Do you hear moans and groans when you announce a major group project comprising a significant portion of students’ grades? Students have legitimate reasons to dread group work, but we know that that teaching them collaboration is a crucial aspect of the business communication curriculum.
Here are three strategies for improving the group experience:
- Allow students to choose their own teams.
This approach has many benefits. Students take ownership of the project early on and may work with their friends or meet new peers who become friends. Perhaps most important, they cannot blame you for their group makeup.
Provide a background of the assignment before allowing students to pick their own teammates. If you have prior student examples of the project you can show, do so. Discuss the skills necessary to complete the assignment (writing and researching, creating visuals, giving an oral presentation, etc.) and whether the task will require groups to meet outside of class. Offer advice about the kinds of questions students should ask one another, such as their availability for meetings; their strengths and weaknesses; preference to lead or follow; and how much time they will be able to give the project. Provide class time for students to meet, greet, pick the teams, and obtain one another’s contact information. Ask for a copy of the roster.
- Require teams to create bylaws/rules for team behavior.
Students are well aware of the downfalls of teamwork: slackers, long hours, personality conflicts, communication problems, and more. However, if teams make their own rules about attendance at meetings, deadlines, and quality of work, better buy-in to the project can result. Each group member signs the contract and gives the instructor (their “boss”) a copy.
In addition, consider giving teams a way to fire a group member for non-compliance to the contract. Allow team members to confidentially notify you of the situation so you can help them decide if the offending group member should be let go. If this occurs, offer the fired student an alternative project to pass the class, such as a ten-page paper with an X number of original citations discussing the importance of teamwork in business.
- Assign weekly check-in reports to keep teams on task and identify problems.
At the end of each week, ask teams to send you a progress report and include a summary of their weekly meeting (when and where it took place, what was achieved, issues that arose, and resolutions to issues). Every team member should sign the report.
Group work is difficult for busy college students with varied agendas for taking our business communication courses. But empowered students with agency (and the promise of a helping hand) are more likely to take away at least some of the many valuable lessons teamwork has to offer.