{"id":85,"date":"2026-02-27T17:42:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T17:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/inclusive-university\/?p=85"},"modified":"2026-04-14T10:48:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T09:48:57","slug":"making-groupwork-work-a-guide-to-communication-and-structure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/inclusive-university\/2026\/02\/27\/making-groupwork-work-a-guide-to-communication-and-structure\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Groupwork Work: A Guide to Communication and Structure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Key Contributors:<\/strong> Olive Ndungu and Iman Ellahi<\/p>\n

Background<\/h2>\n

Group projects can be challenging for any student, but for neurodivergent students, the difficulties are often compounded by factors like social demands and sensory overload.\u00a0The approach to group projects varies across departments. For Materials Science and Engineering, for example, group projects have at least four students assigned based on past grades. The project duration can range from either one afternoon of collaborative work to multiple terms that contribute significantly to our grade that year. These include design-related projects in 1st<\/sup> and 2nd<\/sup> year, and labs in 3rd<\/sup> year, all of which include written coursework, presentations, and some kind of final report. At the beginning of projects, groups are each assigned a supervisor who provides ongoing in-person feedback on coursework and general guidance. After submitting the final report, group members individually submit a peer review, which contributes to few percentage of the final mark for that module.<\/p>\n

This article outlines some common challenges of collaborative work and offers advice on how to navigate them more effectively. The focus of this article is mainly on the social communication and interactions.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Pros of Groupwork<\/b><\/h2>\n

Group projects offer many positives. They act as an opportunity to meet more of your cohort in a smaller, less intimidating setting. The project itself provides a built-in “social script” which can reduce the anxiety of initial conversations and help you build a network of friends and colleagues. Group projects are also a prime opportunity to develop essential professional skills like collaboration, leadership, and communication. Members can play to their individual strengths, leading to more efficient work. The workload is also shared, making the individual burden lighter.<\/p>\n

Key challenges in group work<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Selection of group members<\/h3>\n

One of the parameters associated with group projects is the selection of group members. The choice of group members is often made by the module leaders based on parameters such as grades, gender, etc. which can ensure there is some diversity in the group members but can also lead to groups who have never worked before which can be challenging for some neurodivergent students. In some courses, there is flexibility in group formation, and the students can form their own group which can reduce the stress associated with unfamiliarity of working with strangers. Another approach which can balance familiarity with diversity is ability to choose one member of the team and rest of the team is selected by the module leader.<\/p>\n

Initial meetings and study spaces<\/h3>\n

The first meetings are held in rooms designated by the department, which tend to end up noisy and crowded due to the number of students in the space. This can lead to overstimulation and increases cognitive load making it harder to focus on conversations within your group. In my experience, it is much harder to process what others are saying when I am overstimulated, which impacts my ability to contribute to initial group discussions and leave a good first impression. Other neurodivergent students and\/or students with auditory processing difficulties may face a similar problem.<\/p>\n

While groups can search for a more suitable room to work, this can be frustrating and time consuming, and you may not even find a space that accommodates the whole group\u2019s needs. Even in the case that you find a space to work, the whole process has to be repeated the next time you arrange to meet.<\/p>\n

Impact of Group size<\/h3>\n

Larger groups tend to be more difficult than smaller ones in my experience.\u00a0In larger groups, such as the 12-person design study project with four-hour sessions done in first year of Materials, it can be difficult to collaborate efficiently without a clear plan. Members may not work at the same time or pace, and the extended period of social interaction can lead to burnout.<\/p>\n

In addition, though members are assigned roles at the beginning of this project (which made it clearer what each person should do), they do not correlate to an equal amount of work. In a large group, this can lead to quite uneven workloads across members, and without effective communication it can be hard to resolve this.<\/p>\n

In comparison, smaller groups tend to be easier to manage. As there are fewer people, there can be more of a sense of shared responsibility due to the increased individual workload, which means communication is a bigger priority. It can also be easier to put forward ideas to a smaller group of people, and it is also generally faster to find a space to work together in smaller groups.<\/p>\n

Workload and group work preferences<\/h3>\n

Dividing tasks evenly can be a source of conflict, especially if roles are not defined early on. Differing priorities and work habits can cause friction, particularly since students have coursework or other personal responsibilities to manage.<\/p>\n

Asynchronous work can prove challenging. Unexpected changes to group deadlines or plans can disrupt your personal schedule, which can be particularly stressful for neurodivergent students who rely on a fixed routine\/structure to get through the week. Keeping up with project updates on platforms like Teams can also be a challenge, as conversations often happen outside of your planned working hours.<\/p>\n

Synchronous in-person work may also be difficult if you are someone who can’t work continuously for long periods, potentially leading to burnout and negative feelings toward the project. Additionally, shared digital documents can become disorganized and hard to follow when multiple people are editing at once.<\/p>\n

Peer review<\/h3>\n

The peer review process at the end of the project can also be a source of anxiety. Students who are less vocal or whose contributions are less visible may feel their work isn’t recognised, which could negatively impact their peer review grade. The time and effort a student puts into a project doesn’t always translate into a visible output, and this additional work may not be acknowledged by their peers.<\/p>\n

My Advice for students<\/h2>\n

While many aspects of groupwork such as group selection, group size, and actual project are usually controlled by the instructors, there are some steps you can take to make navigating group work easier.<\/p>\n

“Establish<\/span>\u00a0a<\/span>\u00a0sense of\u00a0<\/span>organisation<\/span> in your group projects –<\/span>\u00a0let<\/span>\u00a0your teammates<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>know<\/span>\u00a0that<\/span>\u00a0you value structure<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0delegate roles\u00a0<\/span>regularly,<\/span>\u00a0so everyone knows what they are doing<\/span>, and update each other at least once a week.” <\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

First group meeting<\/h3>\n

In the first meeting, it might be helpful to:<\/p>\n