Group work- A comprehensive evolutionary tool for every-student

As rightly quoted by Michael Jordan, the capability to collaboratively work in a team is an asset and it is with this priceless possession you can cultivate your ability to work in groups. This calibre further gives you the strength to win the biggest of the tournaments or contests of your life. Therefore, it is very important for you as a student to accustom yourself with the skill of teamwork. Further this very quality can be instilled in you from the beginning of your school and college education in the form of group work.

This blog post has been designed with the vision to ensure that you get introduced to all the aspects of group work as a student and when you actually get the chance to practise it in real, you are prepared with all the rightful insights.

What is Group Work?

Group work is a collective effort made by a group of people, who are directed to achieve something in common. This aim can range from a student’s project to a company’s proposal, which means at whichever phase you are in your life, you are ought to get involved in group work. Thus, it is highly mandatory for you to acquire the skills of group work, so that when you get the opportunity to exhibit them, you employ them in the legitimate way.

Importance of Group Work

To be able to succeed in the task of group work, it is first important to enlighten yourself with its significance. It is certainly imperative for you to know about the benefits of group work so that you could instruct your mind what to expect from the activity and how you can utilise your calibre in the best shape. It is further crucial to know that group work takes away from you the very reasons to procrastinate. Here are few of most conclusive reasons that substantiate the worth of group work. 

• Powerful learning medium

  The first and foremost reason that you should engage yourself in group work, is that it acts as a powerful learning platform. In addition to exposing your mind to various individuals, you also adapt yourself to the plethora of knowledge that comes from your group members. Also, not all of you are adept at every subject or topic you study in our educational courses, therefore getting involved in group study or group activity allows you to learn subjects you are not excellent at.

  One practical way to enhance group work is by incorporating digital tools, such as video editors, to create collaborative projects. This not only helps in understanding the subject matter but also provides an opportunity to learn new skills. A great option to consider is VEED, an easy-to-use video editor that offers features such as a video trimmer and video converter. These features allow you and your group members to work seamlessly on projects, making your group work experience more interactive and engaging. By utilizing tools like VEED, you can make your group work more efficient and productive, ultimately leading to a more comprehensive learning experience.

• Increases social connectivity

  This is the very medium that gives you the opportunity to connect with your friends. Along with getting acquainted with your friends in person, you also get the chance to know about their preferences and dislikes. Thus, group work proves to be one of the most impactful ways to socialise and train your mind to behave in the much required mannerism.

• Brings you out of the virtual world

  The advent of various technologies have brought us to a stage, where we feel apprehensive from facing crowds or even meeting people face to face. In fact, we have got used to a virtual world, where we are comfortable chatting or just video calling our friends. Also, the practise of hanging out with friends is vanishing in literal terms, with more people just depending on the connectivity of phone or internet. It is through the practise of group work that you get yourself out from the shackles of the virtual world and relearn the art of socialising.

• Allows you to be confident

  Further staying inside the four walls of your house makes you highly introvert and you develop a fear of going out in public. By practising the activity of group work, you actually discipline your mind to behave in an organised manner. Thus, group work gives you the enthusiasm and the much required courage to face the public.

• Introduces you to the values of delegation. cooperation and organisation

  Further, getting indulged in group activities as a student, you learn the art of cooperation and management. It is highly important for you as a student to accustom yourself to various soft skills. Also, with the help of these soft skills, you gain acumen towards dealing with various people and situations. Additionally, you acquire the ability to delegate and administer things with much finesse and adequacy.

What skills you require to carry out a group activity?

Now, coming to the qualities that are required in you to be able to become a contributing part of the group work. Also, you must always remember that in order to successfully become a valuable component of the group, you must hone yourself accordingly. Thus, following is the description of a few qualities that you must possess in order to survive healthily in a group task.

• Meditate peacefully:

  This has been one of the most dependable methods to increase concentration, from ages. Even if you ask your grandparents, they would also suggest this technique. Also, it is because of the worthiness of this method that you can simply rely upon it without giving a second thought. Moreover, it does not require any rocket science to get started, you just need to look for a peaceful place and sit in a comfortable position, with all your mind directed towards the name of almighty.

• Stamp out things that distract you

  One very imperative factor that is required to get your mind concentrated at a certain point is to free yourself from all the surrounding distractions. Not only the materialistic things that distract you around can be a hurdle in your task of meditation, but even the personal thoughts of your mind can act as obstacles to your achievement of the goal. Therefore, before sitting to study or to meditate, you should always let yourself loose and free your mind from all the tensions or hurdles that might have the ability to distract you while studying.

• Increase your willpower

  It is through this practice, that you get introduced with your inner strength and get to know the real you. There are stages to achieve this. By working on your willpower you can see yourself evolving through these 3 stages. From ‘I cannot do this’ to ‘I can do this’ to ‘I will do this’, you can certainly witness your own improvement, with the successful surpassing of each hurdle. Also, when you will reach the third stage, you will realize the difference you have achieved in yourself. This difference will allow you to accomplish the best results in your studies and can even help you write an essay on self.

• Let optimism be your absolute state

  More than anything else, what is required is an optimistic attitude to change and to be able to bring a change. Thus, when you acquire a decisive approach in life and start viewing everything with the lens of positivity, then you disburden yourself from the lack of motivation. In other words, by being conclusive, you empower your mind to take charge of the situation and open the wings of your learning by acknowledging your own abilities and potential.

• Always stay attentive

  Last but not the least, one very important method to increase concentration is to listen to everything very carefully. If you open your mind to all the learning around, then you not only increase your bandwidth of grasping knowledge but you also accustom your mind to focus on studying various topics. Also, being attentive doubles your chances of learning the lessons being taught in the class and thus, you do not have to put extra efforts in cramming or understanding them by yourself.

Types of group activities you can do

Now, after getting yourself equipped with the know- how of group tasks, here is the list of major activity forms which you can perform while being a part of the group.

• Group study

  As the name suggests, group study certainly aims to help you and other friends of yours understand a particular concept in detail. It is a very useful methodology to comprehend and learn any part of your course, as every student is good at one or the other topic, so when you sit with a group having multiple intelligence levels, you are ought to gain immensely from the respective act.

• Group assignment

  This generally forms a regular part of your college assignments, which are given by your universities or colleges. To be able to complete these assignments, you have to form a group and indulge yourself into all the activities as per the required criterion. In case, you and your friends are short of time and do not have much access to the materials required, you can always depend on Asssignmenthelp4me. We have a team of specialists, who provide you assignment help and are proficient to solve your assignments of all levels.

• Group project

  These are generally given by your colleges at the end of semester, to test your understanding and knowledge of the subject in concern. Most of the group projects given by the colleges require you to go out in the practical field of work and exercise your skills in real. This is assuredly a very advantageous way to train you for the future challenges that you might get to face in the actual world of job. However, you might not have the time to finish your capstone projects given by your universities. So, to keep you covered, we have the most authentic and dependable academic writers, who can write your college projects in the perfect way.

• Group play

  Not only writing or presentation tasks, colleges also entrust you with the responsibility of enacting group plays. In such tasks, along with exhibiting high coordination, you also require to demonstrate the power of self- management and control. These tasks instill in you the very promising elements of confidence and dexterity. Thus, by taking part in group plays in colleges or universities, you charge up your mind with high zeal and enthusiasm to accomplish your targets and flourish in life.

How can students carry out Group Work?

Moving to the most important question, how should you carry out the group work effectively. Before answering this question, one thing which you must take care of, is that for getting involved into a group activity, you must first prepare your senses to listen and act carefully. Also, you should have the willingness to surrender and accept others' beliefs to be able to actually yield the highest benefits of the group task. For this you need to have an in-depth self- reflection, which helps you understand where you stand and what you want to gain from the group work activity. Now, when you are prepared fully, here is the mention of the step by step procedure with which you can certainly achieve your required goals through a group action.

• Form a group

  To commence a group work, the prime thing is to form the group, to add on all the members, who can work together and successfully move towards the task in hand. Many times, it is the college teacher who decides the member of the group, but if he does not, then you should very carefully choose each and every associate of your group task. Also, you should remember that it is the acumen of your group members that can help you in accomplishing high scores in your group assignment.

• Decide on a topic to work

  The principal key to practically begin any work is to choose the topic on which you need to work. Though in many cases of college group assignments, you are given the task by the professor himself. However, if you have to choose from a range of topics, then you must finalise the topic, after taking consent from each member of the group. Further, you must assure that the topic chosen is acceptable by all the group members and they can justifiably contribute to its progress. Moreover, the topic you decide should also strongly reflect your culture and values. While doing the same, if you need help from our country special teams like Assignment Help Australia or Assignment Help USA, then you can freely call us. 

• Brainstorm the topic together

  Once the topic is decided and has been agreed by all the group members, you all should together sit and brainstorm the idea. This process will help you generate a plan through which you can conveniently take the course of action. In fact ideation of the process actually simplifies the entire task into separate divisions, which brings you across short term goals to be achieved. Further depending on the type of group task, whether it is a project or a group study, you can think upon the ways to carry it in actual.

• Make a plan to study

  Now on the basis of the nature of the group task, you must properly make a plan to bring it into action. This plan has to be certainly devised, keeping in mind the convenience and availability of all your group members. Also, many students work or have other commitments, therefore you should always make the plan in presence of every member of the team. This planning chart should be the guiding material for you, throughout your group work, to keep a check on the orientation of the task.

• Divide roles of the task

  It is a part of strategizing for the group task only, wherein you are required to assign role plays to each and every member of the group. Whether, you are working on a project or on a new topic to understand, you must allow each member to take the task he is best at. This will not only increase their interest but the project in totality will also benefit a lot from their intelligence. Moreover, each member of the group will get to learn from the perfection of the other members, making the group act a more learned and insightful experience for all. Further, it should be taken into notice that the entire plan and the duties assigned should be drawn and written on a piece of paper, copies of which should be distributed to each one, making everyone aware of his part of duties.

• Make sure everyone is self- accountable

  Furthermore, one thing that should be made clear at the very beginning of the project outset is the loyalty of being self accountable. It is super important for all the group associates to be responsible for all the tasks they are required to do. You should remember that each one of you is targeting for something common, the successful completion of the project. Therefore, it is crucial for you to exhibit high standards of self- reliability and trustworthiness so that your attitude at any point does not become a hindrance in the path of your project goal.

• Compile the presentation

  After the individual task has been accomplished by each member of the group, then the proper compilation of the project should be done. In case the group task was of doing group study together, then, each studying member must explain the topic in detail with examples, so that all other members are able to comprehend the concept in depth. In fact such practise should be followed for all group activities, so that all group members accomplish an equivalent stage of understanding and no difference in the level of their knowledge persists.

• Question answer session

  Moving on, after the presentation and the comprehension session, if some doubts are left, then this part can ardently cover it all. Thus, it is really important to execute this part at the end of every group activity, even before presenting it further to the teacher. It not only helps in bringing all the members of the group on the same platform but also wipes out any chance of confusion in terms of facts or misconceptions of any kind.

Thus, with the end of the above step, you reach the final stage of completion of your group project and you are ready to present your task to your target audience, whether it is in the form of a group project or a paper, where you individually have to appear for the test given. The steps for the group act given above allows you to unveil all the crucial parts of the task and get yourself handy with each and every requirement, which you might need to answer in case of presenting the final thing to your teacher.

Note: In case you do not have the needed knowledge and time to formulate and write your group assignment, you can easily depend on us. We, at Assignmenthelp4me, can help you in the perfect completion of all your group assignments without disturbing your daily routine.

Incentives of working in group for students

Furthermore, by working in a group, you get a number of opportunities and chances to sharpen your skills, which are counted as incentives. These are the achievements in addition to the group task competition, which you have finished with the help of your team mates. Moreover, these incentives are individual gains, which you harvest from the intellectual efforts you put into the making of the group project. Not to forget the biggest advantage of working in a group is that you get homework writing tips for students and yourself.

• Instills you with the qualities of team work

  First and the foremost thing that group work bestows you with is, the capability and the acumen to understand others and make yourself understood to the other team members. It is with your very participation in the group task that you get familiar with the working culture of group work and train your mind to behave accordingly. Further, you also develop the quality of coordination and cooperation, which are must for every team work, you get involved into for the future projects.

• Introduces you with your best calibre

  It is true that you get acquainted with your best calibre only when you work hard assiduously to discover your potential. Therefore, when you tough grind yourself to meet the needs of the group task, then you uncover your qualities, which were till date unknown to you. These characteristics even get better when you put them intoellectualo right use to ensure the betterment of the group task, you have become a part of.

• When best from everyone gets combines, it automatically becomes perfect

  One of the biggest incentives of group work is that in order to perform better than each other, all the group members put their best effort. This is the reason that when best gets combined it ultimately gives birth to something truly impeccable and worth praising. Not only is the end result highly appreciable but you get the opportunity to witness and learn such a high level of knowledge implication and expression.

• It highlights your flaws and incapabilities

  Another significant development of group work is that it introduces you to your weaknesses and insufficiency. This very incentive if worked upon in the rightful manner can prove to be highly beneficial for you. It is because more than the positive sides you should always be aware of your flaws, which when corrected makes you all the more strong to achieve things in an improved way.

• It gives you new vision to work upon

  Once you are done identifying your shortcomings, it should be your prime task to rectify them so that in the next group task, you do not repeat the same mistakes. Thus, not only one group task takes you to another reforming project but you also get a directed route to assure yourself of achieving the best results for your own progress and advancement in the skills you possess.

To conclude, group work gifts you a number of incentives. These are certainly the added benefits, which you get from the team work, you do with your college group members.

Situations when Group Work or learning doesn't work

Every coin has two sides so the group work has. In addition to the above discussed gains that you get from working in a group, now is the time to talk about some disadvantages of the same. These negatives often act as a hurdle in accomplishing the true purpose of the group task and even disengage you from the very aim.

• Comparative wastage of time

  Many times when you participate in a group task, you put in a lot of time and effort in planning and designing the task, which is due to different viewpoints of all the participants. Also, when everyone’s point of view needs to be matched, then it comparatively consumes longer hours of discussion, which otherwise would have been very less if considered on an individual level.

• Not everyone has the ability to study or learn fast

  In addition to the wastage of time, you also have to deal with the different learning abilities of your team mates, when you work in a group. The unmatched competencies often put you in a troubled state and it becomes difficult for you to manage the dissimilarities. Not only the group members with a slow learning mind can pose a problem but the impatience of the people who learn fast is also challenging to manage.

• Unequal participation of all

  As a consequence of the above difference in thinking levels, you definitely get to see a huge variation in the participation levels of all the group members. Thus, the unequal participation of all the group associates puts burden on one mind, which can lead to the birth of frustration and skepticism in the group. This further can create discrepancies among you and other group members.

• Feelings of insecurity get generated

  Now, this is basic human nature that if you know that you are not being able to match to the level of other participants, then you get low on confidence. This further leads you to become insecure and you eventually start questioning and doubting your own capabilities.

• Students with low intelligence level gets ignored

  It does happen many times, when you have short deadlines of assignments and do not have much time to explain things in detail to every member of the group, then the individuals who are not able to self understand things get ignored. This further creates a void in their minds and hearts, which gets deeper with time, if left unattended and unhealed for a longer duration.

However, apart from the above disadvantages, group tasks have always proven to be really beneficial for all age groups. It is with the help of group activities that you get to learn and relish the new developments in your study field.

5 tips- How can teachers execute Group Work as a teaching strategy

Well, this is a problem that a lot of instructors face while giving group tasks to the students. They actually come across difficulties while dividing responsibilities to the students and checking each and every part of the task is carried out in a systematic way. If you are also the one who faces such problems, then this section of the blog is formulated to guide you meticulously. Thus, following are 5 tips that help you smoothly assign the group task to your students.

• Structure groups emphatically

  The first step you need to assure while deciding on a group activity is the proper dividation of the groups in class. You need to make sure that the process of your workforce planning goes in the right direction. Unless it is a huge project, your class needs to be divided into smaller groups of students to carry out multiple short projects. For these smaller projects, you need to assure that each group is divided accurately with more emphasis on the excellence and intelligence being equally divided in each group you have made. Also, the topic of the projects play a very important role in deciding upon the size and the participants of the project. So, after carefully analysing the individual skills of each student, you must form the group.

• Give them the individual powers to carry out the task cohesively

  Now, after you have formed the group and given them the topic, what's next is to align the tasks responsibly. You would definitely agree on the fact that each student has got its specialities, the contribution of which can make a project rise from bane to boon. Therefore, it is your duty as a teacher to examine, acknowledge and appoint every student for the individual task, he is capable of. Also, by making each student incharge of his own responsibilities, you empower them with the confidence of doing the task with precision.

• Keep an eye on their work

  Additionally, by authorising the students of the accountability to carry out the respective part of the task, you ignite their power to spectate themselves. It is their commitment to the perfect completion of the task and their mission to stand true to your trust, that thrives them to perform every action with absolute integrity.

• Ensure the work is divided equally

  Most importantly, the burden of each divided task should be equal for every group member, so that no one feels over exhausted or strained due to excessive pressure of work. In fact when you put a bearable pressure on the student, he himself takes all the possible steps to accomplish the tasks in hand with optimum adequacy.

• Develop an ambience so that they recognise themselves as a team

  In the midst of assigning them individual tasks, you should never forget the actual aim of group work, which is to introduce them to the culture of teamwork. Thus, an ambience should be created where they are interdependent on each other for the proper compilation of the task. Though, in literal meaning by dividing roles of the group work, you automatically make each student accountable towards one other and the final project completion.

  Along with this, the students should also be free to take help of any other group member, in order to cross any obstacle that may block his way. Also, they should be suggested to work at the same place, so that the flow of communication is proper and they do not face any difficulties in reaching out to one another. Otherwise you can also request the students to make a social group, wherein, if not physically possible, they all could access each other’s help through the technical medium of connectivity.

Thus, by following all the above mentioned techniques, you can easily mentor your students and help them in proper completion of the group task in hand.

How can the instructor benefit from Group Work?

As rightly quoted by Mike Schmoker, group work is truly beneficial for the teachers as it opens the doors of opportunities for you as an instructor.Further to the tips of successfully guiding your students towards the achievement of the group task, here are some motivating factors, which can charge you up in carrying out the group task with absolute perfection. These are the benefits that you can gain from the task of pursuing group activity in your class.

• Can ensure collaborative learning in the class

  By accomplishing your task of group activity, you can establish an atmosphere which is truly motivating and prompts every student to take part in it. Further, with this kind of exchange of learning happening all around the class, the students become highly inspired and charged up to do the work with even more affirmation and positivity. Also, when you divide the projects among groups, you give duty to each student of being self accountable and presenting the task with much enthusiasm and proficiency.

• Expect the class to cover challenging projects

  With allocation of varied projects of different difficulty levels, you automatically train your students of being adept at managing even the toughest ones. At Least with the practise of continuous group activities, you inculcate in them an attitude of taking a challenge of whichever kind and type. Also, each of your students get confident enough to take up tasks of varied levels and they do not step back from any responsibility that is given to them.

• Emerges out with confident learned students

  Now, when you have indoctrinated the values of inspired behaviour, responsible attitude and challenge accepting capability in your students, you are ought to generate confident and learned pupils. This very achievement can prove to be really helpful for you, when it comes to intercollege competitions as these students can be the ultimate source of your victory. It is with the positive attitude of such students that you can raise the name of your college high and earn appreciation from the entire educational fraternity.

• Teachers get introduced to the hidden talents of students

  One very significant consequence of the group task is that it introduces you to the hidden talent of your students. In fact not only you, many of the students are not aware of their own capabilities, so with this act, new qualities get uncovered and both you and the student get acquainted with the skills still unknown. Further, the unleashing of these talents allow you to hone it in the right directions and even fills the student with more assurance and determination towards himself.

• Comes across intelligent questions- gets to learn bilaterally

  Adding on, when your student gets accustomed to exemplary learning, then the same effect can be seen travelling to you also. Along with getting introduced to various new achieved talents of your students, you certainly get the honor to come across the challenging questions that are posed by young developing minds. These questions further motivates you to expand your answering abilities by diving even deeper into the subject knowledge of the course concerned.

Thus, these benefits help you improve yourself and presents a powerful example of bilateral learning in the intriguing profession of teaching.

At the end, we can conclude with the fine and motivating words of Mother Teresa, “ None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love and together we can do something wonderful.” Thus, we should never forget the power of group work and must always put our best foot forward in contributing towards the cause in hand, whether it is education or any other sphere in life.