About the Book

Groups work … if you know how!

For many students, working in groups or teams can be a negative and frustrating experience caused by inadequate forming, contracting, ­planning and organising.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Groups Work! is designed for university and college students undertaking group assignments. It contains activities and information about working groups and follows the journey a group may take from form­ation to termination, providing useful processes for readers to engage in along the way.

Groups Work! will help you learn how to make the most of your time and effort when working in a group both while you are studying and well beyond into your working life where the skills and abilities of team work are highly sought by employers.

About the Authors

Dr Jane Fowler is a senior lecturer in the School of Human Services at Griffith University. She is convenor of the professional skills stream that is a core component of the human services program. Jane has extensive experience in working with and facilitating small and large groups across a range of university and private industry settings. She has developed and implemented a number of support programs for students, including ‘Common Time’, a practical approach to the enhancement of social and academic integration of first-year students (winner of an Australian Award for University Teaching), and the ‘Tiered Mentoring Program’, which engages students with their peers and professionals.

Dr Amanda Gudmundsson is a lecturer in the School of Management at Queensland University of Technology. She teaches in the fields of human resource management and professional skills development. Amanda has gained substantial experience facilitating groups through the incorporation of group-based approaches to learning in her teaching. Through her teaching and research activities Amanda has developed an appreciation of the issues and concerns experienced by students participating in group-based learning.

Dr Leanne Whicker has over ten years’ experience in organisational development and human resources management consulting. She has worked with a range of clients across several industries in both the public and private sectors. Leanne has a special interest in group facilitation, organisational development and change, knowledge management and human resources management. Leanne has lectured at Griffith University and Queensland University of Technology.
The authors are organisational psychologists. They have worked together for over ten years in numerous academic and organisational settings. As consultants for several organisations they have designed and conducted training programs, working with a diverse range of groups and teams. Together they have created, developed and produced a wide range of materials and resources for interpersonal and group work. A particular focus has been on designing and implementing processes to create and maintain effective learning groups and teams. It was through that work that the demand for this workbook was identified.

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