After orientation into the Lagos Business School, I was assigned to a study group with nineteen other students.
The group started off on a right foot by holding a meeting immediately the group was announced. At the first meeting of the group, a group leader was elected. Various course leaders were also nominated, based on their areas of competencies. This information was gotten from the introductions. The expectations for the group were clear and I was impressed to see that all the students were honest about their abilities. The group agreed on the meeting days, and a student was appointed the role of scheduling the weekly meetings.
I have taken time to assess the impact that the group has had in my study experience in LBS and came up with the conclusions below.
Group work is a collaborative learning environment where students study or go work through assessments together. With group work, students can share their knowledge and skills and lend support to one another. There is a popular saying that “two heads are better than one”. Some of the advantages of group work include:
- Students can share ideas.
- It increases the efficiency of students.
- It creates networking and bonding opportunities for students.
- It helps students to tackle more complex problems than they could on their own.
- Roles and responsibilities are being delegated.
- Students can share diverse perspectives, ideas, and opinions.
- There will exist a pool of knowledge and skills.
- Students will be able to hold one another accountable.
- It influences student friendships in and outside of the classroom.
- It promotes psychological wellbeing.
- It promotes interaction and enjoyable learning.
- The ability to learn new skills and study habits.
- Students can compare class notes.
- It helps to retain more information.
- Ability to tap into creative potentials.
- It allows for reinforcement of information.
- Provides a safe place to discuss and develop your ideas.
- It enhances professional development skills.
- It motivates individual students to engage in assigned tasks.
So far, I have enjoyed several the benefits of the group work. However, there is a saying that for anything that has an advantage, there will also be a disadvantage. Group work is not an exception to this rule. I have come up with a few things that could go wrong with group work, if not properly managed.
What could go wrong with group work?
- If not managed properly, it could create conflict among students.
- There is the risk of having minority domination within the group.
- It takes more time to take decisions.
- Students with lesser ability may feel segregated.
- There may be pressures to conform.
I have also identified a few tips to mitigate against any disadvantage of group work:
- Students should endeavor to create a culture of mutual respect within the group.
- Students should create an inclusive environment within the group.
- Students should keep discussions positive and constructive.
- Students should ensure the goals of each group session is clarified, and the discussions should be functional.
- Every student within the group, should be encouraged to participate actively in discussions and group work.
- There should be no place for aggression among the students.
- All students should communicate effectively ,and work on their body language.
- Students should as much as possible, avoid deviating from the topic of discussions.
