Official Course Unit description »

Lecture Support »

Group nomination form »

Change group membership »

As part of the assessment procedure for this Course Unit , you and your group will be required to work as a group.  These pages provided some background on group working.  The main sections in this page are:

Choosing members of your group »

Self-assessment of your working preferences »

Changing group membership »

Short presentation of working as a group »

Choosing Members of Your Group

To nominate members of your group, read the following instructions and then go to the group member nomination form.  This form will allow you to nominate group members subject to certain rules.  The practical organiser will then use this information to formulate groups.  We cannot guarantee to assign the requested members to a group, but we will endeavour to do so where possible and subject to academic regulations and good educational practice.  In order to maximise the chances of getting the requested members in a group, you should complete the nomination form exactly as specified.

Group nomination form »

When choosing members of your group, consider the following guidelines:

• Choose group members to reflect the range of skills which will be required in the practical project- you will need somebody to organise meetings, take meeting minutes, chase-up actions, manage project documents, make the group presentation etc.   
• You should also consider what motivates your group members.  Again you will need a range of skills: somebody who is enthusiastic and will get the group going and equally, somebody who will motivate the group and keep it going towards the end of the project.  These are different skills and are often found in different team members.
• Pick people who you can meet easily with and work with- for example, check the times when people like to work and can be available to meet- ensuring that you have group members with similar characteristics.
• Whilst it is important that you get on with group members, do not necessarily choose your friends- pick people whose work you respect and share your aims and aspirations to do a good job.

See also the section below on an automated procedure for self-assessing your working preferences.  Use this to find your ideal working partners!.

Self-Assessment of Your Working Preference

Over the years, you will have developed preferences for different types of experience. The aim of this self-assessment exercise is to help you identify the type of experience which you most prefer and help you assess your attitude towards group learning and working.

Working Preferences self-assessment »

Changing Group Membership

Once members have been assigned to a project group, it is not normally possible to change groups.  The only exception will be where there is a reciprocal swap, i.e. two people exchange groups.  This is only possible during weeks 1 and 2 of the term. 

Change group membership »

Short Presentation on Working as a Group

A set of PowerPoint slides give a short overview on some of the issues of working as a group.

PowerPoint presentation on group working »

IBM ThinkPad Challenge »

Group working skills »

Presentation skills »

Tutorial schedule »