Top 7 Tips for Tackling Group Projects
Group projects at school are a way to build people and organizational skills, pool resources and ideas, and learn a thing or two about cooperating with your colleagues. No wonder professors are so keen to assign them! Unfortunately, group projects can end up disasterous if egos or unmotivated attitudes are involved. Here are a few tips on tackling group projects and combining energies with your classmates so you can wow your teacher - without all the drama.
1. Exchange Contact Information: Make sure you exchange telephone numbers, email addresses, and full names right off the bat. This saves time looking up each other's information when questions arise later on. It is also helpful to figure out what times everyone is available to work, so you can plan ahead when scheduling meetings and deadlines.
2. Assign Responsibility: At the end of every meeting, come up with a couple tasks for each person in the group to accomplish. This keeps everyone on task and focused on what they, personally, need to contribute to the group. Set reasonable deadlines for each task to ensure they are accomplished in a timely manner.
3. Keep Minutes: Assign a member of the group to write down a brief summary of what was discussed in each group meeting, who was assigned what task, and by what deadline each task should be accomplished. Share the minutes of each meeting with the entire group, so everyone stays on top of their responsibilities and goals.
4. Stay Friendly: In a group of 2 or more people, personalities may clash. Keep things civil and encourage everyone to speak or voice their ideas. Instead of simply disagreeing with members of your group, offer alternative suggestions. Encourage quiet members to speak up by gently inviting their thoughts. Groups can fall apart if apathy, aggression, or negative criticism takes over - so watch out!
5. Get Interactive: Cut down time spent driving to and from group meetings by scheduling them online through instant messengers or chat rooms. Arrange meeting times by email, and compile and share your notes quickly and efficiently using efficient note-taking software like Microsoft's OneNote. This also makes recording and sharing meeting minutes a lot less time-consuming.
6. Establish Ground Rules: If a disagreement arises, it helps to have ground rules established for how to get through the disagreement. Decide with your group whether action should be taken after majority vote, unanimous vote, or another method, so your efforts to rectify a problem don't end up stalemated.
7. Don't Forget to Celebrate: Once the group project is over, there's a chance you won't all work together again in quite the same way. There is the chance, however, that you will all stay in the same program and work with each other in different ways in the future, so it's good to form bonds with each other beyond the singular group project experience. Once the project is completed, go out for a bite to eat or go bowling to celebrate. Take the opportunity to discuss your team's working experience and what you might change or improve upon next time a group project is assigned.
1. Exchange Contact Information: Make sure you exchange telephone numbers, email addresses, and full names right off the bat. This saves time looking up each other's information when questions arise later on. It is also helpful to figure out what times everyone is available to work, so you can plan ahead when scheduling meetings and deadlines.
2. Assign Responsibility: At the end of every meeting, come up with a couple tasks for each person in the group to accomplish. This keeps everyone on task and focused on what they, personally, need to contribute to the group. Set reasonable deadlines for each task to ensure they are accomplished in a timely manner.
3. Keep Minutes: Assign a member of the group to write down a brief summary of what was discussed in each group meeting, who was assigned what task, and by what deadline each task should be accomplished. Share the minutes of each meeting with the entire group, so everyone stays on top of their responsibilities and goals.
4. Stay Friendly: In a group of 2 or more people, personalities may clash. Keep things civil and encourage everyone to speak or voice their ideas. Instead of simply disagreeing with members of your group, offer alternative suggestions. Encourage quiet members to speak up by gently inviting their thoughts. Groups can fall apart if apathy, aggression, or negative criticism takes over - so watch out!
5. Get Interactive: Cut down time spent driving to and from group meetings by scheduling them online through instant messengers or chat rooms. Arrange meeting times by email, and compile and share your notes quickly and efficiently using efficient note-taking software like Microsoft's OneNote. This also makes recording and sharing meeting minutes a lot less time-consuming.
6. Establish Ground Rules: If a disagreement arises, it helps to have ground rules established for how to get through the disagreement. Decide with your group whether action should be taken after majority vote, unanimous vote, or another method, so your efforts to rectify a problem don't end up stalemated.
7. Don't Forget to Celebrate: Once the group project is over, there's a chance you won't all work together again in quite the same way. There is the chance, however, that you will all stay in the same program and work with each other in different ways in the future, so it's good to form bonds with each other beyond the singular group project experience. Once the project is completed, go out for a bite to eat or go bowling to celebrate. Take the opportunity to discuss your team's working experience and what you might change or improve upon next time a group project is assigned.
Labels: college tips, educational software, microsoft
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