Working in Groups (Part 2) - Forming

Forming is the first part of the process in Tuckman's model, the first stage of any group work involves creating the group's identity. So at the forming stage, you will be establishing who is in the group and begin getting to know one another. Essentially, forming is where your identity as a group is established, and it might make you feel nervous or anxious and as a result, reluctant to engage.

But other people will be feeling the same way. Conversely, you may be a sociable person who enjoys meeting and talking to new people, and it could be an opportunity for you to support those who are less than enthusiastic. Whatever your personality type, it's good to remember that an effective group and a successful outcome thrive on diversity. And difference.

There's no right or wrong here, and the important thing is to recognize how you feel and to commit to being part of the group. It's useful to think about this process of forming in three steps. Firstly, if you reflect as an individual, ideally before the first group meeting, you can begin to think about the task itself and your place within a group setting.

Secondly, the group discussion is really important in order for individuals to begin functioning as a group. You will be able to discuss expectations responsibilities and start to think about the habits your group will adopt. How often will you meet, for example, and how will you meet? Thirdly, I think that a group reflection at the end of the first meeting is crucial.

So let's go through each of these steps in order over the next few slides. Although it's good for fostering a sense of camaraderie to get to know each other on a personal level in order to be really productive, each member of the group will need to consider their strengths and weaknesses and the specific skills and knowledge they can contribute to the task.

Having a good idea of how each individual can contribute to the group as a whole will help with assuming individual roles and dividing up tasks. For this reason, it might be useful for each member to spend some time before or at the beginning of the first meeting, considering the questions on the screen. What are my strengths and weaknesses, and how do I feel about group work?

What kind of personality do I have? What is my level of knowledge about this content and the task? And what are my expectations for how the group works? Of course, you may have some questions of your own that will be useful. The point is that your personal reflection at the beginning of the process will help you bring a self-awareness to the process, which will form the basis for how you interact with the group.

This will also allow you to consider what roles and responsibilities will help you feel comfortable within a group setting and where you might begin to think about stepping outside the space in which you feel comfortable. That will help you develop new skills. After watching this segment, it will be useful for you to come back and think about how individual reflection can help group formation.

So jot down the last two questions on this slide so you can return to them later. In addition, the forming state is a useful point at which to lay the ground rules for your group interactions, and it's useful to consider what kind of group habits would you want to talk about? What kind of group protocols might you want to establish, and what sorts of approaches to the task need to be explored?

Examples of some of the habits the group might want to establish are respect, punctuality, collective responsibility, and constructive feedback rather than simple criticism. You can also set the protocols for how you will contact each other. Will it be by text or WhatsApp or another social media platform or email, for example? How often will this happen, and how will you record these contacts?

Other considerations might be; will you vote if consensus can't be reached? Do you need a chair person, or will you rotate responsibility for taking notes or making minutes of the meeting? So it might be useful for you to spend a little time before your first meeting thinking about what practical measures will help the group function. You can then have some suggestions if things don't flow easily at the first meeting.

In addition, if a group is going to be meeting solely online through Zoom or a similar platform, it will save time and prevent any confusion later on. If you can agree a set of conventions for your group meetings Does it matter whether you all have your cameras off, for example? Will the meeting be recorded? And who is responsible for setting up a meeting link?

You'll be able to think of other things that will also help the group function on a practical level. Perhaps most importantly, the formation of the group will centre around the task you need to complete. So the group will need to read the assignment together and discuss the requirements. You might consider doing the following create a mind map of everyone's ideas so you have a record of the group's initial thoughts.

Divide the assignment into smaller tasks that need to be completed, and assign those tasks to individual group members, agreeing a deadline for completion. Remember, the project might be assessed as a whole, including the way the group has worked together. So one top tip is that each group member has some contribution to each part of the task. The temptation might be to assign tasks, go away and complete those tasks as individual.

For example, one person creates the visuals and the other person writes the text and someone is responsible for drawing the materials together. But by working in this way, you risk a lack of coherence in your work and undermining communication within the group. So if you're in the middle of group work or about to start working in a group spend some time now considering what you think should be included in a group discussion. In order to really consolidate that group discussion, it will be useful at the end of your first meeting to spend some time reflecting with each other to ensure that the group discussion has covered the points raised by each individual's reflection, that you have shared expectations and that you have a clear plan and a regular schedule. Does each individual have a role and a task, and is everybody comfortable with that role?

Perhaps most importantly, have you discussed a mechanism for raising any issues or problems? So a group reflection helps consolidate the discussions you have at the forming stage. By working through the considerations in this segment, you will have begun the process of forming your group. This should help you feel more comfortable about moving forward with your task, and hopefully you'll feel reassured that there is a clear path towards meeting the objectives of that task.

And you can now move on to video number three.