LPN to RN

Good Study Habits for Students- Learn within a Group/Team

A lot of instructors will require students to complete assignments within a team or group environment. Teams and groups are a great way to learn to work with others. The majority of work settings include team, group or organizational environments where you will need to work with others in order to accomplish a set goal. Here are some tips on how to make learning within a group or team positive for all individuals involved.

The most important factor that you must consider when working in a team environment is your shared goals. Your group will be able to focus and succeed much more easily if everyone involved knows the common goals of the team and works towards those goals.

In addition, it is extremely important that everyone in the team gets a chance to be heard. While many teams have one or two proactive or even outspoken members, it is important to devise a way for all team members to be heard and give their opinions or ideas on the task at hand. Many teams usually give a few minutes to each member either at the beginning or end of the meeting to express their views.

Besides having common team goals, each individual within the team should focus on a specific task. There is a saying "too many cooks in the kitchen". While everyone wants to be a leader or do a specific task, for a team to be effective and efficient, each individual will need to take on a specific task.

Another important tip on learning in a team is to be aware of diversity. Diversity is a great nuance that a person can add to your team. You can find that a person's diversity brings fresh ideas and talent to the overall team and the task at hand. It is important to empower diversity and not shun it.

Other factors that make it easier or difficult to work within a team environment is the amount of people on each team. For instance, usually a group of 3 to 5 people is much easier to manage than to have a group of 10 or 15 people. In addition, you should try to stay away from picking a team full of just your friends. While working with people that you like can be fun, you might find that your team will get fewer tasks done, usually due to chatting instead of working.

Perhaps the most challenging part of working with a team or group is the one person (who is always on a team) who does not complete their task or portion of the project. This is where an effective Team Leader can come in. Group and Team projects are mainly graded as a whole and not on individual performance. Make sure you have a backup plan should this occur. Insure that all team members have their portions of the assignment submitted a few days before the due date to a designated Team Leader. The Team Leader will then put all the portions together to complete the assignment. If any portions are missing or incomplete then the Team Leader will have time to get with the team and devise a solution to complete the project. In this event, make sure your instructor is aware of the lack of performance of the student who did not do their share.

Working in a group can be fun and beneficial and the final project is usually something that you and your team can be proud of!