‘HOW TO’ GUIDES
HOW TO MANAGE GROUPWORK
Group-work is an excellent way of learning. It allows you to pool knowledge and skills with others in order
to produce outstanding outcomes. But at times it can be difficult and frustrating. The tips below can help
you to be prepared for working in a group and to avoid or manage some of the difficulties that might arise.
DO
DON’T
Elect a group leader or co-ordinator (or pull a name from
a hat) who will chair meetings, ensure all group members
participate fully and make sure deadlines are met.
Hope for the best - organising
people is tough, so someone
needs to do it.
Make sure you have the names of all group members and
a means for contacting each other.
Give up because no one contacts
you.
Agree together on Groundrules (for some ideas, see
overleaf).
Disregard Groundrules as
unnecessary – you may need to
refer to them later.
Decide on priorities and set agreed aims for your task.
Have aimless discussions around
who is going to do what.
Be clear that everyone in the group understands exactly
what the project entails.
Let one person dominate. Nor
should you immediately exclude
ideas you don’t like.
Keep good records of your planning and decisions. Write
an action plan and make sure everyone has a copy. This is
good practice, but may be helpful if anything goes wrong.
Assume you’ll all get along just
fine, so record keeping is a waste
of time.
Discover your group member’s strengths and weaknesses
and use them – maybe allocate everyone with a function
(see overleaf).
Form small cliques or always
work as individuals.
Divide the project into manageable pieces so every group
member has to do something specific.
Promise to do something and
then forget or feel it’s not
important.
Consider how technology can help you? Try using facilities
within exehub for collaborating, or google docs.
Disregard technology because
you’re no good at it.
Have regular group meetings, face to face or virtually
e.g.Skype.
Put off meeting up because it
seems like too much effort.
Be prepared to give and receive feedback.
Be openly critical and negative
about others suggestions or
contributions.
Reflect upon how you work together as a team and
balance this with your discussions about the project
requirements.
Think about the value of what
you are doing purely in terms of
marks.
Use members of staff to help resolve genuine difficulties or
ask for advice.
Neglect difficulties and conflicts
in the hope that they will sort
themselves out. They won’t!
For a group presentation, rehearse together.
Come together for the first time
when you are about to do a
presentation.
“I don’t know
what I’m
meant to be
doing”
“I volunteered
to be a group
leader, but
nobody listens”
“Four of us
do all the
work and the
other two
do nothing”
“I hate
groupwork –
it’s so much
easier to get on
with something
by yourself”
“It’s not fair.
I’ll get a lower
mark because
the others don’t
work as hard”
“Why do we
have to work
in groups? I’ll
never need to
after uni”
Student Engagement and Skills Hub
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GROUNDRULES - will these ground rules suit you?
I must…
…Always take responsibility for my own learning and
progress and not rely on others.
…Accept that I may not always get to do things the
way I want.
…Respect others – listen to their viewpoints and
support their ideas.
…Be prepared to compromise or to accept the ways of
working of others.
…Be open and honest about my strengths and areas of
improvement.
…Be prepared to offer and to accept constructive
criticism that will improve the group’s work.
…Help to maintain group cohesiveness, identity and
motivation.
…Pull my weight and ensure that targets and deadlines
are met.
TEAM FUNCTIONS
Which function best reflects you?
What are you good at?
How can you use your strengths
to support your group?
Which function least reflects you?
Do you want to improve in any
area?
THINKING
• Collects and analyses information
• Listens to what is being said and
watches what is going on
• Is sometimes quiet before
contributing ideas
• Thinks through the problem,
sees solutions
CARING
• Is concerned that everybody fits
in
• Contributes humour and builds
bridges around the team
• Works to develop a team spirit
• Is keen to get everybody to agree
• Watches out for others’ feelings
and attitudes
• Eases tensions
DOING
• Always wants to be active
• Is prepared to get involved in
order to help others
• Wants to see progress and
adherence to plans
• Gets bored with too much
discussion
• Hates time wasting
• Works hard to finish the task
LEADING
ACHIEVING
• Wants to succeed and strives for
results
• Wants to progress towards the
goal quickly
• Becomes impatient with delays
• Challenges assumptions
• Proposes improvements
• Has lots of enthusiasm
• Provides and communicates a
vision
• Clarifies objectives
• Makes sure everybody is involved
• Is committed and motivated
• Co-ordinates group efforts
• Ensures that decisions are made
and that the group progresses
WHY IS GROUPWORK SO IMPORTANT?
For learning in your subject area: talking, discussing, or arguing in groups can be a good way to
improve your learning of subject content, especially when understanding of difficult topics is required.
It is particularly useful when you are asked to work on time-consuming or difficult problems when you
can make use of the different abilities and interests of the team.
For belonging to a social group: in much of what you do throughout life you will be part of a group.
Whilst at university, you will be involved in any number of groups: in your coursework, in your living
accommodation, in clubs and activity groups, in friendship groups, and so on. It is important that you
can interact with confidence and make your voice heard, have your own opinions and also listen to the
views and needs of others.
For employability: the ability to work in teams is highly valued by employers. No matter where you
work in the future, you will need to work as part of a team. It is almost impossible to find a job where
this is not part of your everyday activity. If you have not had any experience of working in groups or
teams, you will find it extremely difficult to complete the majority of application forms - for almost any
kind of job. If you have had plenty of experience in a range of contexts, and have had the opportunity
to develop a coherent vocabulary to describe these experiences, then you will be well equipped to apply for jobs and to demonstrate your skills during employer assessments.
Have you seen the
other Guides in
this series?
How to…
Manage your time
Read effectively
Write Essays & Reports
Reference and Avoid
Plagiarism
Manage Exams
Give Presentations
For further information, please go to ELE -> ‘Student Resources’ -> ‘Undergraduate Skills’.
Student Engagement and Skills Hub
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