Group Work

1. Group Work “Research has demonstrated that an important factor in student success in university studies is the opportunity for students to work in groups. While many academics would like to include group work, there is often hesitation because of bad experiences when groups have fallen apart and have failed to complete the tasks or left the work to one or a few students who have felt badly put upon.” -This Presentation Courtesy of Angelo and Cross (1993)

2. What Is A Group? “You would say that the people working in a factory form a group because, in the context of their occupation, they interact with one another more than they interact with other people, so far as their occupation goes. Within the factory, men or women co-operating in a special job form a group - a subgroup with respect to the factory as a whole - for the same reason.” - Sprott (1958)

3. Pros of Working In Groups • Group projects provide for developing skills such as: • organization • negotiation • delegation • team work • co-operation • leadership • following

4. Pros of Working In Groups • The Kicker: These skills are not automatically picked up, mind you—they are only typically gained after exposure to the variations inherent in the group process; after a sufficient level of exposure, then, each of you will be able to work effectively in group situations where the dynamics shift according to the unique participants with which you’re endeavoring. • Group work can be a means for demonstrating and becoming aware of your peers’ sometimes not-so-obvious strengths and expertise • With more students working together toward a single goal, the quality of their product can easily outshine the quality of an individual’s product!

5. Cons of Working In Groups • Teams fall apart • It can advantage some students and disadvantage others • Considerable time is spent in organizing the group and planning action • Difficult to quantify individual input; qualifying your peers’ failings can lead to tension • "Group Think": Some groups malfunction when the preservation of the group becomes more important than the task at hand or the ideas. • Creation of "team players": not being a team player means dissenting from the group identity. • Independent thinkers are not popular in a group environment

6. When to Appreciate Groups • When quality is more important than efficiency • While groups can at times be inefficient, intelligent navigation of group dynamics can yield a strong, quality product. • When the task lends itself to a division of labor • Shared responsibilities allow for a fuller product, whereas the same product would take considerably more time to complete if tasks were instead handled by a single person. • When working alone tends to be boring • Working in a group, if clear roles and objectives are established, can be very rewarding—how you choose to treat the group is a direct reflection of your inability to conceptualize the fruits of working with your peers. • If you’re having a hard time navigating the group, talk to them, share your concerns, frustrations and ideas • If the group doesn’t include you, despite your efforts, speak with your professor and/or mentor

7. Setting Up Teams • Joining a group • Groups should be made up of students who’ve demonstrated skill-sets that will balance rightly against their counterparts’ skill-sets • learning to identify the worth of your peers is an imperative • What are/aren’t you good/great at? • Keep to smaller numbers. An eight member team is too large for effective project management and allows some members to "disappear,” thus setting a burden on the remaining members to pick up the slack. • Roles • Ensure that all group members are aware of what their roles in the group are. Possible roles include: • Note taker • Spokesperson • facilitator • Chair

8. Strategies for Group Success • Discourage anonymity by establishing small groups. • Make the feedback public in the group, and strive to write everything down (roles, assignments, dates, contracts). • Use in-class time for group meetings and planning, and utilize your professor and mentor when you have questions, ideas, etc. • Clearly identify what the group’s product will be, and conceptualize what your contribution means with respect to this resultant amassment of efforts. • “Learn to assess the forest as well as the tree” • Meet early on and often.

9. Strategies for Group Success • Remember that disagreements in your group need not equate to chaos; rather, realize that these interactions often breed creativity. • Vary the products of your group work • Presentations that engage the audience • Papers versus hands-on products • Access the functioning of your group through periodic critiques, and create a binder documenting your group’s categorical progress • Keep your professor and mentor abreast of significant milestones or fallout within the group

10. What to Know (Next two slides courtesy of http://stage.itp.nyu.edu/~cs97/social_weather/group_work.html) GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS • First, the bad news. Working in groups is not like baking a pie -- there is no recipe for getting it right every time. Groups are fantastically complex entities, and groups will sometimes fail no matter what you do. • The good news is that there are a number of things you can do to improve the odds of success. The literature is too large to summarize in any comprehensive way, but here are a dozen things I think I know about working in groups that may help you get more out of group work while you are here. Some of them are things you can do to prepare for group work, some of them are things the group can do together at the outset, and some of them are ongoing habits.

11. Things to Know They are: • Embrace ego (admitting your goals and accepting the team). • Use the group for having ideas, not just ratifying them. • Beware premature optimization (avoid adopting ideas too early). • Structure is not tyranny (structure is efficiency). • Decide how to decide (learning to agree on methods). • Settle on social software (contact, contact, contact). • Get it in writing (holding yourself and the group accountable). • Match roles and goals (what we do should make sense, right?). • Talk about the relationship (bumpy at first; communication = smooth). • Accept inequality (there will always be someone working harder!). • There is no substitute for time (working together longer = better). • Have a drink. You've earned it (unless you’re underage!).

12. References • Angelo, T.A. & Cross, P.K. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 427 pp. • Stanton, R.G. and Sprott, D.A. (1958). Can. J. Math. 10. 73-77. • Blackler F. and Shimmin, S. (1984). Applying Psychology in Organizations.

13. Tim’s Advice for in class groups • Get Organized quickly • Select a leader (Vary this between groups. Don’t always be the leader. Avoid never being the leader) • Select a note-taker – Sometimes more important than the leader • Agree on a artifact as output – Often the most important decision • Paper, picture, outline, list, • Division of Labor • Can the group do things in parallel? • Agree on who does what. • Put it down in writing - The To-Do list (an important role of note-taker). • Every role should have a physical product as goal • Know your group members. • Pay attention to what your class mates do in class. Use this knowledge to effectively decide who does what.

14. More notes from Tim • Report back to the class effectively. • Agree on 1 or 2 people as spokes persons • Cover the important points first • Use visual aids • Don’t be afraid to remind the spokes person of important point he might have forgotten. • Evaluate • Afterwards, talk about group dynamics • Think about your own performance. • What could I have done to improve the groups effectiveness