Group work

Source: https://learninglab.rmit.edu.au/university-essentials/group-work/ Parent: https://learninglab.rmit.edu.au/

This tutorial gives you strategies for being part of a successful group, which you can apply to your future academic and professional life.

This section will step you through a process to work together to create an effective product, as well as giving advice on how to manage each other and challenges as they arise.

Why group work?

Many courses require you to work in groups, including virtual or online groups. Group work requires you to use your organisational and interpersonal skills.

Group work helps you to:

• develop your ability to communicate in a professional context
• use interpersonal skills to work productively with others
• apply leadership and project management skills to solve complex problems
• think critically and reflectively in your subject area.

Effective groups usually think of themselves as 'teams' when working together to complete a project. An effective group assignment is one where the whole team is responsible for the outcome.

Successful group work experience

Group members:

• contribute equally
• communicate well
• are organised.

The final assignment is:

• unified
• cohesive
• consistent.

Frustrating group work experience

Group members:

• do not contribute
• communicate poorly
• are not organised.

The final assignment:

• lacks unity and coherence
• does not flow
• is inconsistent.

Images on this page by RMIT, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

Further resources

See also: Group work and academic integrity

Keywords

• Group work

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