Wikipedia defines group work as “a form of cooperative learning. It aims to cater for individual differences, develop students’ knowledge, generic skills (e.g. communication skills, collaborative skills, critical thinking skills) and attitudes”.
The great thing about group work is that group experience and ideas are used as a means of individual and group growth and development. Group work brings individuals with a variety of personality and skills work together to contribute each one’s strengths and efforts for a project.
On the other hand, it is hard to accurately evaluate individual contribution of a team project. There was a discussion earlier in this class that some folks shared some friends’ negative team work experiences. It is not unusual that some team member (un)intentionally don’t their work, consequently the others without no choices have to carry the load. In school setting, the project is usually assessed based on the whole project rather than individual efforts. It is not fair for those hard working members get the same grade as the lazy students in the same projects.
Effective communication is a lifelong learning process to me. Working with people with different personalities demands different communication skills. Overall speaking, learn to listen, critical think, express yourself precisely and compromise is crucial for efficient and effective communication for group work.
I like your definition of group work as it applies to education. However, I have had the worst luck while working in group projects while attending school. There is always at least one student who could care less about their grade or contributing.
ReplyDeleteIn the work force, it is a bit different because now they are dealing with their employment and money. In every group that I have worked in, there was a person who took the lead and delegated what everyone else should do and keep the project on task. I have been working in that capacity where I work as the team leader on most of our large projects. I like to use the strengths of each team member and assign them the tasks that they are best at performing. They usually enjoy doing them as well which promotes buy-in and success of the project.
You are absolutely correct that each person requires a different type of communication skill. I agree that listening and critical thinking are very important for effective communication for group work.