Florida International University Small Research Groups Project Analysis

Purpose: This goal of this assignment is to reflect on your group project experience, identify how you experienced the various small group concepts and theories during the group process, and evaluate your group’s performance.

Task: In this 5- to 7-page, double spaced paper that adheres to APA style, you will reflect on your group project experience, explain how you and your group members experienced the small group concepts and theories you learned this semester, and rate your group’s performance. Divide your paper into three parts: (1) describe your group project; (2) identify and explain the small group concepts and theories applied in your group; (3) evaluate your group performance. Here are some questions to guide your thinking. This is not an exhaustive list; rather, these are some prompts to get you started. Feel free to include information not identified below.

• Who are the members of your group?
• What did you experience when your group initially formed?
• How did you make decisions related to your group project?
• Was the work equitable across group members or did the majority of the work fall on a few group members?
• What are the positive and negative aspects of how your group worked together?
• What small group communication concepts and theories did you see present in your group?
• How did you experience these concepts and theories?
• Was it surprising to see these concepts and theories at work?
• What is your relationship with your group members?
• Do you think your group was successful in completing the group project?
• What were your favorite and least favorite parts of working in a group?
• What would you do differently if you were to do this project again?

A successful student will:

• Craft a 5- to 7-page essay that adheres to APA style.
• Use appropriate grammar, syntax, and organization (i.e. introduction, thesis statement, transitions, conclusion).
• Clearly and thoroughly address all parts of the writing prompt.
• Use specific examples from the text to support claims made in the essay.
• Submit the essay to the appropriate dropbox by the deadline.

*This assignment is adapted from Richardson, B. K. (2010). Movie makers: A creative small group project. Communication Teacher, 24, 30-34.