Making Groupwork Work in the Virtual Classroom

Students tell us they want more student–student interaction in our online courses; similarly, employers press for adaptable graduates with a strong work ethic and the ability to communicate, problem-solve, function within teams, and resolve conflicts when necessary. Group work is a pedagogical choice that can help achieve these goals.

Instructional Solutions

1. Reduce resistance by teaching “the why.” Students tend to groan when they learn that group assignments are expected in your course. If you’re wondering how to respond to student resistance, consider teaching them up front the value of collaborative assignments: higher caliber work products, development of higher order thinking skills, better social competence, leadership skills (Kohut, 2012), and the fact that teams predominate in today’s workplace. Remind them that employers are looking for graduates who can demonstrate their ability to work successfully in a group (Vance, 2007).

2. Assign virtual team building activities. A team’s productivity improves when students engage in social as well as task-oriented communications. Instructors can assign (worth a few points to ensure accountability!) virtual team-building activities to newly formed groups as a way to help them get to know one another as real people before assignments start (Lin et al., 2008). For example, you might ask group members to post a short bio about themselves in a discussion and follow that with a fun online activity and group “report out” in the discussion space. A quick Google search will offer many options for virtual team-building activities. 

3. Proactively diminish scheduling conflicts and problems with virtual meetings.

   • Scheduling conflicts. Use the CourseDen survey tool to ask students about their preferred times to meet (weekdays? weekends? daytime? evenings?) and use that information to place students with compatible scheduling preferences into groups. Instructors may want to include other factors when grouping students such as demographic diversity, majors, jobs - whatever makes sense for the purpose of the group assignment. 

   • Virtual meeting spaces. Zoom can be accessed from CourseDen. Students can share their screens while talking to one another through their Zoom rooms. “Rich media” such as Zoom—or any other medium where students can see and hear each other in real-time—help group members with nonverbal cues, personalization, immediate feedback (Kohut, 2012), and decision-making. 

4. Develop “swift trust.” Require groups to interact on a task that establishes a positive social atmosphere and predictable patterns of communication early in the semester (Jarvenpaa & Leidner, 1999; Coppola, Hiltz, & Rotter, 2004). The assignment can be most anything, but learning objectives will include at least that students exchange contact information, decide what method they will use to communicate with the group, and how often those communications will take place. 

5. Create a mini-module, video, or lead a discussion that teaches students how to work better in groups (Chapman, Meuter, Toy, & Wright, 2010), keeping in mind that groups operate on two levels: the conscious tasks and subtle processes. Teach students to establish group norms (informal rules to live by), which can include managing time, structuring priorities, scheduling interim milestones, holding one another accountable, and how to express conflict productively. Groups handle conflict best when they are tough and direct on substance but gentle on one another. For example, a student might say, “We disagree, but I’d like to understand your thinking better” (Bolman & Deal, 2017, pp. 170-175).

6. See the videos below for more ideas!

Ed Tech Quick Guides

• Create a Survey in CourseDen

• Download Data from a CourseDen Survey

• How to host a Zoom Meeting

• Instructions that students can use to participate in Zoom Meetings

• Creating groups in CourseDen

• Setting up group discussions in CourseDen