GR:Many hands make light work, 23rd Sep. 7:30 pm AEST

[Decal21]

How do you tell the difference between a group member not participating because they don't care vs. them not participating because they don't feel they can add value to the group? It's not always easy to tell! What would you do in each situation?

It can be really hard to tell and sometimes one member might feel really anxious to contribute or might be scared about asking questions. I think that trying to be as inclusive as you can to everyone really helps out and trying to avoic the "no..." and "yes, but..." responses for praise can stop this kind of worry.

For people who don't care, asking what they expect out of the assignment early on and seeing if there's some kind of agreement you can come to might be the only way to get it sorted. It can be really easy to be negative to these members but if you let them know what the assignment means to you and everyone else or let them know how much everyone needs to do to be recognised in the project they should pick up their game.

[WheresMySquishy]

How do you tell the difference between a group member not participating because they don't care vs. them not participating because they don't feel they can add value to the group? It's not always easy to tell! What would you do in each situation?
One way you can tell the difference is whether they are unmotivated in all of their subjects, or just the group work. That could point towards them not caring about the work. If they generally like the subject but aren't participating much, that could be due to them not feeling as though they can add value to the group.

I wouldn't try to force the group member to participate or confront them. If they don't reply to my messages or requests to do the work altogether, I have tried to sort it out with a teacher or tutor.
I agree with @katurian that reassuring them if they don't feel as though they can add value to the group can also be a good option!

[katurian]

@Milkninja222 This is a really insightful response, and shows how perceptive you are Non verbal cues can say so much more than verbal ones sometimes. I agree with everything in here

[ecla34]

How do you tell the difference between a group member not participating because they don't care vs. them not participating because they don't feel they can add value to the group? It's not always easy to tell! What would you do in each situation?

Another really good reason to check in with quiet and shy group members! If a couple of people are very confident and talkative, sometimes people feel like they shouldn't offer an alternative opinion or that they need to be told to do something Definitely circles back to keeping communication open! @Milkninja222 so right! people might feel like they need to be invited to contribute!
I agree with you there @katurian , having an individual chat seems like it would work better. It can be hard to tell why someone might be holding back from a group task, and asking is the only way sometimes to find out! It might even be the case that someone might have a lot going on in other areas of their life, and it's impacting their group work. So asking them what's up might help. It could mean that for example, some people do more work now, and then other people do more later. Redistributing the workload! haha hope that made sense!

@Decal21 i really like that idea! just having everyone lay their cards on the table and be honest about what they want out of the group work and how it can be achieved!

[katurian]

@WheresMySquishy I haven't considered looking at their attitude towards all their subjects before, this can be a pretty good way to see how interested they are in their grades in general

[katurian]

@Decal21 Absolutely! People can tell when you're not seriously considering their ideas, and only vaguely acknowledging them, and this can be quite hurtful

[ecla34]

Alrighty that's a wrap! It's been such an awesome discussion tonight guys!

Thank you so much for all your insight!
I'm going to head off for tonight, but feel free to keep the discussion going!

If you couldn't make it for the chat tonight, I'd love to hear your thoughts tomorrow!
Thanks for chatting!  

[WheresMySquishy]

This was such a great chat!

Thanks everyone!

[xXLexi_Lou122Xx]

Sorry I missed this last night!
I can’t reply now, but I will when I find time!

[Claire-RO]

Hi Everyone, sorry I missed this chat, I was at uni 

Oh goodness I just finished two group assignments so this would have been super beneficial before, but I will take everyone's tips on board for next semester.

Here are my answers 

What strategies can be used to foster the best effort from everyone in the group? 

I think similar to what everyone has been saying, have a discussion where people can identify strengths. I remember one class that was really good, the tutor gave us an exercise which helped people work out if they were a leader, an organizer, a researcher etc. Then we walked around the room trying to create a group that had one of each. I would recommend asking people what role they think they are, it worked really well.

What are some strategies to prevent unnecessary conflict?/If it does arise, what are some ways of managing conflict in a group? 

Making sure everyone is heard, and when in doubt use teachers and tutors to help bring everyone's focus back. Recently I worked in a group where everyone had their own thoughts on what we needed to do, I asked the tutor over and they gave us guidance which stopped the conflict and got us back on track.

What skills do you reckon are most beneficial for group work/activities? 

Be adaptive, collaborative, leadership and team work. I have found unfortunately that because i am really passionate about learning and getting the most out of my studies I end up having to do all the work, so I am learning to take a step back and let others pick up the slack. 

What is the greatest challenge you have had in a group? 

Every group seems to bring about more and complex challenges hahaha

However one comes to mind where one group member did a completely different task, nothing to do with the assessment, when we said we couldn't use it, they then submitted separately to the tutor, it was kinda funny because the tutor was polite and said thank for the extra work but the group had already done everything.

What is the greatest success you've had as a group? What was different from the more challenging situation? I recently had to present on an innovative way of volunteering. My group was really great and let us focus on how we can increase allies for LGBTQIA not-for-profits, as they know this is a massive passion of mine. They were not LGBTQIA themselves but worked really hard on the presentation and shared personal stories of how proud they are to be an ally. On the day of the presentation they wore rainbow clothing as an act of support. 

How do you tell the difference between a group member not participating because they don't care vs. them not participating because they don't feel they can add value to the group? It's not always easy to tell! What would you do in each situation? 

I think you can find out that out by being curious to get to know what is happening for them outside study, and also talking through their ideas, often by validating and hearing their perspective they will become more motivated and get on board with the team.