Group Work: Managing Conflict

What should you do? You have been monitoring your students group work and in most of the groups there is one or two students not contributing anything. What should you do? Activity 1: Dalia, Gosha

Groups How do you know if a project will work for a group? Does it matter that you decided who was in each group? How do you manage conflict in groups? How do we assess group work? Dalia

Individual Vs. Group Projects How do you know if a project will work for a group? Group Projects should: Require interdependence but allow individual assessment Allow for division of labour Consider students’ current skill level Allow for competition Individual Projects should Require independence Assess individual critical evaluation skills Allow for completion within a reasonable timeframe (Davis, 1993) Gosha

Type of Groups: Does it matter that you decided who was in each group? Project Groups: Student-Formed Groups Instructor-Assigned Groups Student-formed and instructor- assigned groups have the same outcomes in terms of product (Hilton & Phillips, 2010) Dalia

(WHO is doing WHAT) Group Charter A project charter or project definition states: Group goals and objectives (clearly stated) Roles and responsibilities Communication methods The size and composition of the group What happens if things go wrong? Sample charter - Hicks (2011) (WHO is doing WHAT) Dalia

Benefits of the contract Lets your students know what you think is important Lets you know they understand their project goal Lets them express their strengths Lets them determine how to communicate Lets them decide consequences for inappropriate participation Dalia

What should you do You have your students in groups and one of the groups seems to be arguing loudly. What should you do? Activity 2: Dianne, Dalia and Gosha

Pre-work to Managing Conflict Setting the stage: Norm’s of behaviour – student led Value of Respect (opinions, ideas, empathy contribution, culture) Communication – setting boundaries and managing expectations Social media – professional relationships vs personal Dianne

Bubbling Conflict Conflict is like snow; perfectly natural, but will accumulate if not cleared. Encourage early dialogue when issues arise Focus on the impacts of behaviour (restorative) Emphasis – search for the real reason/meaning so you can find a solution (needs based)

The skill of respectful communication Active listening: paraphrasing, engaged posture, pay attention to body language and tone. Do you want to be right or effective? With the right words and tone, you may be able to be both Online communication should be professional. (avoid sarcasm, acronym’s , when in doubt have someone else read it)

How to address a problem Statement: The Behaviour (being late, lack of engagement, on cell phone) The Impact: Causes us (me) to…. Expectation/clarification: I would like, We need…. Dianne

Sample “We can not get the work done because you are always late”. (accusatory, blame, shame) or “We have noticed you are having trouble responding within the timeline we agreed upon. It is really impacting our ability to do the work and we are getting frustrated. Can you share what is happening then together we can find a way to help so we can complete the project on time”.

Principle and Tips for Group Conflict 1. Understanding: There is always a reason for someone’s behaviour or response 2. Conflict is natural: lively debate is evidence that the group is excited and passionate about the project 3. Shaming and blaming = defensive response, escalation or internalizing 4. Feedback must have a purpose 5. Refer back to the Group Charter or Norms 6.. Challenging conversations should be in person where possible. Dianne

What should you do? You asked your students to assign up to 5 marks to students in their group for their contribution to the group project. In every group all students gave all their peers 5 marks, regardless of their contribution. What should you do? Activity3: Gosha, Dalia will help as needed

Assessing Groups How do we assess group work? Early feedback of parts of the project Feedback on research component, written components-summary to date Identify and assess individual contributions From the breakdown structure developed assess these parts and the contributions of individuals Care in the design of peer evaluation Gosha Best assessments include Early feedback of parts of the project Feedback on research component, written components-summary to date Identify and assess individual contributions From the breakdown structure developed assess these parts and the contributions of individuals Care in the design of peer evaluation