Even though you are an online student, many courses include required group work components. It is important that you understand how to work in a group online and what tools you can use to assist your virtual group work in communicating with peers.

Why is Group Work Important?

Learning is an inherently social process. Group projects can help students develop a host of professional skills that are increasingly important in the professional world (Caruso & Woolley, 2008; Mannix & Neale, 2005). Positive group experiences, moreover, have been shown to contribute to student learning, retention, and overall college success (Astin, 1997; National Survey of Student Engagement, 2006; Tinto, 1998).

Properly structured, group projects can reinforce skills that are relevant to both group and individual work, including the ability to:

Break complex tasks into parts and steps
Plan and manage time
Refine understanding through discussion and explanation
Give and receive feedback on performance
Challenge assumptions
Develop stronger communication skills

Group projects can also help students develop skills specific to collaborative efforts, allowing students to:

Tackle more complex problems than they could on their own
Delegate roles and responsibilities
Share diverse perspectives
Pool knowledge and skills
Hold one another (and be held) accountable
Receive social support and encouragement to take risks
Develop new approaches to resolving differences
Establish a shared identity with other group members
Find effective peers to emulate
Develop their own voice and perspectives in relation to peers

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The 4 Stages of Group Work for Students

Stage 1: Familiarization

This is the stage when the individual members of the group get to know each other and begin to understand the task they need to undertake. Time spent at this stage discussing your individual areas of interest and skills will be invaluable in helping your group develop a sense of its own identity (including its strengths and weaknesses). Make sure everyone understands what it is they will need to achieve.

Tips for Stage 1

Create a collaborative workspace for you to share ideas, files, and work together.
Thoroughly review the instructions and resources given by your instructor.
Go back to the discussion board where the class introduced themselves and reread the entries by your group members.
Invite your group members to a synchronous planning and preparation session if possible. Check out the Communicating with Peers page for possible technology tools you can use to do this.

Stage 2: Planning and Preparation

In this stage, the group should plan exactly what needs to be done, how it needs to be done, and who should do what. Most often, students skip or skimp on this step. However, by properly planning in advance, you will be able to get more accomplished with fewer obstacles.

Tips for Stage 2:

Share contact information at an early stage to facilitate contact between members of the group.
Agree on the format of your final product (e.g., video, poster, paper, brochure, presentation, etc.) if not expressly outlined in the instructions.
Agree on the different elements of the task (e.g., a poster might involve background research, written text, an overall design, graphs and images, final assembly, and so on).
Agree on the best way of achieving these tasks by dividing areas of responsibility amongst the group, making sure that roles and time commitments are as evenly balanced as possible.
Make the most of your different areas of expertise by dividing tasks up according to the skills of different group members.
Make an action plan of what needs to be done by when, working towards the final deadline.
Document all of the agreements and plans to use as a guide while you work.

Stage 3: Implementation

While the group members carry out their tasks, they will need to preserve the group's sense of purpose. Effective communication is vital, particularly when group activities extend over time. Here are some tips to promote good communication.

Tips for Stage 3:

Set up a system for rapid communication so that issues or problems can be flagged when they arise.
Establish regular meetings of the whole group to check on progress and review action plans. Take notes at these meetings to help record complex discussions.
Encourage two-way feedback. Review each other's contributions at regular intervals to ensure quality.
Make use of the collaborative space as a repository of the group's efforts.
Communicate when each task is completed, especially if someone is waiting on your task to be completed.

success: goal, plan, action

Stage 4: Completion

When the time comes to submit your assignment, sometimes groups can get confused about what is needed by which members of the group. Review the instructions carefully and make sure that you have covered all aspects of the intended outcome.

Tips for Stage 4:

Choose one person to be in charge of submitting the assignment to Canvas. If there are individual components that need to be submitted, each group member should be responsible for submitting their parts.
Host one final meeting to debrief about the project, process, and what can be done differently or better next time you have to work in groups.
Celebrate together! You've accomplished something wonderful in a short amount of time. Reward your successes and congratulate one another.