Isaac Myers ’18
THE ROUNDUP
When was the last time you did a group project that ended with everyone doing a fair amount of work?
Most likely it has been a while.
My personal experience with group projects leave me or others with a stressful workload that was not evenly distributed among the group.
I will admit that when working on a group project ideas converging and contributing can make for an incredible finished product. But that implies all members give their part.
Unfortunately, more often than not, you are not blessed with a dream team of hard workers that are ambitious for an A grade.
Instead, one or two people do most of the work while everyone else leans on the proverbial shovel.
In this instance, the project most likely will not reach its full potential and will fall flat of your desirable grade.
While the project may yield a better finished product, decisions take more time in groups. One cannot go with their first instinct; they have to introduce their ideas and listen to others until they can come to a final consensus. This poses a problem due to the need of urgent decisions to reach a deadline.
Conflict does not only come from members not doing their work, but when everyone has a different attitude towards the quality of the product.
Some members may work hard for the A grade, and others may just be working hard enough to pass.
Working outside of the classroom, it is key for everyone to keep communication with each other. Nothing is worse when a member never responds until it is too late.
Ultimately these problems are real life; we are bound to encounter these issues in the workplace. Learning to deal with this now is important, but so is a just workload and grade.
When starting a new group project, it is smart to assign sections of the work as a first priority.
The mindset of a “slacker” may be to hide in the darkness and wait until the ones in charge of the group reluctantly take all work for themselves.
Assigning work in the first stages of the project will prevent miscommunications and get the idea fresh in the member’s mind.
When a teacher announces that students will be working in groups, some will cheer, and some will boo.
Every member must work together because there is no I in team.
