Improving the Effectiveness of Group Work

Pooja Srinivas, Shikha Vats

As students of Design, we see design problems to solve at every turn. In the last few weeks, as we’ve been working on group assignments, we’ve noticed a few issues that have made the learning experience less than ideal and stressful at times. This report is an attempt at improving the experience of (current and future) students while working on group assignments.

Problem Statement

Group work, while it has a lot of advantages, has some key issues that make it difficult for both the student and the faculty to evaluate their understanding of the topic. Some of the challenges we would like to address:

Contribution

In most group assignments, the majority of the work ends up being done by one or two group members. While this may work in the short run, it adversely impacts the students who are not contributing since they miss out on an opportunity to learn.

Time Management

In a program for working professionals, the students need to juggle their work priorities and other commitments in addition to the assignments. As a result, it may be difficult to find additional time to manage the group along with researching and working on the project.

Coordination

Another challenge for working professionals is finding a time that works across the group. Some of us work different shifts, some from different time zones, which makes it extremely difficult to connect outside of the class hours or on weekdays. While a large part of the work can be done asynchronously, it is critical for the group to meet at least at the start and the end to ensure we align on what we are submitting.

Communication

Clear and open communication is key to effective group work but because of diverse backgrounds & communication levels, different levels of understanding, and other non-course related issues, there can be misunderstandings within the group.

Group Dynamics

One of the challenges of having a diverse group is bringing together different work styles, ideas, and perspectives within the group. While this can get addressed when we are working on a longer-term work project, in short-term assignments, a large portion of the time is spent on conflict management and understanding each other.

While the current format isn’t ideal, we do appreciate the learning opportunities group assignments provide and would like to ensure the solution incorporates the following existing benefits:

Shared Learning

In groups that work well together, the amount of learning is amplified since each member can focus on different parts of the topic.

Diverse Perspectives

Since we come from different backgrounds, tenures, and industries, it has been really great to get these different perspectives while we work on these assignments.

Collaboration

One of the key advantages of group work is learning to work with each other, pitch ideas, build your listening skills, etc. These are critical life skills that will be helpful beyond just the submission.

Motivation & Support

Working in a group and sharing your progress helps you get motivated and explore more on the topic than you would individually. Group members can be a safety net and help each other through the process.

How can group assignments be modified to make them more effective?

Individual Reflections

Each group member shares a 300-500 word summary on their learnings from the process and any challenges they overcame during the group work. This would be submitted in addition to the joint group submission and the overall score for each group member would be based on the joint submission plus their individual reflection. This would also help the faculty gauge the level of understanding of each group member and address any gaps during the feedback session.

Graded Quizzes

For larger groups, there can be graded quizzes that evaluate what the student has absorbed from the session. An advantage of this is the feedback can be instantly provided along with links for further reading.

Peer Evaluations

Group members can also be asked to rate each other based on contribution, level of participation, quality of work, and ability to collaborate with each other. Knowing these guidelines at the start of the assignment can help the group members understand there’s more to the assignment than just the final output.

Contributions Log

Group members can be asked to keep a log of their contributions and their learnings from each sub-task they completed as part of the group. While this may not completely address the disparity of work allocation within the group, it can help the faculty reassign group members if they are not pulling their weight.

Assigning Roles

Group members can also be assigned specific roles within the project and graded based on their segment within the group assignment. The main disadvantage with this option is that the overall quality of the assignment may suffer if each group member only focuses on their assigned section. .

Non-graded Group Work

The biggest stressor with group assignments is your grade is dependent on other factors that you cannot completely control. In order to get the benefits of group work while still providing autonomy, group discussions could be used as the starting point for the assignment and have each group member submit their individual report based on the collective research.

What else can help?

In addition to the above, the following can also help with minimizing conflict and ensuring a better learning experience for both group and individual assignments:

Clear Guidelines and Expectations

To avoid unnecessary confusion and miscommunication between group members, it would be helpful to have the expectations from the group and learning outcomes clearly laid out.

Transparent Evaluation Methods

Sharing the rubric that will be used to evaluate the assignment can help the group members focus and come together on the goal. If the concern is that this might curb creativity, part of the rubric could include a section for creativity or have extra marks for groups that go above and beyond.

Constructive Feedback

The learning doesn’t end with the submission or the grading. To make the most of this experience, the group needs to hear what they have done well and what they can improve upon with an option to redo with the feedback.

Learning from other Groups

Especially when the groups have different topics assigned to them, it would also be helpful to have a group feedback session where each group gets to see each other's submissions and learns from each other.

Training & Support

Considering the varied background, all students may not have the same level of exposure to group work either in academia or at work. Having an onboarding session (a doc or even a recorded video) on what is expected can help them participate to their fullest potential.

References:

Chang, Y., & Brickman, P. (2018). When Group Work Doesn't Work: Insights from Students. CBE life sciences education, 17(3), ar42.

Burke, A. (2011). Group Work: How to Use Groups Effectively. Ashland: Southern Oregon University. Retrieved from https://uncw.edu/jet/articles/vol11_2/burke.pdf

What are the challenges of group work and how can I address them. Retrieved March 16, 2023, from https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/teach/instructionalstrategies/groupprojects/challenges.html

Brame, C.J. & Biel, R. (2015). Setting up and facilitating group work: Using cooperative learning groups effectively. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved [March 16, 2023] from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/setting-up-and-facilitating-group-work-using-cooperative-learning-groups-effectively

Huang, L.-S. (2018, September 20). Students Riding on Coattails during Group Work? Five Simple Ideas . Retrieved March 16, 2023, from https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/students-riding-coattails-group-work-five-simple-ideas-try

Resolving group work issues - my.UQ - University of Queensland. Retrieved March 17, 2023, from https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/student-support/study-skills/group-work/resolving-group-work-issues