Characteristics of Successful Student Groups

1. Successful groups have a leader who sets clear deadlines, schedules frequent meetings, and deals directly with conflict that emerged in the group.

2. Successful groups listen to criticism and make important decisions together. As a result, everyone in the group can articulate group goals.

3. Successful groups have a higher proportion of members who work actively on the project. Successful groups also find ways to use members who don’t like working in groups. For example, one student who didn’t want to be a “team player” functioned as a “freelancer” for her group, completing assignments by herself and giving them to the leader.