Every semester, I hear at least one complaint from a student
about hating group work, having a lousy group, or disliking one of their team
members. I try hard not to say ‘suck it
up, life isn’t fair,’ and concentrate on explaining the benefits of learning
how to deal with a diverse work group now, when their paycheck isn't on the line.
Sooner or later, most of us will deal with having to accomplish a
project with someone that either is difficult to work with or doesn’t do any
work at all. Hopefully it isn’t all of
the time (in which case, organizational fit might be an issue.)
Working with a diverse group can be a challenge, but can
also be a project-saving grace. I often
mention my enthusiasm over personality tests and tools like True Colors, that
emphasize the benefits of having people with alternative perspectives. Sometimes students are so immersed in their
own viewpoint that they forget there are other ways of approaching group
projects. Who wants a project that is
organized but boring, or entertaining/colorful but doesn’t accomplish project
expectations? It really does take those
of multiple perspectives to address different aspects of a large project. If there is one person that appears to be the
‘boss,’ I may have a private discussion about servant leadership and the
importance of soliciting input. I
sometimes give out handouts or links to help student groups, like this one: http://blog.cengage.com/tips-for-students-how-to-survive-your-group-projects/
In the case of the free rider (the student that does NO work
on a team project), I discuss different options and suggest the group discuss
the problem with their instructor. One
option is to divide the project into separate sections that are completed by
one person, then merged together.
Another option is to ask the instructor to talk to the ‘free rider’ or to
allow peer grading of individual contributions as an incentive to participate
equally. In some cases, I have heard
from the student that is perceived as the ‘free rider’ – who may feel
intimidated by other more-vocal students or ostracized from a group. This is a tough conversation, because it reminds me of junior high and the in-crowd vs. the outsiders. And yes, often the folks that are perceived as
the poor group members are those that
have spent a lifetime on the sidelines, with less developed social and verbal
confidence, sometimes they are students from different ethnic/socioeconomic
backgrounds, or those with learning issues.
Some students are just plain shy, and get left in the dust by the
enthusiasm of the go-getters. At times
the issue isn’t ability to do the group work, but the over-commitment of time
that some of our students experience: They are distance learners or without
transportation to meet, or they are parents/employees/students all at the same
time. There are multiple sides to every
story. Sometimes, students are not all
capable of doing group work, this is where having assignment options comes in
handy.
But the good news for fans of group projects is that group
work is not only relevant to the real work world, there is research that
documents the improved learning outcomes that groups can accomplish. Here’s a few article links on the benefits of
group projects in course design:
And for those who want to emphasize the career-importance of
mastering team skills: http://www.careerealism.com/soft-skills-job-seekers/
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