Miscommunication in class assignment groups is common among students, especially when some show unwillingness to cooperate with others. Some students may fail to communicate with regard to their assigned parts, leading to an inconvenience for the rest of the group members as they have to cover the remaining sections of the assignment. Such failure to communicate leads to feelings of resentment, frustration and unfairness among the group members, which could otherwise be avoided with effective strategies like having clear expectations and clear guidelines. Therefore, to address communication problems, like miscommunication among class group assignments, group leaders and members can set clear expectations, frequent communication, and goals that will guide the project from start to finish.
Clear expectations can steer team members to work towards achieving them as part of their obligations in the learning process. These expectations are meant to create the path for individuals working as a team to collectively utilize their skills to complete assigned tasks (Chang and Kang, 2018). For instance, each team member is made aware that they have to fully meet the requirements of the section they were assigned to be added as the members who have met the requirements. Failure to meet them will mean they need to revise and adjust their assigned section until it fits the rest. Such expectations will motivate members to inquire more into their section snippets for fear of letting the rest of the members down or having a lower grade. If these members fail to communicate about the problems they have faced and leave the work at it, such will be a case of miscommunication, and, in a case where miscommunication occurs, it means there is poor performance and hurt feelings. Therefore, having clear expectations will ensure the group members identify with the goals set at the beginning to be achieved at the end of the project.
Goal setting is one way of ensuring every member contributes since each has to agree with the goals in the beginning, to avoid conflicts as the work progresses. According to Curşeu, Janssen, and Meeus (2014), goal setting is process feedback in group projects, and this feedback is part of ensuring communication flows while each member gives their share of the perception of the project. On the other hand, setting clear goals will include a timeline to meet the “SMART” technique that requires that all goals are time bound. Therefore, members will seek to meet these goals to avoid subsequent miscommunication about their progress. Again, group work has group interdependence and participation as the main elements, which means that there has to be communication among team members (Kleingeld, van Mierlo, and Arends, 2011). Ultimately, when the goals have been met, it will reflect improved and effective communication.
Lastly, frequent communication involves adhering to the set expectations and goals to influence the best performance, positive feelings, and increased motivation among group members. For instance, group members can agree that one of the goals of the group project is to communicate progress at the end of the week, perhaps every Sunday until the project is completed. This goal would have stimulated frequent communication to filter out unresponsive members based on expectations. Chang and Kang (2016) recognize that a common problem in online group work is the complications arising from the lack of a physical presence and challenges arising from commitment and responsibility. Therefore, approaches like ensuring frequent communication and reporting will raise awareness among group members of the importance of the project and provide feedback to the rest of the members. If a project stalls without frequent communication, it will lead to miscommunication as some members would have moved on to other projects and forgotten of the incumbent upon them. In general, this point implies that the remedy to miscommunication is ensuring communication.
In conclusion, setting clear expectations and goals and communicating frequently will reduce the chances of miscommunication among group members as they know what is expected from them. These goals and expectations are set together when group members come together for the first time to set precedents for the sections contained within the projects. These suggestions can ensure the majority of communication problems are avoided. Instructors should be part of the student group projects by creating an avenue where students can communicate frequent communication problems so that they can inform all students of the consequences of each problem to stimulate action. Otherwise, communication problems are common phenomena which can be addressed with sufficient strategies.
References
Chang, B., & Kang, H. (2016). Challenges facing group work online. Distance education, 37(1), 73-88. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2016.1154781
Curşeu, P. L., Janssen, S. E., & Meeus, M. T. (2014). Shining lights and bad apples: The effect of goal-setting on group performance. Management Learning, 45(3), 332-348. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507613483425
Kleingeld, A., van Mierlo, H., & Arends, L. (2011). The effect of goal setting on group performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(6), 1289–1304. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024315
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