making groups work
Version 2008
The following resource has been developed from student responses on group work that were made in the learning goal statements and can be used to help your groups function effectively whilst in Vietnam. Should you require further guidance, a link to another helpful source on making groups work has been included at the bottom of this page. |
Table of Contents
Getting Started
Group work can be a daunting challenge for a group of individuals each with different ideas, abilities, and expectations from the process so it is important to recognise the benefits of group work as a mechanism by which research can be undertaken, ideas can be shared, and arguments debated, nevertheless it is an imperfect tool that requires skills such as negotiation so as to reach compromise where appropriate, as well as a little patience.
"On an academic level I find the prospect of placing the fate of my grades in the hands of others (in group projects) a fairly confronting idea. However, I am very keen to be exposed to group work in order to further develop mediation skills and the ability to clearly articulate my ideas to others (2008 Vn Fieldschool Student)."
There are many ways to go about allocating roles and responsibilities, however it is important to decide upon what each individual wants to do, or is interested in researching, before coming to the group (or early on in the group formation process), so that group members can be sure that they are in a group which share a similar interest or topic, and can then go about devising a plan to research their selected topic as one fieldschool participant explains,
"I would probably team up with those also focusing on Environment-Society Issues, but only look at specifically territorial processes so that others in my group could collaborate with me on aspects such as sustainable development, urbanisation and tourism. In this way, complex issues could be tacked in a multi-faceted way (2008 Vn Fieldschool Student)."
The following sections expand the different group formation issues and priorities which will confront students undertaking group work to develop a question to address as part of their research.
"The group project could be developed by comparing the areas of interest of each of the students in the group and also their experiences on the field trip to determine issues which are important to the students (2008 Vn Fieldschool Student)."
Make sure your question is sufficiently specific so as to allow the group to undertake some focused research which goes into enough depth to explore the topic of interest. Broad questions result in broad answers which do not going into enough depth, and only scratch the surface of the complex relations, or causes pertaining to the issue and topic. In the context of working in groups, try to draft a question which enables all members' interests to be included in the possible answer/response so that when the time comes to go about answering questions, all group members can work in smaller groups or alone on an area they are interested in.
Division of Labour and Allocation of Tasks
The overwhelming benefit of group work is that selected segments of a research topic can be broken down and researched by individual group members which can potentially enable more work to be done in a shorter time frame, and also allows the groups to assign tasks to according to strengths, or interests, of the members of the group. Even before commencing the field work, tasks can be allocated and started, here are some ideas for allocating tasks to individual group members. "Labour could be divided between group members based on their interests and experience with a view to ensuring equal participation (2008 Vn Fieldschool Student)."
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"An example of how these tasks could be divided between the groups members may be for someone to focus on development in the context of Vietnam, another to examine the history of gender relations and divisions of labour in Vietnam and for someone else to focus on how recent economic and environmental changes have changed the division of labour and gender relations. Although this option may be efficient, its effectiveness relies upon clear and continuous communication of information between individuals. Effective communication means that the individual research questions could be refocus if need. This communication may be best facilitated by a group member being a delegated mediator and/or leader.(2008 Vn Fieldschool Student)."
- As there are so many aspects to consider within these topics, it may be a good idea to nominate individuals within the group to focus on particular aspects. Perhaps we could split into smaller groups with different tasks, or individuals with different tasks. One member of the group, for example, could focus on observing the interaction of Vietnamese women and tourists, another could focus on observing the actual members of the group as they engage in tourism, whilst another could focus on observing the tourist attractions that focus on the Vietnam War (2008 Vn Fieldschool Student).
- "The majority of the research of materials could be undertaken before arriving in Vietnam by each member reading several different articles and swapping summaries, so all the members of the group have a thorough background of the issues that we will be focussing on in the country. Once arriving in Vietnam, specific research can be undertaken at a local level in the form of surveys and interviews with relevant people, in order to determine the level of application in the country of the background research which we completed. This could be done by a few members of the group or all of us. The compilation of the presentation could also be completed by a few of the group or all of us, depending on how the other tasks are divided up. Ultimately, it is important to be clear on who is doing which task, but also to have integration between the different people so that the project does not become disjointed (2008 Vn Fieldschool Student)."
- "I also believe that dividing work using subject-based or thematic divisions, with a central focus, is the best way of allowing individual study, provided that the group is communicating frequently to avoid overlap and to keep the studies around the central theme. I am therefore hoping that our question will have a broad nature, with enough definite case studies or focus-areas to divide amongst the group. I have also found it useful to have one group member co-ordinating between the others, without such a topic (2008 Vn Fieldschool Student)."
"It is critical that the goals for the project of each individual in the group are identified at the beginning of the process of construction of the project. If this does not occur, conflicting ideas and perspectives will arise later in the course of the project and will create difficulties as to deciding on a clear direction for the project when it is already underway (2008 Vn Fieldschool Student."
Communication and organisation are critical to the ultimate success of groupwork. All group participants need to be aware of their roles, and the groups' expectations of each student, with this in mind, "the group [should] decide upon some agreed outcomes early in the trip (2008 Vn Fieldschool Student)." Each group member should be given the opportunity to have input into the process, and communicate their ideas, concerns, or issues for consideration, otherwise the the group risks compromising the the the cohesiveness of their work. Further, communication with others is also a relevant issue in a country that does not speak much English, which would need to be dealt with so as to inform the research. Here are some suggested ideas for dealing with communication issues that might confront the group so as to ensure all group members are aware of the expected outcomes from the group work process, and language barriers are ovrcome.
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"Regular group meetings could be held to discuss our observations and discuss how they interrelate. It may even be beneficial to meet with other groups to discuss interaction between the topics.
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Another activity that may be beneficial is meeting with some locals in the company of one of the lecturers who is able to speak Vietnamese with pre-prepared questions or discussion topics (in addition to the other meetings we will have of this nature that are a planned part of the trip), then we would be able to present different viewpoints directly relevant to our topic.
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The desired outcome of the project being that we should have some kind of answer, the group will need to decide on some agreed outcomes early in the trip. Agreeing on our goals is one of the most important things. Without knowing exactly what this agreed outcome will be, it is hard to say how we will achieve it at this stage. However some ideas for group work in Vietnam are discussed below (2008 Vn Fieldschool Student)."
Cultural Barriers
Bearing in mind that your groups will be functioning in a foreign country, one where English in not the preferred language, your group may experience many language, as well as cultural issues which will impact upon your group's ability to function, communicate, and understand what you are experiencing or hearing.
- "The topic focus I am interested in would be based mainly on qualitative primary research such as semi-structured interview (semi-structured to allow for unforeseen language and cultural barriers). Substantial secondary research would also need to be taken preliminarily in order to gain bearings on information including that of "cultural politics"[1] and a fundamental scientific understanding of the actual environmental issues occurring.
- Both primary and secondary research tasks could be shared and worked on in an integrated fashion, as both forms of research would both benefit immensely from the collaboration of diverse knowledge and points of view and cooperation in approaches work on offer in a group situation.
- In saying this, group research could be designated on a more personal level, especially for larger tasks, the attained knowledge later shared and synthesised (2008 Vn Fieldschool Student)."
Dealing with Conflict
The culture shock, the language barriers, lack of communication, lack of organisation, may lead to conflict within the group, or part of the group. The issue is "how to gain any appreciation of these complex issues in just three weeks in a foreign country, culture and language. [...] A lot will depend on similarity, compatibility or flexibility of research interests within the group as well as language skills (2008 Vn Fieldschool Student)." The way in which conflict is dealt with is just as crucial as identifying the cause of the conflict, and rectifying the cause of the issue. Conflict can create an atmostphere of tension, division, distrust etc so a positive attitude is paramount to calming frustrated members.
The causes of conflict might be caused by the following. Here are some issues, and some suggestions to deal with conflict:
- Group members might feel powerless, left out, ignored.
- Poor communication, and poor organisation might cause, or give the impression, that some participants are not valued as part of the group. Ensuring all group members are involved might be a task for an appointed mediator within the group discussions who takes some leadership in the group discussions. Don't forget to keep positive! Reward achievement, or identify the positives where criticisms are made.
- Dealing with failure, or criticisms
- This is something that should not be brushed aside, instead explore the positive aspects, or what caused the failure, so as to brainstorm ways of improving, avoiding failure in the future, or moving on from the criticism
- Handling deadlock
- Situations might arise where consensus cannot be reached. Place emphasis on areas of common ground, but don't allocate too much time on trivial matters, in the course of working towards a positive outcome, also allocate a set time to come to an outcome, so as to avoid getting bogged down. If the matter isn't crucial perhaps abandon it, or toss a coin.
Maintaining Motivation and Focus
Always keep positive. The group require constant and active communication. If something isn't working, change it, or abandon it and move on. Whatever course of action is to be taken, take it as a group through debates or discussions, and stick to the plan. Take a break at the allocated time, have fun times where the group does something fun to alleviate the tension, and recharge for the next session of researching, writing, and discussions.
Many more solutions to conflict have been alluded to above such as ensuring all group members' interests are taken into consideration when devising the question (the question can always be tweaked as the research progresses), or ensuring allocated roles are given enough guidance so that everyone knows their task, and feels included.
If all else fails, ask other students, friends, or staff members for help or guidance.
More Help
A helpful article on group work can be found at: