Building an effective group

How to work effectively in a group project?

Working in a Group

Building an effective group

As a member of an effective group, you should understand and agree with the common goals of the group

understand that success of the group is shared among group members
be willing to share responsibilities and contribute to the group work
be willing to help each other

How would an effective group be built?

Things to do	Tips	Reasons
1. Form a group	If allowed, make up a group of 3 or 5	Relatively easy to get everybody's involvement
	Group of 4 is not good	Likely to subdivide into 2 pairs leading to formation of subgroups that may tear the group into parts
	More than 5 is disastrous	Difficult to get group agreement with large group size
	Group with someone that you have never worked before	Enable you to: Develop relationship with other classmates Expose yourself with more diverse viewpoints, especially in decision making process Voice out opinions with no fear of hurting the feeling of buddies in a group
2. Setting ground rules Examples: Be on time in each meeting All members share in team work Offer suggestions rather than criticisms	It is important that the group members agreed on the following: What ground rules are necessary? Why ground rules are important? When ground rules are applied? How ground rules are carried out?	Help group members to understand how they should behave in order that the group could work best
3. Defining responsibilities Examples: The leader has to make sure that ground rules are enforced The recorder has to record ideas in discussions	Assignment of responsibilities should be based on skills and expertise of members
4. Managing process Examples: How well is each group member doing his/her role? How well is the interpersonal relationship? How well is the group working together as a whole?	You will find it very helpful to review the group process regularly, e.g. every two week or every month All group members should participate in the review	Help the group to find out problems together before it is too late.