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Saturday, November 24, 2012

10 Tips for Working in a Group


Working in a group can be difficult.  Next time you working with a group keep the 10 tips listed below, in mind.
1.      Listen actively – don’t interrupt, and ask question to make sure you understand,
2.      Establish a common goal – make sure everyone understands the goal,
3.      Assign roles – take into account everyone’s strengths and weaknesses,
4.      Create a timeline – set a schedule, include what everyone needs to do and when,
5.      Outline your objectives – discuss what you will and have talked about for each meeting,
6.      Divide and conquer – divide large project into smaller ones,
7.      Be wary of “groupthink” – make sure you speak up when you don’t agree with the direction the group is going,
8.      Resolve conflicts quickly and fairly – don’t think about a winner and loser, remember to compromise,
9.      Exchange contact information – make sure everyone has a list of all contact information needed,
10.  Book a group study room – plan a quiet area to meet, consider a library.

Not every group is going to run smoothly, but if you won’t on the list above you will have a better change achieving your goals together.

1 comment:

  1. Hello Jackie, great post! All of these are great tips to abide by when in a group setting, especially for a course project. It seems like finding a good group of students is often difficult. To add to your list of tips and suggestions, I have a recommendation that can go a long away.

    Creating a team guidelines document is essential for a demanding group project. This document is collaboratively made and/or approved by the whole group so there is a mutual understanding. The document also holds group members liable for their actions since each member must sign the document.

    Team guidelines have a few things that you mentioned such as objectives, contact information and roles. It has additional material such as rules and action to take if objectives and rules are not complied with.

    A scanned copy should be given to the instructor and each member of the group. The instructor must be informed about the team guidelines and give confirmation that he/she will enforce the guidelines. This might seem a little unnecessary, but sometimes it works out for the best!

    ReplyDelete