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Improving and Supporting Group Work for All Students

This page was contributed by the Multicultural, Diversity, and Education Council (MDEC)*.

Students with marginalized identities frequently describe group work as a source of stress and exclusion. Many shared that they were often picked last or avoided during group formation, making them feel unwelcome. Once placed in groups, they reported being stereotyped—such as autistic students being assigned non-speaking roles or veterans being expected to lead—or even sidelined altogether, with their ideas dismissed or decisions made without their input. Students with caregiving responsibilities noted that meetings often occurred in the evenings or late at night, reflecting the schedules of residential peers without similar obligations. Across multiple student panels, group projects were consistently described as negative and alienating experiences. 

Setting the tone for groupwork 

Instructors should explain why they chose a group project in their course. Consider stating the following and/or including it in groupwork materials.  

Group work helps students develop essential skills like communication, collaboration, and problem-solving, which are critical in nearly every professional and community setting. By working in diverse teams, students learn to navigate different perspectives, manage responsibilities, and build mutual accountability. Group work also encourages deeper engagement with course content, helping students apply their knowledge in meaningful, practical ways. 

For tips to share with students, visit Group Work Considerations for Students, created by MDEC. 

Approach to forming groups

Instructors have many choices when forming groups. The first consideration is whether the group will be for a short- or long-term project.

  • Short-Term Groups: These are ideal for in-class discussions, one-off activities, or early low-stakes assignments. Minimal planning is required. They are useful for practicing skills like active listening, quick collaboration, and inclusive participation. 
  • Long-Term Groups: These are used for extended projects or presentations. They require intentional planning, role assignments, and multiple checkpoints. They are best when aligned with major course objectives and outcomes. 

Student panelists nearly universally disliked having to choose their own groups. The easiest solution is to form groups randomly. Many free online tools, such as Random Lists, can help. Students noted they appreciate instructors doing this live in class or recording a video that captures the formation process.  

A more involved approach would be to facilitate group formation by asking students to note skills, interests, availability, strengths, and other useful attributes.  

Providing support for successful groups 

Faculty check-ins about one-third and halfway through a group project are a powerful way to support student progress without feeling overbearing. Student panelists emphasized the value of a few well-timed, meaningful check-ins—rather than constant oversight—to show support and ensure accountability. Faculty can offer short written check-in forms (anonymous or not), schedule brief group meetings during class, or invite individual students to share updates via email or a shared document. These moments can be used to revisit group contracts, surface any concerns, and remind students of shared norms, upcoming deadlines, and available support. Below are tool suggestions to help facilitate support to groups.  

Endeavors is an experimental platform designed to enhance group projects and collaborative learning. It gives faculty visibility into group progress in real time, helping to prevent roadblocks and facilitate the progression towards group project goals. This tool was developed by Virginia Tech's Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies (TLOS) team in collaboration with Dr. Howard Haines (haine1h@cmich.edu) from CMU’s College of Business Administration.  

CATME (Comprehensive Assessment of Team Member Effectiveness) is a research-based online tool that helps faculty manage and improve student teamwork. It offers features like Team-Maker to form balanced teams based on customizable criteria, and Peer Evaluation to promote accountability through confidential feedback. CATME also includes training modules to build students’ teamwork skills and surveys to help instructors monitor team dynamics and address issues early. It’s especially useful in courses that rely on group work and aims to make the team experience more equitable and effective. Several instructors at CMU use CATME, including many in the InSciTE program.  

Tips for facilitating better groupwork experiences 

CMU faculty member, Jihyun Sung, noted how important it is for faculty to allot some class time for group work, whether it’s the first or last ten minutes of class to touch base, or intentionally having them work on different parts of the project during class.  Also, consider offering students some options for short icebreakers to get to know each other in their groups. Examples might be:  

  • Common Ground: In 2 minutes, find three things everyone in your group has in common (non-obvious ones, no “we’re all in college” or “we’re all taking this class”). 
  • One-Word Check-In: Each person shares one word that describes how they’re feeling today and why.
  • Object Share: Ask everyone to show or describe one item near them that reflects something about their personality or interests.
  • GIF Introduction (works well for online learning): Post a GIF that represents your mood or personality in a shared doc or chat and explain why you chose it.
  • Two-Emoji Bio (works well for online learning): Share two emojis that represent you and explain your choices in a sentence or two. 

Explore more resources 

Designing Groupwork: Strategies for the Heterogeneous Classroom (3rd edition) by Cohen and Latan is the gold standard for promoting effective and inclusive groupwork in the classroom. This edition builds on foundational research and provides practical guidance for designing effective, equitable group work, especially in diverse classrooms. This work emphasizes that group dynamics are shaped by social status: perceptions of ability, language, race, and more. To counter this, they advocate for Complex Instruction: open-ended, “groupworthy” tasks that require multiple skills and interdependence, paired with intentional strategies like assigning rotating roles, naming students’ contributions publicly (“assigning competence”), and explicitly addressing participation equity.  

The Life Sciences Education (LSE) Evidence-Based Teaching Guidelines offer clear, research-based summaries of effective teaching practices, which is perfect for busy instructors. For those using group work, LSE highlights proven strategies for building inclusive teams, structuring collaborative tasks, and improving student accountability and engagement. Each link includes quick takeaways, classroom tips, and visuals that make applying the research simple and practical. If you're looking to make group work more effective and equitable, LSE is a go-to resource that turns learning science into actionable teaching ideas. 

The Integration of Science, Technology and Engineering (InSciTE) program at Central Michigan University has been doing excellent work in developing thoughtful, research-informed approaches to group work. Their model emphasizes intentional group formation, structured collaboration, and reflective practice, all of which are grounded in strong pedagogical foundations. These resources offer concrete, adaptable ideas for improving group work in any course or discipline.   

Explore some of the strategies and tools they use in their courses to improve groupwork: 

 

*In response to feedback shared through the Hearing Diverse Voices panels conducted by the Multicultural, Diversity, and Education Council (MDEC), the following information was created to provide actionable content for instructors to address underrepresented populations more effectively. See the additional resources regarding Group Work from CIS.