Basics of doing Groupwork at College, including Group Contracts, Member Roles, Handling Conflict, and Digital Collaboration Tools.

1. Groupwork

2. Groupwork allows you:
• Prepare for group dynamics in the workforce
• To see problems from a different perspective
• Tackle a larger scale issue than one could individually
• Develop organization, delegation, communication, co-operation, and leadership skills
• Hone your time management skills
• Refine your understanding of an issue through discussion and explanation
• Get social support that allows you to take certain risks
• Manage personalities/conflict
• Leverage talent

3. Best Practices for Group Meetings:
• Create a group contract
• Set up roles and responsibilities, align them with individual strengths
and interests
• Clearly identify the work required. Get a rubric from your instructor if possible
• Set up a timeline
• Create an agenda for each meeting and keep meeting minutes
• Continuously review the tasks and see where you are with deadlines
• Have a plan to deal with conflicts or problems

4. Group Contracts / Charters
• Sets out what you all expect from each other and what everyone expects
about the assignment
• Facilitates communication and sets the tone for how your group interacts
• Can increase motivation and feeling of ownership among all group members
• Identifies the consequences of failing to meet the expectations of the group
• Your instructor may require this as a part of the assignment (worth
marks!) Check your instructions & rubric.

5. Group Contracts: What to Include
1. Expected Outcome
• A description of your project and its deliverables
• Group's agreed-upon goals
2. The Plan
• A timeline of how you’ll get it done
• The roles and responsibilities of each of the group members
3. Communication Plan
• Names and contact information of group members
• How frequently you’ll meet
• Main methods of communication and collaboration
4. Ground Rules
• Code of Conduct
• How you will handle any conflicts that come up

6. Group Contracts: Expected Outcomes
• Clarify the assignment
• Write an Expected Outcome
Statement
• What will you include?
• What format?
• What grade are you aiming for?
• Be specific & realistic
SAMPLE:
Expected Outcome: Using the team charter as a
guideline, the team will collect, analyze, and
present data demonstrating how the red eyed
tree frog is an indicator species.
Deliverables will include:
• Technical report documenting our findings to
hand in
• Overview of our findings presented to class in
PowerPoint
Expectations: Team members agree that we have
high expectations for this project. We are aiming
for an “A” and will develop a plan and put forth an
effort that will support that goal.

7. Group Contracts: The Plan
• Identify Objectives (what)
• Task Breakdown (how)
• Task Assignment (who)
• Timeline (when)
SAMPLE PLAN
Research:
• Gather Data
• Compile and Analyze Data
Writing :
• Write Draft Report
• Introduction
• Body
• Sub-topic one
• Sub-topic two
• Sub-topic three
• Conclusion
• Edit Report
• Check Citations
• Finalize Report
Preparing Supplemental Material:
• Create Power Point
• Practice Presentation

8. Group Contracts: Communication Plan
• Names and contact information of group members
• How frequently you’ll meet
• Will you set regular dates, or determine them as you go along?
• Doodle poll or Outlook scheduling assistant
• How will meeting details be communicated
• Be mindful of members' situations (childcare, part-time jobs, etc.)
• Where will you meet?
• WebEx or MS Teams or another platform?
• Will you work on a shared live document, or work separately?
• MS Teams, Google Docs
• Main method of communication in between meetings
• email, texting, MS Teams chat, Slack, Discord, etc.

9. Group Contracts: Ground Rules
• Fairness Commitments
• Share workload evenly – some roles are more work than others: create balance
• Allow all members to contribute
• Code of Conduct
• Being respectful and polite
• Work together – no freeze-outs
• Professional behaviour
• How you will handle any conflicts that come up?
• Consensus only, majority votes, or leader decides?
• When would you escalate to contacting your instructor

10. Group Contracts: Assigning Roles
Leader
• Leads discussion and makes sure everyone gets a chance to speak
• Helps guide the conversation by asking open-ended questions and focusing on positive
statements
• Summarizes and clarifies group comments and checks for consensus or questions from
group members
• Acknowledges when ground rules are being broken
Organizer
• Sets agenda (gathering ideas from members)
• Sets up meetings and sends meeting invites
• Takes minutes and distributes minutes to members
• Reminds team of approaching deadlines

11. Group Contracts: Assigning Roles
Editor
• Compiles contributions from different group members to make them flow together as
one consistent work.
• Edits and proofreads the completed work before it is submitted
• Checks all citations and ensures there are no Academic Integrity risks
Roles that are often assigned to all members:
• Researcher
• Writer
• Presenter
• Different projects may require customized roles
• Double-duty: Assign a back-up person for each role

12. Agenda and Meeting Minutes
AGENDA:
• Keeps meeting on track
• Includes meeting details: time,
place/link
• Includes what topics will be
discussed and who will lead the
discussion on that topic
• How should members prepare
/what should they bring
• Will you have a break or time for
socializing?
MINUTES:
• Can use agenda as template
• Include topics discussed & a
summary of the discussion
• Any decisions made
• Any action items assigned to
members
• Distributed in a timely
manner
• Decisions and action items
are clear afterwards

13. Handling Conflicts within Groups:
Scheduling problems
Can create roadblocks on starting or
continuing projects
Try to be empathetic. Take turns
picking the time and location
of meetings. Use a Doodle poll
Interpersonal Group conflict
Acknowledge the conflict
Open lines of communication
Focus on problem not the person
Compassion can go a long way
Uneven contribution to the group project
Set up clear expectations from the
beginning
Assign roles equally
Speak to group members individually

14. Handling Conflicts within Groups:
Differing expectations
(Some group members excel, while
others prefer a passing grade)
Communicate expectations clearly.
Set realistic goals.
Create a timeline for the project
"Getting Stuck"
Review expectations and rubric for
the assignment
Brainstorm ideas
Seek guidance from faculty
Groupthink
Think critically about the issues
you're working on
Embrace diverse opinions
Create a welcome space for folks to
have conflicting ideas

15. Digital Collaboration Tools:
Synchronous:
Allows you to connect in "real time" (eg. Chat rooms, Web conferencing)
Asynchronous:
Records your communication, which can be viewed by others later (eg. email, Google Docs)
Some tools allow for both kinds of collaboration in one platform (eg. MS Teams)
• Trello
• Milanote
• Padlet
• Slack
• Office 365
• MS Teams
• WebEx
• Google Docs