Baseline Group Contracts

Background

There are so many issues facing humanity in the modern era. As future engineers, we are destined to help face the Grand Challenges the world is seeing today. Amazing innovations have been made, significant contributions to society are implemented every day, and the theoretical sciences have continued to evolve. None of these have been accomplished alone. The world we exist in is one that will be dependent on collaborative work environments and for everyone to be able to work together for continued advancement.

Objective

Every class I teach has a group component to it. Students have the freedom to decide their own contracts, this is simply the default contract that I have for the class. Students can opt into creating their own contract and are encouraged to do so. This baseline group contract is the minimum I expect from each group and the dynamics therein. This contract is associated with each group that is formed to set a foundation for group dynamics and how they are managed should dynamics not be followed. I wish this contract to be an example of a starting point for new groups, particularly when you meet new colleagues you have yet to work with.

Group Contract

The following group contract outline was taken from Group Contracts and modified to fit my courses. Modifications were made to add additional items or take away irrelevant ones.

  1. Preferred method of communicate (email? Group discussion board? etc.)
    • How often should members check these communication sites for updates?
      • three times per work week
    • What is the expected response time? 24 hour? 12 hour?
      • within 24 hours
    • Where will you post/share your work as you write papers, PowerPoint etc.?
      • Up to groups. Google drive is suggested, along with using a shared OneDrive folder (UofA cloud service). For coding purposes, GitHub is suggested.
  2. Decision-making policy
    • By majority vote (>50%)? Consensus (100%)?
      • Majority vote
    • Who decides when a section of paper etc. is rewritten? When a task is fully completed and ready for submission?
      • Consensus within the group
    • How will you decide about final group paper or final exam?
      • Typically this will be with the last group rotation. Majority vote. All members are vested.
  3. Participation
    • How will you ensure cooperation and equal distribution of tasks?
      • Preplanning and distribution of tasks with clear communications of needed elements.
    • What strategies for keeping people on task?
      • One individual is the harmonizer 
    • What is expectation for attending group work meetings? How often are you going to meet? When are you going to meet? Does everyone agree?
      • Meet at least once per homework assignment. Everyone is expected to be present, either in person or on zoom/video conference program.
    • How soon do you need to notify the group member that you cannot attend meeting?
      • Ideally as soon as it’s know they will not be attending the meeting. 
    • What about individual attendance in class?
      • Everyone is expected to be in person in the classroom. The class is collaborative in nature, and everyone is expected to attend in person.
  4. Conflict
    • While constructive conflict is good for a group, what happens if it interferes with the project?
      • All members of the group reflect on happenings to be observant of destructive group behaviors.
    • What if a member disappears and does not participate of a member does not do their assignment?
      • Members who disappear need to be monitored by the group. If they contribute to the collective group effort, great. If they are completely absent, they may be left of credit for group assignments. However, there needs to be clear communication showing that an effort was made by the team to include the absent member.
    • What if you have discussed with the team member about the behavior that is affecting the group and there is no change? What does the group believe is the next step?
      • The 3 strike rule is followed. If three strikes occur, then the member is left off group submissions.
    • When will you get professor involved if there is a conflict?
      • When names need to be left off homework assignments.
  5. Miscellaneous Roles
    • Groups will decide who will fill each of the following tasks needed for a well-functioning team:
      • Submitting homework assignments
      • Checking the submission is complete and the most up-to-date-version
      • Main communication point between the teaching team and the group
      • All individuals should keep metacognitive recognition of constructive and destructive group behaviors.