Form effective groups

For many students, being in the ‘right’ group is extremely important. Most hope to be placed with compatible members – primarily people they get along with. Other students may get anxious when groups are formed in class – for first–year students, it is the fear of the unknown. For second-year students up to postgraduates, they may be triggered by being in a dysfunctional group in the past.

Many of the problems (and fears) which arise from group work stem from the formation process. The formation process sets the foundations for effective group work in the future. If the foundations are weak, it will be difficult for students to develop into a cohesive and effective unit. If the process has been well planned and executed, the conditions have been set for high performance groups to develop. 

For strong foundations to occur, two important issues should be considered. These are: the size of the groups and the allocation of members into groups. 

Group size

The size of each group depends on the group’s task and the resources available for each group. Groups of around four members tend to work well because:

• students find it easier to organise meetings as there are less clashes with timetables
• students get a larger piece of the work to do and feel they can make a meaningful contribution to the group assignment
• students are more visible and accountable to each other
• there is less chance of fragmentation and the emergence of splinter groups
• there is a greater chance that the group will become cohesive in a shorter amount of time
• it is often easier for members to make collective decisions

Group allocation

These practices depend heavily on the task set for the group, the expertise of each student in the class and, most importantly, the learning objectives for the subject. Most selection methods fall into four categories. These are:

• random appointment
• self-selection
• selective appointment (shared criteria or specific criteria)
• task appointment

The first three methods are commonly used when groups are given the same group assignment (ie. a group essay or report on a pre-defined topic). The final assignment method is used when groups are able to choose from a number of pre-set topics.

Random appointment

Students are randomly appointed to groups  (eg. via a call off system, drawing names from hat, etc.)

Advantages

• Easy to administer
• Breaks up friendship groups
• Seen as fair by students

Disadvantages

• No choice by students
• Too much luck involved (eg. perceived by students as a ‘lucky dip’)
• Often viewed by students as the lecturer’s ‘easy option’

Self-selection

Students form their own groups.

Advantages

• Easy to administer
• Students have choice

Disadvantages

• Difficult for students who don’t know others in the class
• Selection bias (eg. students mostly choose to work with their friends)
• Not seen by all students to be fair

Selective appointment

Students are appointed to groups based on criteria (eg. mark aspirations, specific skills)

Advantages

• Students have some choice
• Students work with compatible members
• Seen as fair

Disadvantages

• Can disadvantage some students (particularly those with low mark aspirations)
• Selection bias (eg. may not break up friends)
• Can be time consuming (particularly if using questionnaires to appoint students)

Task appointment

Students are appointed to groups based on a preference for a particular assignment topic (offered from a range of choices)

Advantages

• Students have choice
• Students work with members with similar interests
• Seen as fair

Disadvantages

• Often an over or under subscription for some topics (thus affecting the size of the groups)
• Selection bias (eg. may not break up friends as they may choose the same topic)