Handling group work at university

Taking part in group work at university is something most students will likely experience. Usually, this involves being assigned a specific task to work on together. This may be preparing a report, delivering a presentation, working together on a project or building something. This may count for part of your grade so it’s important that everyone takes an active part.

Plus, taking part in group work can help you develop a range of skills such as communication, conflict resolution, leadership and teamwork. All of these are transferable skills which future employers often look out for.

Follow these tips to ensure that your group assignment runs successfully.

Decide whether or not to appoint a group leader

One of the first things you should do as a team is decide whether to appoint a great leader. Unless specifically instructed there is no need to select a leader if the group does not wish to. You may decide not to have a leader and take joint responsibility for the task. You can read about the advantages and disadvantages of both options here.

Set up a method of communication

In addition to your group meetings, you should establish a means of staying in regular contact with each other. The easiest way to do this is to set up a group chat on Facebook or WhatsApp or a Microsoft teams page. This way everyone can stay in the loop about what is going on.

Assign everyone a task

Set up some time to review the task as a group and decide who is going to do what. The best way to do this is to split the task up into smaller tasks which different group members will be responsible for. Here it is a good idea to utilise everyone’s strengths. For instance, if your task involves a group presentation and one of the team is a pro when it comes to designing eye-catching power points it may be best to leave the design part to them.

Make sure the task is split up evenly and there isn’t anyone left doing the brunt of the work whilst everyone else gets the easy jobs. 

Set deadlines and make sure everyone reports back 

After you have assigned everyone a task set a deadline for when everyone has to complete their tasks and report back. It’s best to use group meetings for each team member to update the group about their progress. This means everyone can discuss the task and come up with plans for moving forward. 

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