Group work

Download: Getting started in group work  |  En français : Comment démarrer le travail en groupe

Step 1: Introductions

• Reach out to your group mates. Share your contact information and communication preferences.
• Share your academic background, and any other information that may be relevant to the project or course.
• Early introduction will help the group be more comfortable with each other and contribute to a positive group dynamic

Step 2: Logistics

• Create a preliminary project plan to keep the group on track. Start with important due dates and project milestones.
• Identify what tools you’ll use to communicate and share files, how often you will meet, and discuss any time constraints for scheduling.
• Possible tools: MS Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, myCourses, Zoom
  • Did you know? MS365 is free to all McGill students!

Step 3: Roles

• Divide the project tasks and assign roles and responsibilities to each group member.
• Clarifying who will do what helps group members know what is expected of them for the duration of the project.
• Try to align your roles and tasks with what you want to get out of the course. Be prepared to compromise.
  • Check out the Assigning Roles in Group Work document for more information!

Download: Assigning roles in group work  |  En français : Assignation des rôles pour le travail en groupe

Tips to help you start:

When deciding on roles, keep in mind your interests and existing skills, as well as how you can take this opportunity to learn new skills.

Your group may not always need one person in each role – work with what best fits the project requirements and guidelines.

Collaborate as a team to assign roles early on and mutually decide on ways to hold each other accountable.

• Driving: facilitates meetings, motivates, challenges ideas, provides constructive feedback, etc.
• Interpersonal: Finds and works with external resources, communicates with instructor to TA, mediates conflicts
• Quality assurance: Ensures adherence to the assignment guidelines/criteria, edits and revises drafts, formats slides or documents
• Generalist: Supports any of the other roles
• Organizational: Monitors division of work, schedules meeting times and spaces, takes notes, etc.
• Technical: Make slides or shared documents, leads with coding, sound mixing, video editing, etc.