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Group work is beneficial to both students and instructors, as highlighted in the article “What are the benefits of group work?” from the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University. But mention ‘group work’ in your class and someone is likely to grimace. It doesn’t have to be that way! Take a look at these excellent resources and ideas which will help you understand groups and will help you construct better group activities for your students.
Read the Growing Great Groups: Considerations for successful student partnerships and the Group Work Resources articles in the Academic Newsletter.
Enhancing Experiences of Group Work – a resource kit from the University of Technology Sydney to help instructors manage and motivate student groups.
10 Recommendations for Improving Group Work from Faculty Focus
Working in Teams – information (what is a team, the possible roles in a team), a few questions to reflect on your team experiences, and some team work tips (how to be productive and positive, how to resolve conflicts)
Group Work & Presentations for students from the University of Guelph – Includes tips for students on getting started, group success, dealing with conflict, presentation skills, managing nervousness, etc.
Working in Groups Toolkit from the University of British Columbia – tips, videos
How to Succeed in Group Work– chapter 8 of ‘Essential Study Skills,’ by Tom Burns & Sandra Sinfield, Published Dec 2002, ISBN (Cased) 0-7619-4957-7 £40.00, ISBN (Paperback) 0-7619-4958 – “aims: to consider the role of group work in the academic environment – and to focus on developing group work skills” – explanations of the different parts of group work and tips for succeeding in group work – the boxed-in tips and questions could be adapted into reflections of the group work experience
Different Types of Group Work: Clearing Up the Confusion from Faculty Focus, Teaching Professor Blog – Clarifies collaborative learning, cooperative learning, problem-based learning (often known by its acronym, PBL) and team-based learning (also known by its initials TBL).
Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing: Understanding the Stages of Team Formation – includes leadership activities at different stages
Forming, storming, norming, performing in groups from Bruce W. Tuckman
Roles People Play in Groups by Ann Porteus from Stanford University – includes names of the roles, with descriptions
Roles in Groups: The many forms of leadership and participation from the Context Institute – includes names of the roles, with descriptions
Students Riding on Coattails during Group Work? Five Simple Ideas to Try from Faculty Focus
Guidelines for Writing a Team Contract from The University of Arizona – Opens a Word document which includes a template
How to Use a Rubric Without Stifling Creativity – sample rubric is for assessing contribution to group
Assessing Group Work from Carnegie MellonGrading Methods for Group Work table comparing various options for assessing group work
Methods for Assessing Group Work from University of Waterloo Centre for Teaching Excellence
Guiding Group Work: Activities to maximize student learning from group projects by Chelsea Hicks, The University of Western Ontario – worksheets to create a group charter (or a group agreement) and to reflect on your group experience, plus some suggested phrasing to help you handle conflict within your group.
Group Work module from the Learning Portal
Dealing with Group Conflict information for students from the University of Guelph
Video Series from LearnHigher, Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning“Rob, Vikki, Shireen, Muzz and Delia have been randomly selected to work together to develop a presentation entitled ‘The barriers to learning’. It’s not an easy ride. The following 10 episodes show the journey, from their first meeting through to their impressions of the presentation and working together.”
Why Working Together Doesn’t Always Work “Surprising research on the results we get when we collaborate.” Published on July 11, 2014 by Ron Friedman, Ph.D. in Glue. Viewed online on Psychology Today.
Online Students Don't Have to Work Solo from Inside Higher Ed
Keep up the group work: collaborative learning when teaching remotely – examples of remote group work from the University of Technology Sydney
Tips for Participating in Group Work and Projects Online infographic for students from Drexel University
Learn@SenecaLearn@Seneca Group information from BlackboardCreating and Assigning Groups and Creating a Group Assignment article on the Teaching & Learning Centre's Blackboard Ultra website contains information on setting up and managing groups in Learn@Seneca
Microsoft TeamsHow to use Microsoft Teams for student groups projects (video)Ace a group project in Microsoft Teams – tips for working together using Microsoft Teams to improve your group30 Advanced Tips for Becoming a Microsoft Teams Power User
Zoom Breakout RoomsHow to use Breakout Rooms in Zoom (video)Managing Breakout Rooms in ZoomPre-assigning Participants to Breakout Rooms in Zoom
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