showSidebars ==
showTitleBreadcrumbs == 1
node.field_disable_title_breadcrumbs.value ==

Managing Group Work

Content outline
Related Resources

Lesson Delivery

Monitoring and assisting student groups

Here are some ways how instructors can assist groups in achieving their learning objectives:

Weekly Journal / Report

Instruct students to log a weekly journal/ report denoting their progress or to present what they have done for the past week — individually or as a group [6]. Some online tools that instructors can consider include ELearn Journal, Padlet, Google Docs.

Additionally, the report can consist of information such as the group discussions’ main points, the group meetings’ attendance, and the plan for upcoming weeks [2]. This will help instructors to understand each member’s participation. Instructors can then provide constructive feedback to the group and/or individual team members.

Some examples of feedback are the progress of the group, what the group did well, what can the group improve [16]. Verbal feedback can be given through consultations or written feedback based on the group or the reflection journal/ peer evaluations that have been submitted.

Mode of Communication

Decide on a common mode of communication within students and with the instructor. Ensure students in the same group are aware of how to contact one another and to plan how they should work together [6]. They may utilize online communication tools such as SMU Timetable Bot (Telegram), Outlook Calendar, when2meet, Slack, Calendly to coordinate their schedules.

Instructors must inform students how they can reach their instructor should an issue occurs [6]. Instructors must also keep track of groups prematurely and reach out to students to ensure that it is not too late to solve the problems that the groups might be having [16].

Website Resources & Class Activities

Recommend website resources and provide links to class activities. Instructors may inform students of resources such as logs, websites, research journals, articles that might be useful for students to use and refer to for their group work [16].

For example, instructors may share with students the links to the Kahoot/ Wooclap quizzes that have been used in class activities. Instructors may also upload solution slides onto eLearn or make use of discussion forums e.g., eLearn, Piazza for students to clarify their doubts.

 

🔒 For SMU Instructors 

Instructors and students may also refer to the Teaching Learning Survival Tools: User Guides & FAQs for more information.

 

Identifying challenges in group work and how to address them

Here are some usual challenges that students might face when working together for a group work and the strategies that may help to mitigate the issues[4][11][12]:

Common ChallengesStrategies
Additional time and effort that a group work needs e.g., synchronise schedules, making consensus as a group, or compiling of individual tasks together.
  1. Assign group roles to help the group function effectively.
  2. Utilize online tools to help manage schedules
  3. Inform students of any parts of the group work that requires more time into.
Free riders who are not motivated to do any of the tasks.
  1. Implement an individual grading component on top of group grades.
  2. Conduct peer evaluations in the middle of the project to detect any potential free riding.
  3. Establish the responsibilities and expectations of each member clearly.
Conflicts among group members which can cause lack of participation among group members.
  1. Allow students to practice conflict-resolution skills such as roleplaying conflict scenarios.
  2. Get teams to decide on goals for the project at the start to align interests.
  3. Instructors may assist students in resolving conflict through being a mediator to help reach an agreement.
Students may tend to agree with one another to avoid conflict (Groupthink).
  1. Conduct brainstorming sessions to ensure each member contributes his/her ideas and insights as points of discussion during group meetings.
  2. Implementing a time limit for every individual participation in group discussions.
  3. Share past projects done by seniors for students to refer to.

 

References
  1. Bacon. D. R., Stewart, K.A., & Silver, W.S. (1999). Lessons from the best and worst student team experiences: How a teacher can make the difference. Journal of Management Education, 23(5), 4670488. doi: 10.1177/105256299912300503
  2. Burke, A. (2011). Group Work: How to Use Groups Effectively. The Journal of Effective Teaching, 11(2), 87-95. https://uncw.edu/jet/articles/vol11_2/burke.pdf
  3. California State University San Marcos (n.d.). Group Work and Roles. https://www.csusm.edu/iits/services/ats/idesign/cougarcourses/guides/groups-best-practices/index.html
  4. Carnegie Mellon University (n.d. a) What are the challenges of group work and how can I address them? https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/design/instructionalstrategies/groupprojects/challenges.html
  5. Carnegie Mellon University (n.d. b) How can I assess group work? https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/design/instructionalstrategies/groupprojects/assess.html
  6. Carnegie Mellon University (n.d. c) How can I monitor groups? https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/design/instructionalstrategies/groupprojects/monitor.html
  7. Csernica, J., Hanyka, M., Hyde, D., Shooter, S., Toole, M., & Vigeant, M. (2002). Practical guide to teamwork, version 1.1. College of Engineering, Bucknell University
  8. Davis, B. G. (1993). Tools for Teaching. Jossey-Bass Inc., San Francisco: California.
  9. Connery, B. A. (1988) Group Work and Collaborative Writing. Teaching at Davis, 14(1), p. 2-4. (Publication of the Teaching Resources Center, University of California at Davis)
  10. De Meyst, K., Grenier, J. (2021). Assigning Roles to Increase the Effectiveness of Group Work https://www.scholarlyteacher.com/post/assigning-roles-to-increase-the-effectiveness-of-group-work
  11. Iowa State University (n.d.) Common Group Work Challenges and Solutions https://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/effective-teaching-practices/group-work/common-group-work-challenges-and-solutions/
  12. The University of Queensland (n.d.) Resolving group work issues https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/student-support/study-skills/group-work/resolving-group-work-issues#0
  13. University of Birmingham. (n.d.) Why work in Groups? https://birmingham.ac.uk/schools/metallurgy-materials/about/cases/group-work/why.aspx
  14. University of Greenwich (n.d.) Assessing Group Work https://www.gre.ac.uk/learning-teaching/assessment/assessment/practice/assessing-group-work
  15. UNSW Sydney (n.d. a). Guide to Group Work. https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/groupwork
  16. UNSW Sydney (n.d. b). Facilitating and Monitoring Group Work. https://www.teaching.unsw.edu.au/facilitating-and-monitoring-group-work
  17. University of Waterloo (n.d.) Implementing Group Work in the Classroom https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/alternatives-lecturing/group-work/implementing-group-work-classroom
  18. University of Massachusetts Amherst (n.d.) How Do I Design Successful Group Work and Collaborative Assignments https://www.umass.edu/ctl/resources/how-do-i/how-do-i-design-successful-group-work-and-collaborative-assignments