Group work helps students develop essential skills such as problem-solving, time management, communication, and giving and receiving feedback. It also allows instructors to assign more complex, real-world problems that may be too challenging for individuals. While group work offers many benefits, it can also be uncomfortable for some learners. However, preparing learners, building community, selecting groups, and designing effective group work can enhance collaboration and create more positive group experiences.
Prepare Learners
From the beginning, clearly explain how group learning activities align with course outcomes and share your rationale for using group work with students. Additionally, clarify why the course content is structured in a particular way to support learning. To reinforce this, provide foundational knowledge to help learners actively engage in group activities. This could include mini-lectures, readings, videos, or podcasts. For in-person and synchronous online classes, readings are often completed before class; however, consider allocating time during class for shorter preparation activities as part of scaffolding. Finally, clearly outline reading or listening outcomes and demonstrate how learners will apply them in group tasks.
Building Community
Set the tone for collaboration early by engaging students in problem-solving together on day one of the course. Incorporating frequent small group discussions helps build trust and reinforces the value of peer learning. Before diving into group work, take time to help students get to know each other and feel comfortable in the learning environment. This can be achieved by starting the class with a land acknowledgment and introductions. Additionally, strategies for building community include getting to know students, engaging them in collaborative problem-solving, incorporating structured peer feedback, and creating class agreements to encourage respectful interactions.
Group Formation
Group formation requires careful thought, as the ideal group size depends on many factors. Groups of four to seven members often balance diversity, productivity, active participation, and cohesion. In general, small groups are more effective in online courses or with first-year courses or less experienced learners. Collaborative work should take multiple forms, including pairs, small groups, and large groups, to accommodate different learner preferences. Some may defer to others in larger groups but actively engage in pairs.
Additionally, it is important to determine how groups will be selected: randomly, by student choice, or assigned by the instructor. Allowing students to form groups based on proximity or preference is the quickest approach, particularly in large or cramped classrooms. However, this often results in students working with friends or the same peers repeatedly. To encourage diversity, consider random assignment methods, such as numbering students.
Group Work Design
The activity design should be closely tied to the learning objective(s) and class content, and it must be designed to support student learning. When deciding whether to use group work for a learning task, consider these questions:
- What is the objective of the activity?
- How will that objective be furthered by asking students to work in groups?
- Is the activity challenging or complex enough that it requires group work?
- Is there any reason why the assignment should not be collaborative?
When designing a group task, it is important to provide closure and plan how groups will report or share their ideas and decisions. Effective group reporting “can make the difference between students feeling that they are just going through their paces and the sense that they are engaged in a powerful exchange of ideas” (Brookfield & Preskill, 1999, p. 107). Reports can be shared orally or in writing with the whole class. You can also consider alternative feedback methods, such as sticker dot voting (dotmocracy), poster sessions, polling, or brief post it note writing. In synchronous online sessions, MS Teams emoticons, polls, whiteboards, and the chat feature can be used for concise reporting. Additionally, asynchronous group work can be created and managed in VIULearn. It is important to connect the ideas raised during group work to the broader course content and learning outcomes. This helps reinforce the activity’s relevance and deepens students’ understanding.
Digital Literacy and Collaborative Technologies
Digital literacy for communication and collaboration is a critical consideration for group work, particularly in online, blended, and hybrid course delivery. Below are a few recommendations to support digital literacy:
- Use the VIU Suite of Tools: In addition to being FIPPA compliant, faculty and student support for VIULearn, VIUTube and VIUBlogs is available via the CIEL.
- Students can coordinate tasks and edit files, as well as brainstorm, have conversations, and meet up online with Microsoft Teams meetings. Both the Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning and the VIU IT Department can help you if you have questions or need help using Teams.
- Create a Tech Survey in VIULearn that asks students to share information about their digital literacy, access to technology and comfort level in digital spaces. We have created a survey that you can import directly into VIULearn. You can download it from OneDrive and import it into your course. Our Import Course Materials page will guide you through this process. We have also created a Word version of the survey.
In April 2023, B.C.’s Post-Secondary Digital Literacy Framework was released. In February 2025, the CIEL blog launched a related series, which is ongoing. These resources help educators and students build digital literacy for better communication, collaboration, and group work.
Attribution
B.C.’s Post-Secondary Digital Literacy Framework
Brookfield, S.D., & Preskill, S. (1999). Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and Techniques for Democratic Classrooms. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Camosun College, Active Learning Strategies
VIU Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning (CIEL)