Tools and tips to help you ace group assignments

Group assignments are an essential component of learning, yet when ‘group assignment’ is uttered it’s often followed by a collective eye-roll or groan. Thankfully, gone are the days of group assignments being the bane of everyone’s tertiary-education experience. We’ve found the best tools and thrown in a couple of handy tips to help your group assignment run as smoothly as possible.

Online databases

Most universities and institutes will have an electronic resource database that students can access for free. This is where you and your group members can access hundreds of online resources, such as journals and case studies, which can support your studies and research.

Depending on the course you study, The Tax Institute has additional resources available from subject sponsors. For example, if you are studying a Graduate Diploma of Applied Tax Law you will have access to resources from sponsors such as Wolters Kluwer CCH and Thomson Reuters.

There are also a number of free or subscription-based databases and search engines useful for finding and accessing articles in academic journals, repositories or other collections of articles. For example, the Australasian Legal Information Institute is a free online resource with state-specific tax and law databases, news and journals.

Collaboration apps

From managing to-do lists to sharing links and files, Trello is a great project management application. Trello brings everything together in the one place and represents your assignments as ‘boards’. Creating a board is simple to do, as is adding lists and cards. This function makes it easy to organise work and breaks large assignments into manageable sections. You can assign tasks to fellow users and set due dates, or allow users to claim items they would like to complete. Trello integrates files not only with your computer but with just about every other platform, including OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox and many more. Trello’s basic features are all available in the free version.

Slack is another great collaboration app that allows users to discuss ideas, ask questions and share files instantly with team members, all in the one place. Slack has different channels that allow for conversations to be organised in different ways from groups to topics. Slack's basic package is free to use. 

When you’ve complied all your research from online libraries and databases, you can use Evernote to bring all your documents into the one place. Evernote is a great app that allows you to save and share web articles with your group members, as well as take in-text notes. Evernote also has task-tracking capabilities, which allows you to discuss progress with your team. 

Allocate tasks to each member

Group assignments often go awry when there’s zero accountability or if boundaries are blurred. Using a collaboration app, such as Trello, is a great way to assign roles and responsibilities to each group member based on their talents and strengths. In saying that, it is also important to be flexible when it comes to offering support and sharing the workload. The most effective collaborative projects are a game of give and take.

Set expectations from the outset

If you want to deliver an exceptional group assignment, communication is key. Setting clear time frames and establishing deadlines in advance will ensure that important tasks unfold smoothly. During your initial meeting, remind group members to flag issues and obstacles as soon as they occur. Once again, using an app like Slack can help create on open dialogue, set clear expectations and will get you closer to your goal.

Embrace active listening

Unlike working independently, group assignments mean committing to listening to your partners’ perspectives and putting yourself in their shoes. The art of taking the time to listen and provide feedback on other ideas will make your fellow collaborators feel respected and trusted. Making every effort to cultivate strong working relationships can determine whether your joint project succeeds or fails.

Understand how to negotiate conflict

Even if you set clear expectations and listen to your team members’ input, problems will occasionally arise. If team members disagree on something, allow them the time and space to communicate their issues and vote on the outcome as a group. Knowing how to overcome conflict and turn criticism into constructive feedback is an undeniably powerful skill.

It’s worth remembering that career success isn't related to hard skills alone. Whether you aspire to become an accountant or dream about a career in corporate tax, a knack for soft skills such as communicating and collaborating with clients and stakeholders is more likely to ensure that you excel. What are your top tips for collaborative working?

Need the perfect resource tool, have a look at membership with The Tax Institute. Find out more today!

The key to acing group assignments

A simple Google image search for “group assignment meme” reveals a deep-seated cynicism about the value of group work.

Indeed, an Australian study found that more than half of students had reservations about group assignments, citing “inequality in the contribution of members” as the top reason for frustration. Further, awarding marks without recognition of individual effort merely rubbed salt into a wound opened by weeks of conflict and broken promises.

But with many advanced postgraduate tax courses, such as The Tax Institute's Graduate Diploma of Applied Law, featuring group work as part of their assessment, how can you approach the task in a more relaxed manner – especially when it is perceived that a colleague or fellow student is not pulling their weight? Below are a few simple planning rules to make the path to group work smoother.

Appoint a leader

If the purpose of group work is to simulate real life, then start off on the right foot by appointing a leader. The leader should have a bird’s-eye view of the entire project, fairly dividing the tasks, the order of work and setting reasonable deadlines. If a broken deadline impacts on the work of another team member, this should be negotiated through the leader to minimise conflict.

Clearly define roles

Set clear, reasonable goals and timelines that are shared by the whole group. Be realistic about what can be achieved and be upfront about current commitments. Have clearly described, specific roles that address each part of the set criteria, and ensure everyone understands how their part fits into the overall project.

Meet regularly

Meet face to face at least one hour per week as a group. It is amazing what regular deadlines can do for progress, but the inverse is also true. Waiting until the final deadline to summon an emergency meeting often ends in unanswered calls, sudden illness and piles of frustration.

Dealing with the shirker

Inevitably, there will be someone who is just not pulling his or her weight. Resolving problems quickly is not easy, but it is important. Don’t get personal. Simply draw attention to the prior shared agreements and address problems of missed deadlines or quality as they arise. Listen carefully to the point of view of the other person and try to arrive at a reasonable agreement to move on.

The satisfaction of sharing ideas and achieving a collective goal far outweighs the despair felt by many at the announcement of a group assignment. By keeping these tips in mind when tackling such tasks, you'll enjoy an early taste of the teamwork and collaboration you'll experience once you've entered the workforce.

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