Creating Group Norms, an Essential in Teaching Collaboration

One of the first things I did with my students before I began our first group project was to establish group norms. I showed my students a list of potential group norms and we decided as a class, which ones we felt were our non-negotiables. We wrote them on a giant sticky note and had it visible at all times. At the start of each group work session, we revisited the group norms and chose one that we were going to make our focus for the day.

Below is a list I nabbed from a human resource website with a more detailed list of group norms. Click here to go to this site. It is written using corporate language but with a few modifications, I feel these make great group norms as well.

• Team members as coworkers: all team members are equal; every team member's opinion will be thoughtfully considered; each team member will keep all commitments by the agreed upon due date; each team member agrees to constantly assess whether team members are honoring their commitment to the team norms.
• Team member communication: team members will speak respectfully to each other; will not talk down to each other; will positively recognize and thank each other for team contributions.
• Team member interaction in meetings: team members will listen without interrupting; hold no side or competing conversations; follow the rules for effective meetings; attend the meeting on time; always work from an agenda; minutes will be recorded at each meeting; end meetings on time.
• Team organization and function: leadership will rotate monthly; the team management sponsor will attend the meeting, at least, monthly.
• Team communication with other employees including managers: team members will make certain they have agreement on what and when to communicate; complaints about team members will be addressed first in the team.
• Team problem solving, conflict resolution, and decision making: team members will make decisions by consensus, but majority will rule if timely consensus is not reached; conflicts will be resolved directly with the persons in conflict.