14 The Greater Good
Group Work
By Maxine Mann – Dean of the Schools of Business, Trades & Technology at Fleming College
Be prepared for the groans, the eye-rolling, the “Please, can I do this on my own ?” or the “why can’t we pick our group?”
Oh the joys of group work! And of course, you will tell the students that they will be working in groups “in the real world” and not choosing their team mates and that this will help them in the future and… they still will be very unhappy.
Can you blame them? The issues you faced in group work, as a student, haven’t changed. There is always someone who doesn’t pull their weight, someone who then tries to compensate for that, someone who doesn’t care or worry about deadlines, someone does his/her work in a different manner from what the group had decided would be the process, someone who completely misunderstood the outcome, someone always on the phone during discussions, and then to have to share the final mark…
As well, our students are placed in groups in so many of their classes, scheduling meetings to do work together becomes problematic, even with technology. The group fails to function well as they can barely find time to meet face-to-face, an exercise in frustration, to use that old cliché.
This is not to discourage you from placing students in groups for projects or assignments but rather to think back on your own experiences with groups that did function and how you might replicate that in your classroom. Remember that although humans are social animals, we don’t necessarily have the skills to function well in groups with deadlines and objectives. We like ‘social’ when it means coffee and sunshine on a patio. We all need some help with this process. Here are some suggestions that will support your teaching while balancing the thorny dilemma of understanding why students dislike groups yet knowing the value of group work:
- Be clear that group work is the best method to achieve the learning outcomes for that class. Don’t use groups as a way to decrease your marking load or because it “seems like the right thing to do.” What will the students gain from the experience? How does the work reflect the course’s objectives? Are you prepared to spend the time to reinforce the value of group process and make their group work experience a successful one? Students will know whether the group aspect of their class adds value or not; be sure you believe it is valuable. If working in groups on an assignment truly is the best way to learn, then onto the next steps.
- Spend time creating a class charter, a paradigm for working together that leads to success. Start your classes with a charter. What are the expectations students have of you and what do you expect of them? I have heard comments such as “Class starts on time and ends on time”, no cell phones, etc. Don’t be vague. Be specific. To say “people need to respect each other” is lovely, but what does that actually look like? For example, listen when someone is