Working in Groups - Some Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some examples of questions that you might have about working in groups, along with your instructors' responses that address those concerns.

Question 1:  I don't like to do all the work and let others take the credit.  How can I prevent this?

Response:  It is important that each student be held individually accountable for his or her own performance.  When each student group takes this seriously, "free riders" are discouraged and contributors to the group effort are rewarded.  The first provision for emphasizing individual accountability is the assignment of roles of responsibility.  There should be a separate role for each student in the group, and these roles should rotate among group members every week or after every problem or assignment.  Some suggested roles and their responsibility are included in Table 1.

TABLE 1
 

Role	Responsibility	For Example
Discussion Leader	Keeps group on-track; maintains full participation	"Let's focus on the problem." "Should we move onto the next question?"
Recorder/record keeper	Records assignments, strategies, unresolved issues, data; convenes group outside of class, keeps group record sheets	"Did we get all the learning issues down?" "Is this the diagram we want?"
Reporter	Makes sure all agree on plan/action/report; writes up assignment	"Are we in agreement now?" "Everyone check this draft before tomorrow."
Accuracy Coach	Probes for group understanding; locates resources and brings them to class	"Why do you think that?" "What does this text say?" "Where did you find that information?"
Skeptic	Challenges group consensus; checks for alternative ideas	"I'm not sure we're on the right track." "Are you sure about that?  John, do you agree with Sue?"
Timekeeper	Checks for timing of discussion of the problem; alerts discussion leader when group needs to switch activities	"Lisa, we've only got 10 minutes, we'd better assign learning issues." "We should move onto the second page now."
Reflector/Summarizer	Summarizes progress of the group; checks for involvement and understanding of all group members	"Here's where I think we are.  What do you think Sally?" "Jack, you've not said what you're thinking.  Do you agree with Joe?"

If there are fewer students in each group than roles of responsibility, you may want to combine some of the functions, such as Discussion Leader and Timekeeper or Accuracy Coach and Reflector.

Ground Rules
Another important tool that will help group members ensure that all students contribute to the group effort is establishing and enforcing group ground-rules.  You will be encouraged to discuss the behaviors that you will and will not tolerate from others in your group, and decide the consequences for violators of these ground-rules.  After your group comes to consensus on the ground-rules and consequences, you should send two copies by e-mail - one to your lab TA and one to Professor Shipman. All group members should be cc'd so each has a copy also.

Some examples of commonly used ground-rules are the following:

•  Come to class on time every day.
•  Do all assignments and be prepared to discuss them.
•  Notify group members of absences.
•  Share information.
•  Respect the views and ideas of others.
•  Reporter should share a draft of any write-up 2 days before it is due.
•  When ground-rules are violated by one or more students, the group will not ignore it, and will invoke the appropriate consequences.

As in the world outside the classroom, rules need to be enforced with consequences, or they may be ignored.  Some examples of appropriate consequences for violators of the ground-rules are the following:

• Group member will have a "time-out" period from the group and will be responsible for completing all work on his/her own.
• Group member will not receive a grade for an assignment for which s/he did not contribute.
• Group member will be responsible for a greater share of the next assignment.
• After 2 ground-rule violations, a member can be expelled from the group permanently.

The instructors will approve each group's list of ground-rules as well as consequences, so that if needed, s/he will help students reinforce those guidelines.

Question 2:  I've been in groups before, and I dont like being slowed down by other group members.  How can I change this?
Or I'm not really good in this subject, I'm afraid I'll hold back my group.

Response:  One aspect of cooperative learning that helps maximize every student's learning is explaining material to other group members.  Every teacher will tell you that it isn't until they've actually taught a topic that they have developed a deep level of understanding it.  When students teach other students they reinforce their own understanding of material, and are forced to face elements of a concept that might not be clearly understood.  And many times students can understand another student's explanation because s/he has also just learned the material and can clearly understand the conceptual pitfalls.  So everyone is a winner in a cooperative group, the one who instructs and the one who listens - both students learn.

Question 3:  What can I do to get group members to do their assignments?

Response:  If each group has written thoughtful ground-rules and consequences, then the next step that will help reinforce positive group behaviors and maximize individual accountability is giving helpful feedback to individuals and the group as a whole.  Group feedback sessions should be scheduled two to three times a semester.  The feedback session should begin with each individual stating what the group did well since the last feedback session, and what s/he thinks the group needs to change or improve in order to function better.  You may find the Form "Prompts for Discussion of Group Function" convenient to use to help your discussion begin. .  After the recorder lists all suggestions, the group can go on to discuss the feedback, then come to consensus on one or more goals for the group in the period of time until the next feedback session.  For example, if some members of the group are not coming prepared to class, and this is leading to a breakdown in group discussion, the goals for the next two weeks could be one or more of the following:

• Every member will arrive on time for class, prepared to discuss his/her assignment.
• The discussion leader, accuracy coach and skeptic (or reflector) will challenge each individual to contribute during discussions and discourage any splintered discussion.
• Each member will submit his/her assignment in writing as a part of the group record-keeping.

After students have discussed the current functioning of their group and set goals for future interactions, they will then rate each individual's contribution to the group and write feedback for each group member.  The results of the ratings will be factored into each student's grade.

Giving constructive feedback to members of your group is an important skill that you need to develop.  It is also a powerful tool in managing the effectiveness of your group.  Table 2 gives some examples of student behavior and some suggested feedback statements.

Good feedback:

• Describes behavior rather than criticizing or demeaning it.
• Gives specific (rather than general) information about the behavior.
• Is presented as an individual's perceptions or feelings rather than as absolutes.
• Focuses on behaviors and actions rather than on someone's personality.
• Focuses on behavior that can be controlled or changed.

TABLE 2
 

Student Behavior	Sample Feedback
Student A is quiet and doesn't contribute to discussion.	It would help the group if you would contribute to the discussion more often.  The information and opinions that you do contribute are very knowledgeable and helpful to our learning.
Student B dominates the discussion and is frequently incorrect.	You contribute to the discussion, but often do not allow others to speak.  This hurts the group when your information may not be correct or complete, and others in the group do not have a chance to add their knowledge.  Our group will be better if everyone has an opportunity to share what they know.
Student C thinks s/he knows the material and tries to get the group to move quickly through the problem, getting impatient if anyone asks questions.	You are a good resource of knowledge for the group, but when you encourage us to move too quickly through the problem, we don't learn all the details that we need.  It would be helpful to the group if you asked more challenging questions, and helped answer others questions.

Question 4:  How can a group be fair about dividing responsibility in a big project?

Response:  It is important to divide responsibilities among the group members when they have been assigned a large project.  At each stage of the assignment, clearly document in writing each person's responsibility, and the due date in your record keeping sheet (see "Checklist for Problem-Solving").  In fact, you will find that record keeping is a good way to eliminate conflicts, tensions and disagreements about the division of labor associated with all problems, cases or assignments.

Question 5:  I'm trying to get into grad school, so grades are important to me.  What if I'm in a group with folks that don't care about getting good grades?

Response:  Group ground-rules, roles of responsibilities, documenting the activities of the group and individuals within the group, and peer pressure within the group help raise expectations of all group members.  Each student is responsible for monitoring the functioning within his/her group and the academic level of the discussions, assignments, and research reported.  If a student is in a group with another person who resists working as hard as the rest of the members, s/he needs to use all of the group-monitoring methods stated above, giving that individual truthful and direct feedback on his/her performance and the group's expectations.  As a last resort, students may wish to seek advice from the instructor, who will help you find ways to deal with conflict and will be prepare to intervene directly, if necessary.