Suggestions for effective group work from Ellen Weber, Student Assessment that Works, page 129.

1.  Listen to every member.  Genuinely hearing others will increase their confidence, acceptance, and success.  Problems are more easily solved when people keep open minds and listen to others' perspectives.  Listening carefully to others also helps us to understand and appreciate how they are feeling.

2.  Define responsibilities.  Whenever one person dominates by doing all the work, others feel less validated and tend to shrink back.  At first glance, it may appear that some group members are simply lazy.  In reality, students accused of slacking off will tell you that somebody else is bossing them without allowing choices or welcoming their contributions.  The idea here is to agree on who does why, by what deadline.  Collaboration takes place concerning the "how" and the "what" questions.

3.  Value each person's gifts.  Trouble occurs if one student is only interested in marks and fails to trust others in the group to attain high marks.  Rather than welcoming each person's ideas and help, the domineering person relies on only one or two to demonstrate their giftedness.  But we know that people are motivated by unleashing their own individual strengths, not by coasting on another's abilities.

4.  Model excellence.  Rather than preach to other group members about how to do quality work, group members demonstrate their own willingness to create such work.  If one student appears to fall short of the group's expectation, others may offer help, support, and encouragement.  But members should avoid sharp criticism and negative reactions to each others' ideas and insights.

5.  Promote humor.  Humor often prevents and defuses conflicts before they blow up.  The best humor is created around a situation in which everybody can laugh, but never laughing at one person's expense.  People with a good sense of humor often laugh at themselves.  This practice can create a safe environment in which others become more willing to take similar risks.