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The importance of group work


During your degree studies you probably be expected to work collaboratively with other students in groups at some point. You might, for example, work with other students on a joint presentation. This will require all members of the group to contribute to the planning, research, design and delivery of the presentation. In addition to assessed work, you are also likely to work informally in groups during seminars, tutorials and practical work. So the ability to work well with other people will probably be very important if you want to get the best result from your studies!

Different people come to University with varying amounts of experience of working in groups. Some will have done this in school or college or maybe have relevant work experience. Some, may have very little experience of working with others, especially in education. People may come from different cultures and all are likely to bring unique skills and qualities to the group. Learning to use these to best effect and ensure that everyone is contributing effectively to a joint project can be challenging.

The benefits, however, can be great. We can usually achieve far more by working with other people and we often learn a great deal and develop certain skills as we do so. Working in groups can prove to be very rewarding but it sometimes takes a bit of work to ensure that a group becomes an effective team.

We hope that you find plenty of tips and advice to help you with your group work here on the Learnhigher site.