Group work - Working together, apart

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Rebecca: Hi everyone, welcome back to Episode 3 of UTS Student Hacks. I’m Rebecca

Avi: and I’m Avi

Rebecca: In this episode we’ll be looking at how to work together in a group efficiently while being physically apart, what to do if problems arise and resources to organising your group work online.

Avi: We will also discuss different stages of team forming, so guys sit back, relax and enjoy the podcast.

 

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Rebecca: Ever since we started social distancing, students are finding it difficult to connect with team members to discuss assignment details and tasks, as well as finding a set time for online meetings. But first of all, let’s talk about stages of group work according to educational psychologist Bruce Tuckman – forming, storming, norming and performing. Avi, how do you normally form your group?

Avi: Rebecca, I believe I have had a mixed bag of experiences so far in forming a group. On several occasions, I quickly formed a group with people I already knew from previous semesters. However, sometimes you do not know anyone who is doing the same subject and must create a group, and that situation is challenging. In that case, you can make a little post on the discussion board on UTS online for a specific subject or maybe send an email to the whole class asking to form a group. 

Rebecca: I would also recommend  that always remember to form a group where everyone is one the same page about the quality of work needed to done and the end-result which usually are excellent marks for that particular group assessments.

Avi: One useful tip we all could agree upon is how to communicate in the very starting of the group formation. Firstly, we should choose a platform to communicate with other team members such as Facebook group, or Slack. Google Docs and Microsoft Teams are some fantastic examples to collaborate on group work remotely. Though, we should always varytry to be flexible about specific meeting times for online meeting Because sometimes there might be someone in your team who is not living in the same time zone as you, or who has to look after kids.

One useful tip we all could agree upon is how to communicate in the very starting of the group formation. Firstly, we should choose a platform like email, a Facebook group, Google Docs, Microsoft Teams and specific meeting times for online meetings.

Rebecca: Yes absolutely. But what happens when you get into disagreements with your team? Good news is, disagreements and conflicts are completely normal and this stage is called “Storming”. Storming often happens due to differences in working style. This stage is also escalated when you have mismatched expectations like time commitments and understanding of assignment requirements. a culturally diverse group or time conflicts.

Avi: Yes Rebecca, I would agree that time management is one of the major conflicts we all face while doing the group work. Do you have any resources that you can share with our listeners about time management.

Rebecca: I will link an excellent LinkedIn Learning video called “Time Management for Working in Teams” down in the Resources section below for students who need an extra push in managing their time.

Avi: So Rebecca, what is this video about?

Rebecca: It talks about avoiding procrastination, team calendar and communication patterns that is extremely helpful for students. So definitely check it out!

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Avi: I remember when I was doing a core subject for my engineering degree and my group was so collaborative, hardworking and passionate; in fact we were able to create a fantastic result for the final demo for that subject. However, one guy in the team was mostly absent from the team meetings and did not contribute at all. It’s challenging to get around people in a group environment who do not want to participate and want to freeload on your hard work. However, the best solution, in that case, could be to talk to your supervisor or your tutor so that they can intervene in your situation and suggest a possible remedy.

Avi] Rebecca, earlier you mentioned cultural diversity. I believe it is critical for any form of group work or a team formation. Personally, I have come across this issue on several occasions but often found myself bemused on how I should handle this.

Rebecca: I find another struggle with working online in a group is that group members tend to take a long time to reply to messages. In the long run this could further emphasize misunderstandings come assignment times. To prevent this from happening, my group actually made a rule about checking group messages at least 3 times a week to keep everybody up-to-dateup to date about our progress. This way we can work more effectively as a group while any miscommunications or misunderstandings are cleared right away.

[Rebecca] I reckon that the best way to get around the issue of cultural diversity would be to get to know everyone in the group, form a mutual connection with everyone and further solidify the foundations of the group work within the team.

Avi: Yes, the unison of the group members is indeed vital in group formation which lead us to the third stage of group forming which is the Norming stage when the team moves to form a cohesion within the group on assigning roles such choosing a leader and discussing other team roles like a facilitator etc. though sometimes people cannot  get past the second stage because they just can’t seem to find common ground since there is no mutual connection.

Rebecca: That’s right, to avoid this issue, you can talk about your interests, hobbies or even mutual friends. Bear in mind though that there would also be people who are not open to chatting things beside your groupwork and that’s ok. Respect their wishes and focus on your team’s common goal instead.

Avi: I would 100 % agree with you there about creating aemphasising your common goal which can inspire the whole team. We can also try to be exceptionally clear about the expectations of each group member from the group task in the beginning. And, be honest with your team members about the workload and start performing on your assigned tasks.

Rebecca: It’s interesting that it all comes down to performing on your assigned tasks in a group. Which also, brings us to the last stage, “Performing”! By the time your team reaches the performing stage is when hard work leads to the achievement of the team’s goal. Here, you can concentrate on developing team members and it feels easy to be a part of the team.

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Avi: It is amusing that how easier group work can be if we follow these four stages. Especially collaborative skills and being able to compromise in a group environment since these are valuable skills to hone at university.

Rebecca: We hope this episode have shed some light on working efficiently in a group online and the tips provided would be useful to you. Don’t forget to check out the resources below if you’d like more detail on what we’ve covered here. Thanks for tuning to Episode 3 of UTS Student Hacks. Next week we’ll be looking at Online Presentations with Kelly and Avi. Have a great week everyone.

 

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