Working in groups can help create a better, more complex product at work and school.
Group work can also be a disaster when 1) an assignment lacks distinct roles for each contributor, or 2) groups don’t have a member that is able to expertly lead and collaborate with others to define roles and responsibilities.
Without defined roles, the distribution of work and/or learning may be unfair and the product will likely suffer. For an advanced student in these environments, they may volunteer to take on a vast majority of the work to ensure an acceptable product is created, and they may grow to despise group work or working with others as they these experiences lead to teammates riding their coattails for undeserved credit. For a student who contributes little to a product, very little academic learning occurs, other than perhaps the ability to manage and manipulate others to do work for them.
A supervisor, teacher, parent, or coach should set up group assignments for each teammate to feel like they are fairly contributing and being recognized for their work.
Leaders must take time to teach the expectations for group work to students and teams, and to design assignments with clear roles and responsibilities. Ideally, roles are defied and assigned so that the amount and challenge of work is fair, commensurate to each individual’s skills and abilities. A leader should emphasize respectful communication that invites participation and involvement.
As a teacher or student leads and communicates with a group to facilitate progress, I posit that it is primarily the person delivering a message to ensure it is received. You have to know enough about your teammates to know some of the most effective ways to speak to them so they receive the right message. A related sports example is found in basketball, when a person passing a ball has the responsibility to deliver a pass that a teammate can catch. Listening skills accompany this focus, and we should guide our students to pay attention, summarize, and repeat back to ensure they understand what someone says, and so students will know the message was received correctly.
Experience working repeatedly with the same groups also builds effectiveness. There isn’t a single best way to communicate with everyone, so groups need practice working with each other to solve problems and to complete assignments to build unique rapports. In turn this experience advances each groups inter communication skills as they become more effective and learn more ways to communicate and learn by modeling behaviors for each other.
Intelligent Design 