4.7: Study Skills- Working with Others

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With Others or Alone?

Some people like working with others. They give these reasons:

You might understand the work better by sharing ideas with others.
You will learn about new ideas that you had not thought about.
You will develop skills in working in teams.
Most jobs require you to work with others; it’s good to practice in school.

Other people hate working with others. They give these reasons:

Often, one or two people do all the work, and others don’t do their fair share.
It can be hard to schedule meetings when people have many commitments.
It might be hard to make a decision if everyone has a different opinion.
Sometimes people are put in groups with students they don’t know.

Make It Work for You

Love it or hate it, pair/group work is often a key part of a college course. You may be assigned a pair/group project by your instructor. Here are some tips to help you.

1. Know exactly what is expected of you. What do you need to do? How should you divide up the work? For a school project, will you get one mark, or will you be marked individually?

2. Get to know your partner or team. Decide how you will communicate, and when/where you will meet. Make sure your schedule suits everyone’s individual circumstances.

3. Find out what strengths everyone has. This can help you to divide up your tasks. For example, if you are making a poster for a college project, an artistic person can do some design work.

4. Pace yourself. Make sure you all stay on track with the project. Don’t scramble to finish at the last minute.

5. Try to ensure that everyone does the same amount of work. If someone is not doing their share of the work, try to find out why. It is important to be honest about this issue.

6. Respect each other. If you don’t agree with someone’s ideas, it’s fine to disagree, but do so politely and respectfully. Listen to others’ ideas—you may even change your mind.

7. Keep the atmosphere positive and optimistic. If there is conflict, it is important to address it immediately. Don’t ignore problems and hope they will go away—they won’t.

8. When you are finished, be proud of a job well done! End the project with a celebration to mark the end of a successful shared experience.

You Try It!

Think of a time when you had to work with others. This could be in college, in your job, on a sports team, or in another situation. What worked? What could have been better? Describe your experiences.

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