Statistics and Statistical Programming (Fall 2020)/Working groups template
Working groups overview and goals
As described on the course syllabus, you will be assigned to a small working group at the beginning of the course. This will be a group of 2-3 students (exact numbers will depend on the final enrollment) with whom you may meet outside of class time to discuss, complete, and/or review your weekly (minor) assignments (as well as some of the research project assignments). The groups will rotate at least once during the quarter to ensure that you get to work with different members of the class.
The goals of the working groups are to support collaborative learning, peer support, and accountability throughout the course. This page provides some ideas for how you might approach your working group to help create a constructive and useful experience for everyone involved. Below, we have a list of suggestions that you might adopt or ignore depending on the preferences of group members.
Suggestions for effective working groups
Setup a time to meet (and make it recurring)
Set aside some time in the first meeting to get to know each other
Establish clear goals and expectations
Arrive prepared
Be patient, generous, and supportive
Give and receive effective feedback
You will also be asked to share and discuss your research project ideas in these working groups. These conversations are opportunities for feedback, which is an underappreciated aspect of effective collaboration. It turns out that giving and receiving feedback is a skill and you can cultivate it. Check out Liz Gerber's trifecta of feedback for some helpful starting points.
