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Group Work
A group is an interaction between a collection of people for the purpose of achieving a common objective. There are many factors and variables that contribute to a group dynamic and to a successful and productive outcome. While researchers have documented a number of models which work successfully for certain situations, it is not possible to find one model that will work in all situations. Given the variability in human disposition, inconsistency is inevitable and it is extremely difficult to reduce human interaction to a set of strategies, methods or recipes. Thus, to elicit an optimal level of group performance it is wise to cultivate familiarity with a range of models and to employ different strategies, when necessary, to cope with and accommodate the changing circumstance. It is also possible through reflection to recognize within these models aspects of our own behavior which can be modified and refined to improve our contribution to the group.



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Why work in a Group?
The educational and social benefits of embedding group work within academic courses has been outlined by various scholarly research. It is also documented that this method, by comparison to others, leads the student to a deeper understanding and retention of the subject matter. Millis & Cottell et al (1987) state that  ‘well-designed and conducted group work leads to greater retention and understanding of what is taught’. In addition, group work also better prepares the student to participate in the ‘real world’. Elearning resources are often designed and developed by a team of people, frequently a collaboration between a number of third level institutions. Thus, it is vital to gain experience in developing the ability to work well in a group situation. Also, students who participate in collaborative work report greater satisfaction with their classes.

(Sources: Beckman, 1990; Chickering and Gamson, 1991; Johnson and Johnson, 1989; Johnson, Johnson, and Smith, 1991; Kohn, 1986).

Benefits Of Group Work
The benefits of group work may be summarised as follows:


 * The development of co-operation, planning and time management skills
 * Develops leadership skills, analytical skills, conflict management and resolution skills
 * The student becomes more actively involved in the course
 * Creates the opportunity to work on more ambitious projects
 * Promotes student ownership of the learning where the student takes responsibility for the learning
 * When it works, the sum of the whole can sometimes be greater than the constituent parts

Types of Learning Groups
Learning Groups fall under three different catagories: informal learning groups; formal learning groups; and study teams (see Johnson, Johnson, and Smith, 1991).

Informal Learning Groups

Informal groups are temporary clusters of students which can be formed at any time within a class by asking students to discuss a question presented by the teacher. This is a useful means to check the level of understanding of the material and to give students an opportunity to apply what they are learning as well as providing a change of pace. (Johnson, Johnson & Smith: 1991 cited in Davis: 1993)

Formal Learning Groups

Formal learning groups are teams established to complete a specific task, such as write a report, or carry out a project. These groups may complete their work in a single class session or over several weeks. Typically, students work together until the task is finished, and their project is graded.

Study Teams

Study Teams comprise regular meetings of students outside of class to assist each other in tackling assignments, coursework, exam preparation or just to study with each other and overcome any problems encountered in class. They are guided by the principle that a group can achieve more than an individual with the resultant benefit from the teaching, explanations, reflections, comments, and instruction of their fellow students. While a number of different models exist in study groups the most popular one is, perhaps, where each member becomes an ‘authority’ on a particular aspect of the subject and explains it to the others. These are especially useful to members who have missed a class. They also provide encouragement.

Stages of Group Development
Tuckman (1965) identified the following five stages of development:
 * Forming – characterised by unpredictable behaviour, perhaps politeness, as the group become acquainted with each other.
 * Storming – characterised by arguments and conflict as the group begins the search for its own rules.
 * Norming – characterised by trust, helpfulness and openness as the group begins to practice using rules.
 * Performing – characterised by trust, hard work and a group-centred focus as the group concentrates on the task.
 * Mourning – characterised by mixed feelings which include excitement along with feelings of withdrawal as the group prepares to break up.

Phases of Learning
Some theorists/educators classify group learning into three phases and distinguish them as follows:


 * Compliant learning – where the learner looks to aquire knowledge from those people who seem more commanding, formidable and prestigious
 * Identification learning – where the learners look to and trust the abilities, skills and knowledge of particular people in the group
 * Internalised learning – where the learners take responsibility and ownership of their own learning

Progression through these phases gradually nurtures trust and individual confidence amongst the participants.

Managing the Collaboration
Fiechtner and Davis, 1992 place importance on providing guidance and practice in the skills needed to succeed, particularly for students who have not worked in collaborative learning groups previously. These include:
 * Active and tolerant listening
 * Helping one another in mastering content
 * Managing disagreements
 * Giving and receiving constructive criticism
 * Presenting clear and unambiguous expectations
 * Inspiring commitment

Written contracts

Written contracts are sometimes used by faculty where the rules pertaining to the group are decided by the group members. These would include answering questions such as (Sources: Cooper, 1990; Johnson, Johnson, and Smith, 1991)
 * How the group will arrive at decisions
 * How to communicate as a group
 * How to resolve disagreements
 * Deadlines for tasks
 * Obligations to the group

Fair Division Of Labour

It is very important that the tasks set for the group members are very clear in purpose and unambiguously divided to insure an equitable and fair workload. For example, a project being completed by a group of four students concerning Ireland could be divided into four sections: North, South, East and West with each student researching one section. In the final report all the contributions are assembled into one document. Students conduct their research independently and use group meetings to share information, edit articles, proofread, and design the pages. (Sources: Smith, 1986; Tiberius, 1990; Connery, 1988; Walvoord, 1986).

Plan to Succeed

The course coordinator helps the groups formulate a plan of action on how to proceed. This will include issues such as who will do what and when and will also involve a review of the groups' strategy along with meeting the group to discuss its plan. Johnson et al contends that there ‘is a crucial difference between simply putting students into groups to learn and in structuring cooperation among students’ (1990, p10). This suggests that one must first create an environment that supports collaboration amongst students.

Keep in touch with the Group

The course coordinator maintains contact with the group on a regular basis. This is particularly important with longer projects. The coordinator also requests updates along with outlines or drafts and may requests periodic meetings either in person or on-line.

Factors that may challenge the group

 * Racial and cultural difference (see Harrison, Price and Myrtle, 1998)
 * Demographic dissimilarity (see Pelled, Eisenhardt and Xin, 1999)
 * Gender difference (see Harrison, Price and Myrtle, 1998)
 * Difference in Language/communication styles
 * Different learning/teaching styles
 * Differing time constraints - students have unequal levels of personal and home-life responsibility
 * Variability of time constraints during the project: in a six week project for example, the time at the disposal of each member will fluctuate during various parts of the cycle. Thus, it can appear at any given point that some are not contributing equally. Communication is important to mitigate any misunderstanding that may accrue
 * Some members starting the project before fully discussing the project with all of the members of the group and without making a plan or dividing responsibilities (see http://science.uniserve.edu.au/courses)
 * Absenteeism – lack of regular attendance at meetings (see http://science.uniserve.edu.au/courses)

Unhelpful Roles in a Group
Unhelpful roles according to Benne and Sheats are those that represent efforts to satisfy individual needs, do not help the group to carry out its task and hinder the maintenance of the group itself.

These are catagorized as follows:


 * Dominator: Tries to assert authority or superiority by manipulating the group, gives directions authoritatively, interrupting the contributions of others.
 * Aggressor: who deflates status of others, attack the group or the problem it is working on and jokes aggressively.
 * Blocker: tends to be negative and stubbornly resist and disagrees and opposes without reason.


 * Recognition-seeker: wants to be the centre of attention and is boastful, noisy or acts in unusual ways.
 * Self-confessor: uses the opportunity which the group provides as an audience to express personal, non group oriented ideas and insights.
 * Help-seeker: attempts to call forth sympathetic responses from other members through expressions of insecurity or depreciation of self.

Conclusion
Participation as part of a learning group may or may not fulfill our expectations and requirements. However, there is little doubt that the process itself is a worthwhile and valuable experience in which we learn many beneficial lessons. These relate particularly to our ability to co-operate with others and our willingness to sublimate our own personal desires for the greater benefit of the group. The experience of group work will also equip the participant with the necessary skills for conducting team exercises with his/her own students. Learning and negotiating the problems first-hand will assist initially in ones own personal development and ability to work in a team and laterally in the guidance and nurturing of student groups where unresolved problems may compromise the group dynamic.

Resources

 * Belbin’s team roles: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_83.htm
 * The Bicycle Analogy, TASK and Maintenance in Groups.docx
 * http://www.learnhighergroupwork.com/episodes.php
 * Hints for Better Learning Groups: http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/archive/cl1/CL/doingcl/hints.htm

Reading

Toseland, R.W. Rivas, R. (2009) An introduction to group work practice. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Education.