How to Deal with Group Projects
All morning my sister has been complaining about a group project. It's due tomorrow and she just found out two of her assigned group members haven't done their parts. Now she has the option of working all day and all night trying to get the project done for tomorrow, or explaining to the teacher why it is incomplete and hoping he'll have sympathy.
In theory, group projects should be very successful because they combine the talents, resources, and ideas of many people. But most of us know that this rarely happens. Sometimes, the group members fight about what they want to do so much that they never get anything done. Other times, there are people who aren't willing to do their share of the work, and don't contribute anything.
My sister's situation reminds me of a time in middle school when the same thing happened to me. My best friend and I had worked really hard on our part of a history project, and we were planning on meeting with the rest of our group in the morning to put it together the day it was due. But our group members hadn't done anything, and we panicked because we wanted a good grade. We skipped class work on it, and had managed to make the project decent before history class. But apparently, the deans found that even doing homework is not a good reason to skip class, so we failed the project anyway. I learned that I should have held my group members accountable for their part before the morning that it was due, and that I had other options for finishing the project, like asking the teacher for an extension or explaining to her the situation, other than skipping class. So I advised my sister to not neglect her other homework in order to finish this project, but work on it if she has time.
A math professor from Princeton University shares his advice on dealing with bad group members:
It is not at all inappropraite to e-mail your professor and let her know that the group is not functioning well...
But you should let her decide on a course of action: i.e., you are writing to say "this group isn't working well and I'm concerned about my abiliity to do a good job on the project, what should I do?" not "I demand that you move me into a different group" or "I demand that I not get the same grade as those jokers."
It's a bug, not a feature of groupwork that the strongest, most motivated students do more work. We want the best students to work harder... It might seem unfair that you have to work harder than the other students. But you know what? You probably work harder than other students anyway, which is why you're the one expending an effort to pull the group along, and why you're probably going to end up with a better grade in the course than your slacker classmates!
As for "What happens if, on presentation day, Group Member #2 stands up there with us and takes credit for something he had no part in?" the answer is, he gets some credit for work he didn't do. He doesn't learn anything about the material of the course, and you do. He gets a poor grade overall because he's been treating the rest of the course the same way he's treating the group project. A year from now you'll have forgotten his name.
http://ask.metafilter.com/59535/How-to-deal-with-bad-group-members
Comments
Hello. Your post just
Jess - Like
Jess -
Like you and your sister, I have experienced dilemmas occassionally with working with others in things like group projects. I can remember one time during my freshman year when my history teacher assigned our class a project on ancient Babylonia. We were supposed to assemble a slideshow, a quiz, and worksheet to later present to the class. I met with the two other boys in my group and assigned everyone an equal share. Two weeks passed, and the night before the project was due, I found out they neither of them had done anything and weren't going to be able to finish it that night either. I ended up staying up late a good portion of the night and finishing the project. The next day I talked to my history teacher and told him what had happened and why the project might not be A+ material.
That is why I completely agree with your post. After talking with my teacher, he gave my group more time to complete the project and gave me a higher grade in the end. Students shouldn't be afraid of their teachers because most are very compassionate and understanding.
In these instances, it easy to feel that assigned group projects are simply not fair, but you made a good argument against this when quoting the Princeton professor. "We want the best students to work harder... It might seem unfair that you have to work harder than the other students. But you know what? You probably work harder than other students anyway, which is why you're the one expending an effort to pull the group along, and why you're probably going to end up with a better grade in the course than your slacker classmates!" In the end, motivation will always pay off.
Thanks for your post. I hope to read more of your interesting articles.
Dear Jess, Like you and
Dear Jess,
Like you and your sister I have been in the same situation were a partner in your group doesn’t do his or her part. For some reason when I was in middle school I did all the work on the group projects. I always had partners that were not very motivated to do anything, so when it came around for them to do their part on the project I always did it for them. I have never really been in a situation where our group couldn’t finish the project so we had to skip school; I was always on top of it so that I would do someone else’s part. I guess life is that way, there are always going to be people that don’t want to do anything or help out, and you have people on the other side that will go the extra mile to get the project done no matter what.
I totally agree with the math professor from Princeton University, you shouldn’t do the other persons responsibility on a project. You should talk to the teacher in a professional matter.
Great post!!!
Sincerely,
Oliver Diamond
Dear Jess, Great post! I
Dear Jess,
Great post! I have encountered this problem myself during school, but I think that it also extends to many other aspects of life as well, making your discussion applicable in many areas of life.
I think everyone can relate to the situation you present in your post: "Sometimes, the group members fight about what they want to do so much that they never get anything done. Other times, there are people who aren't willing to do their share of the work, and don't contribute anything." We have all been in that situation of randomly assigned groups that don't exactly turn out the way we had hoped. It seems like the only thing to do in this situation is compromise, or, as the Princeton professor stated, simply go to the professor and ask for help. In a desperate situation, it seems to me that the most effective thing to do would be the latter; a teacher will understand the situation and will definitely be willing to work with the group to remedy it.
Unfortuately, this inefficiency is not only limited to classrooms. Take a look at politics today. This especially came to mind when I read the following: "In theory, group projects should be very successful because they combine the talents, resources, and ideas of many people." Government should clearly follow this theory, as it involves many talented people from different disciplines who can combine their knowledge to create fantastic solutions for our troubled world - yeah right, in our dreams. It seems like everyone is so concerned with interests groups and partisanship that nothing can be accomplished. The health care debate is a glaring example of this, quickly becoming a huge sore that has divided our politics, if not our nation. And who knows what debate is to come next: the war in Afghanistan, the climate change reform bills; the list is potentially endless.
Who knows - maybe in the future people will recognize this problem and do something to change it. A possible solution would be to encourage greater cooperation from as early on as elementary school. After all, if we can't cooperate and be productive with our classmates, how will we be able to do it with fellow polticians?
Keep up the great writing!
Max