Group work - Working together, apart

Descriptive transcript

[Intro music plays]

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

Abhi: And I’m Abhi.

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.

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

[Music break]

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. Abhi, how do you normally form your group?

Abhi: 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 you always remember to form a group where everyone is on the same page about the quality of work needed to be done and the end result, which usually is excellent marks for that particular group assignment.

Abhi: One useful tip we all could agree upon is how to communicate at the very start of the group formation. Firstly, we should choose a platform to communicate with other team members, such as a Facebook group or Slack. Google Docs and Microsoft Teams are some fantastic examples to collaborate on group work remotely. Though, we should try to be flexible about specific meeting times for online meetings, 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.

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.

Abhi: Yes Rebecca, I would agree that time management is one of the major conflicts we all face while doing 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.

Abhi: So Rebecca, what is this video about?

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

Abhi: I remember when I was doing a core subject for my engineering degree and my group was so collaborative, hard-working 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.

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 emphasise misunderstandings come assignment times. To prevent this from happening, my group actually made a rule about checking group messages at least three times a week to keep everybody up to date about our progress. This way, we can work more effectively as a group while any miscommunications or misunderstandings are cleared right away.

Abhi: Yes, the unison of the group members is indeed vital in group formation, which leads us to the third stage of forming, which is the norming stage. This is when the team moves to form cohesion within the group by assigning roles such as leader and discussing other team roles like facilitator, etc. Though sometimes people cannot get past the second stage 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 about things besides your group work, and that’s okay. Respect their wishes and focus on your team’s common goal instead.

Abhi: I would 100% agree with you there about emphasising 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 the 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, that’s 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 part of the team.

Abhi: Remember, these stages aren’t always followed in order – they happen automatically. It’s amusing how much easier group work can be if you are aware of them, you know what to expect and you can prepare better. Especially, collaborative skills and being able to compromise in a group environment are important to hone at university.

Rebecca: We hope this episode has shed some light on working efficiently in a group online and the tips provided would be useful to you. Thanks for tuning in to Episode 3 of UTS Student Hacks.

Next week we’ll be looking at online presentations with Kelly and Abhi. Have a great week everyone!

[Concluding music plays]