’t the only form of communication that benefits from group work, group discussions are brilliant for debating skills, critical analysis of your own and others ideas, and importantly, listening and considering other people’s ideas. People often get wrapped up in their own ideas, which can cause tension in a group, so listening to other people is a huge part of communication when working in a group.

Personal Experience

I will be the first to admit that I struggle with groupwork as I often feel more comfortable working on my own and going at my own pace. However I also understand the importance of developing those group work skills as they will help me throughout my life. I have been very lucky over the course of my university career in that I have been placed in groups where the other members are willing to put the effort in and pull their weight. Despite this, I have had groups were members don’t contribute and I have had to find ways to deal with this.

If it is the case where the group member is struggling to complete the tasks due to time commitments, lack of understanding, or maybe even a language barrier, it’s important to make an effort to help them. Whether that be answering their questions, explaining their task in a better way, or offering to help then with their part, it’s important to support your group members. Sometimes other students simply won’t respond to communication attempts or fail to show up to group meetings without an explanation. In this case it is important to try to get them to engage but if it persists it’s important to notify your tutor to what is happening.

Additional Help

Have a look at the KnowHow online tutorial on Group Work.

Group work also encapsulates a lot of academic areas which aren’t covered in the basic aspects of group work. Things like time management and making/presenting a presentation are two of these areas and both can be developed using some of the KnowHow tutorials on Canvas. These tutorials also include finding resources, digital skills, and referencing which can be huge parts of group projects.


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