Group Working

School of Architecture Policy and Protocols on Group Working

This school policy should be read alongside the university guidance about group working provided by the 301 Academic Skills Centre. 

This policy has been drawn up to establish a protocol for group working that should be adopted by all students and tutors. Group working in all areas of the curriculum is a valuable teaching and learning method and students are encouraged to take advantage of group working opportunities when they are made available. Team working skills are an integral part of work within architectural practice and they provide essential transferable skills to other areas of working practice. 

We recognise that working in groups can be stressful as well as rewarding and therefore there is a need to ensure that, as far as possible, there is fairness in the sharing of work and in the recognition of different contributions made by individuals.

Students should, however, focus on the myriad opportunities offered by any specific task and the learning that they will gain from it and we recommend that they do not become distracted by real or perceived minor inequalities in the contributions made by others. Students should also recognise that, regardless of the positive things offered by all kinds of group work, such work will not necessarily deliver work whose assessment will necessarily attain the same level of grades that an individual may be accustomed to in individual assessments.

At the start of a group working exercise students should agree amongst their group members a protocol for behaviour within the group work situation. The detail of the protocol should normally recognise the complexity of the group in terms of numbers of members and the complexity of the tasks to be undertaken and over what period of time; a six week masters Live Project involving 12 students is likely to need more detail and formality than an undergraduate design project involving two students over a few weeks. It is recommended that the protocol should cover matters such as:

Attendance at group meetings; Timekeeping; Meeting responsibilities within the group; Equity in workload while recognising the strengths and weaknesses and skill-sets within individual members; The importance of delivering work attributed to individuals on time and to a good standard; Steps to be taken in the event of failure to adhere to the protocol.

Any protocol that is adopted for group work must recognise that there may be occasions when action is needed where individuals are not contributing equitably to the work of the group or where other difficulties arise. Students are encouraged to resolve such issues within the group as far as possible. In the event that this does not prove possible the students should contact the module leader or programme leader.

Following notice of a substantive problem within a group the module leader or other delegated member of staff may choose to adopt the following process where they consider it appropriate:

A tutor receiving such a complaint, or their delegate, may contact the student(s) concerned to try to establish an understanding of the situation. A tutor’s assessment of the situation may differ from that of any of the students. The tutor may consider whether there are personal or academic circumstances that may be relevant to a student’s ability to contribute in any specific or general way to the group. 

Group members should be aware that there may on occasions be legitimate personal circumstances that affect a student’s performance but which cannot and should not be divulged to other members of the group.

Where a tutor finds that a student has not been making an appropriate contribution to the work of the group and that there are no acceptable extenuating circumstances or if the student concerned does not respond to the tutor’s request for an explanation or a meeting the tutor may warn the individual, and keep a record of that warning, about their behaviour, remind the student of their responsibilities to the group and to their engagement with their learning, and the tutor may request a clear written undertaking to contribute fully and responsibly for the remainder of the project.

After such a warning has been issued the tutor may maintain contact with the group to monitor the situation.

If, after the issue of a warning, the individual concerned does not respond positively and the problems persist, the tutor may formally advise the student concerned that they may be penalised and that, in their case, marks may be deducted from their overall mark awarded to the group. The tutor will consult with a Director of Education or the Programme Director to agree an appropriate penalty to be imposed. In cases where it is clear that the student has made no contribution at all a mark of 0 (zero) may be given for the group work component.

The issuing of warnings and deduction of marks may be recorded on the student’s personal file.