The Dos and Don'ts of Effective Group Work

While your class grade and most of your homework is earned and completed on an individual basis, you may have to occasionally work with a group to complete a project or assignment.

When a group of any size comes together to work, there are many factors in play. People have different personalities, ways of completing their work, and different times when they are and aren't available to meet. Everyone should understand each other's needs before getting down to business.

Use this list of Dos and Don'ts to help your group complete the maximum amount of work possible.

DO:

Get to know your group members if you have never worked with them before. Find out what their strengths and weaknesses are, how they like to get things done, and what they hope to get out of this project.

Schedule a weekly or daily meeting time that works for everyone. If this is not possible because schedules constantly change, set a time at the beginning of each week.

Divvy up responsibilities right away. Figure out who will be responsible for Internet research, typing the body of the paper, compiling research statistics, or writing a bibliography, for example.

Decide who will be the best group leader.

Keep in touch with all group members. Get everyone's emails, phone numbers, and instant messenger screen names. This way, you can all contact each other if one of you can't make the meeting or is having a problem with their share of the work.

Ask your professor for help immediately if there is a conflict between group members you can't solve on your own, or if you are having difficulty with any part of your project.

DON'T:

Appoint yourself as the leader just because you have ruled all other members incompetent. One person should never just take control of the project.

Try to resolve any disagreement by fighting. Talk it out quietly and in private, and then if all else fails, see your professor.

Assign a responsibility to someone who has a weakness or lacks understanding in a certain area. Cater to everyone's strengths.

Complain about having to do group work the entire time. While some people do work best individually, not complaining will pay off more than sitting around acting like you don't care.

Worry about what other groups are doing. If you are in the library at the same time as other groups, you may feel competition with them. Even if they are smarter or have more organized notes, focus on what your group needs to get done.

When you are in a group, it is up to you to do your work; as well as help out the others you are working with. In order to complete a project effectively, everyone needs to be on the same page at the same time. As long as you can coordinate your schedules, assign tasks fairly, and solve conflicts before they become worse, your group project should be a success.