Most of us have experienced group work at university. I struggled to find examples of this not being filled with frustration. I came up with one in my last year of studies when all the members of the small group I was in shared the interest in the topic and the willingness to complete the design project. In that one case group work was actually fun, but the rest of the time it really wasn’t. And I still haven’t completely shed the initial frustration of working in a team when not everyone has the same goal and motivation.

Another good example of group work is team sports, and I have experienced this in my years of rowing. Trust in the members of the team is built throughout the training, and communication is achieved without words. Then everyone puts more effort in order to not let the rest down than they would do if it was just for themselves.

My personal motivation to collaborate has been fuelled by these positive experiences and above all by the understanding that my knowledge and time is much more limited than the things I would like to do. Trusting each other and respecting each other’s opinion and competence is essential. A good group environment is paramount, as is open-mindedness, and sharing a common goal. A discussion of expectations in the beginning can also set a good basis for collaboration.

Collaboration can be very inspiring, it can help us reach above and beyond what we can on our own, and can help us learn much better. But in fact, most group work is actually cooperative rather than collaborative. Thus there is very little exchange of knowledge taking place, or this magic of building upon each other’s thoughts and ideas.

Is it really beneficial to include group work in our courses if it doesn’t work?

We cannot expect collaboration when what we actually ask for is cooperation. A task that is very structured and can be easily split into parts with each group member taking responsibility for one will not foster much exchange of knowledge. A task that is graded will also put many limitations to what the group can do. Then the people that are more motivated or more skilled will end up doing most of the work, and this can lead to frustration in the end. Ungraded group work can remove this pressure, but will require a clear motivation from the teacher/instructor/facilitator in order for everyone to get on board and understand why this is done and what the expectations are. But even then, even if everything is set up perfectly, it can fail. Some learners are not ready for group work, especially if they have no prior experience in this. That development can take time and it is something best cultivated throughout an education programme rather than in a single course. This should actually be part of the soft skills that students acquire during their education so that they can continue learning even after leaving the university.

I find the motivation in this OECD report very much to the point:

“Innovation springs not from individuals thinking and working alone, but through cooperation and collaboration with others to draw on existing knowledge to create new knowledge”