PRO
In every level of my education, group projects have been a regular part of each of my classes. Teachers and professors gathered up unlikely groups of students to work together, divvying out responsibilities to create a cohesive project.
Group projects have received a bad reputation for that very reason — having to rely on someone else to get their work done on time in order for the rest of the work to be completed. I completely understand and resonate with this frustration, it can be really irritating to have to rely on someone else, especially when your grade potentially hangs in the balance.
I think there are a lot of important lessons to learn from group projects, though, even in those aggravating moments. Group projects allow students to gain effective communication skills with their classmates that will help them as they move out of an academic setting and into their careers. They also encourage students to problem solve and effectively manage their time and responsibilities amongst a group.
The Center for Teaching and Learning at Washington University in St. Louis noted that collaborating with other students helps them to better understand the material, as they are able to work through it with each other and hear each other’s perspectives. It also aids in the retention of information, as they gain new tools to process and organize knowledge.
Collaboration is also a huge part of most careers, and learning how to effectively communicate with coworkers, be able to troubleshoot problems and meet deadlines. It is important for students to have this background in working with other people so they are prepared as they head into their chosen careers.
Trust me when I say that I know just how difficult it can be to be working with students on an assignment, but I can also see how it will benefit us all in the long run to be able to be flexible in how we get our jobs done.
mkane10@ramapo.edu
CON
There is nothing more stressful, in my personal opinion, than trying to coordinate five plus people, who all have their own schedules and work, to get a group project done. Despite the groans and complaints of students everywhere, teachers and professors continue to assign group work.
For college students in particular, this is an extremely frustrating part of college life. I think professors see group work and projects as an opportunity to have students gain perspectives from their peers and teach team working abilities, but the truth is, as students, we cannot be bothered.
I am very capable of working as a team to get an assignment done. However, planning to meet to get said assignment done is nearly impossible when you have to coordinate between multiple college students and their busy schedules. According to Scholarship America, between 70-80% of undergraduate college students are now working while in college, around 35% of them working full-time jobs in addition to their class work.
It is hard enough to balance school work, personal life and work as a full time student. Some semesters I am struggling to get assignments in on time and up to my personal standards. When I see group assignments on the syllabus I know that it is going to be nothing but a struggle to get the work done.
I don’t blame my peers who are equally just as busy as I am, but sometimes people in group projects don’t answer messages or do their part of the assignment — and when a project is a group grade, this adds another level of stress and frustration that I do not think is necessary in class.
I believe that there are other ways to have group collaboration in class, such as in-class group work, or peer reviewing assignments on our own. Regardless, I think it would be a lot easier on students to get rid of group projects altogether.
oparisi@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @William-Fortunato, Pexels
