9 Section 4: Making groupwork work
Overview
This section of the handbook will help you consider approaches for working effectively in groups. These may include cooperative learning, collaborative learning and team-based learning.
Image source: University of Leeds Image Library.
Your participation in this section will help you develop strategies to:
feel more connected with fellow group members,
be effective in what you’re hoping to achieve together,
maximise your own learning.
Learning outcomes
Successful completion of this section will enable you to do the following:
- Discuss the value of working in groups.
- Explore how you can work effectively in a group.
The value of working in groups
Race, 2023; Race, 2019; Rewal and Hunter, 2020; Ehlers, 2020
Image source: Katie Nicholls.
There are many benefits of working in groups, for both yourself and your fellow members. These include the following:
- Getting to know others, building relationships and feeling connected.
- Experiencing how others can enrich your own learning experience.
- Considering the diverse perspectives of others.
- Learning new skills by putting them into practice.
- Sharing your personal strengths to help the group as a whole succeed.
- Developing yourself further by growing your skills and capabilities.
- Sharing responsibility for achieving a successful outcome or solving real-world challenges.
How to make groupwork work
Race, 2023; Race, 2019; Rewal and Hunter, 2020; Scager et al. 2017; Ehlers, 2020
Image source: Katie Nicholls.
Working in groups can be rewarding. It can also be challenging. The list below suggests ways in which you can make the most of these opportunities for collaboration:
Get to know each other by engaging in a social and playful activity.
Show respect for your fellow group members; everyone brings something unique that can complement the contributions of others.
Listen and be open to the perspectives of your fellow group members.
Create a sense of shared ownership by agreeing as a group what you will do and how you’ll work together.
Determine who will do what (and by when) and make a record of this.
Schedule regular meetings and follow up on the progress of tasks.
Participate actively, demonstrating responsibility and commitment to group’s goals.
Demonstrate clear communication – if things aren’t going well, be open about it and focus on finding a solution together.
Be self-aware by acknowledging that we all have good and bad moments – resolve misunderstandings and conflict to enable the group to move forward.
Provide support for fellow members and celebrate your successes.
Interaction and participation impacts
The Jam provides an opportunity to broaden your horizons and enrich your learning experience. A diverse range of individuals from a variety of disciplines and professional areas will be participating, including attendees from a wide range of cultures.
You can maximise your learning by immersing yourself in the three days of the Jam, and by interacting with students, staff, facilitators, community members and guests.
Activity 4.1
Take this opportunity to consider the responsibility you have in ensuring an equitable experience for all participants, and what can you do to achieve this:
What impact do you think the following factors will have on interaction and participation?
Cultural diversity and diversity of roles/backgrounds.
Diversity of seniority and potential power challenges.
Different motivations and interests.
Selective and immersive collaboration patterns.
Differing learning needs, engagement patterns and learning goals.
Selective and immersive collaborative learning in open settings
A study showed that when learners online engage in collaborative learning, there are two distinct engagement patterns. Learners may switch between these. Therefore, it’s important not to associate the patterns with individuals (Nerantzi, 2018).
The table below shows the two engagement patterns and the associated learning needs for each. If you’re working in a group, being aware of these patterns will enable you to work together effectively in your groups. It’s important to recognise that some group members may engage in different ways to you.
| Selective collaboration | Immersive collaboration |
|---|---|
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| Selective collaboration | Immersive collaboration |
|---|---|
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Source: Nerantzi, C. (2017) Towards a framework for cross-boundary collaborative open learning for cross-institutional academic development. (PhD thesis) Edinburgh: Edinburgh Napier University. Available at: https://www.napier.ac.uk/~/media/worktribe/output-1025583/towards-a-framework-for-cross-boundary-collaborative-open-learning-for.pdf
References
Ehlers, U-D. (2020) Future Skills. The future of learning and higher education, translated by Ulf-Daniel Ehlers, Patricia Bonaudo, Laura Eigbrecht Karlsruhe, available at https://nextskills.org/library/future-skills/
Nerantzi, C. (2018) The design of an empirical cross-boundary collaborative open learning framework for cross-institutional academic development, In: Open Praxis, Vol. 10, No. 4, October-December 2018, pp. 325-241, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.10.4.907
Race, P. (2019) The lecturer’s toolkit, 5th edition. Routledge.
Race, P. (2003) Learning in small groups. York: Higher Education Academy. https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/learning-small-groups
RewaJ. J. and Hunter, D. (2020) Leading groups online. A down-and-dirty guide to leading online courses, meetings, trainings and events during the coronavirus pandemic, http://www.leadinggroupsonline.org/ebooks/Leading%20Groups%20Online.pdf
Scager, K., Boonstra, J., Peeters, Ton, Vulperhorst, J. and Wiegant, F. (2017) Collaborative learning in higher education: Evoking positive interdependence. CBE – LifeSciences Education. 15(4). https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-07-0219
Skills to Succeed at University – Online Course – FutureLearn
Welcome – Mature Student Skills Resource – Landing Page for Parts 1 and 2 (leeds.ac.uk)
