In academic and professional settings, group work is inevitable. Sometimes, a project requires more than one person to take the helm and make sure every aspect is precise. The experience can be rewarding when you have group members who know how to do their part.
Oh, how I wish that were always the case. As a college student, I often view group work as the bane of my existence – okay, that’s really melodramatic, but you know what I’m getting at. It’s not that I never like to work with others; when I have good project partners who do their work and don’t overstep, it’s wonderful, and I end up enjoying the class I’m in even more. Heck, I met my best friend, Cat, because we were paired for a presentation in our freshman year.
Most of the time, though, it isn’t a worthwhile experience. I’m sorry, why am I begging adults to do their part of a project/presentation? It also doesn’t help when there are partners who are completely MIA during the entire process of making the project, no matter how much you try to communicate with them. I had this happen to me in an English class and one of my partners did their part of our presentation so last minute that I made them present the whole thing because I was just drained.
I am completely empathetic with people being busy and I understand people work at their own pace; still, it is frustrating when nothing is communicated. I am the type of person who is particular about communication, so getting a heads-up regarding a project is important to me.
Then, there’s the other side of group work, where your partner did too much of the work even when you both agreed on boundaries. Overall, it can be nerve-racking when your grade depends on whether you and your project partner can actually get along or work accordingly and equally.
This isn’t me making a call to action to abolish group work, and again, I am not a supreme hater of group work, but when it doesn’t work, you can really feel it. You’ll also have an effective group you like working with and a professor just places you in a different group that is the complete opposite for variety. I get that it’s beneficial to learn how to work with other types of people and socially broaden your horizons– it mostly ends up being stressful, though.
In my opinion, group work should be confined to the class period. That way, you’re still getting to collaborate with others, and if the experience happens to be miserable, at least it’s only confined to that time spent in class. I think it also eliminates the frustration of time-conflicting schedules. That’s why I like group discussions because there isn’t that pressure to be graded heavily and if someone isn’t participating, at least the work is not intensive.
A friend of mine told me that some of her professors send out surveys after group presentations and I think that is also a great idea. Giving feedback this way helps express concerns and frustrations respectfully and can lead to some change regarding how group work is structured in the class. For some people, it may feel exhausting to go to a professor just to tell them how your group failed to work together (or work at all), and maybe you’re scared to come off as childish or uncooperative. Surveys ensure that all sides of a group presentation are represented, and you can get your point across.
Dealing with stubborn people is a part of life, but there are ways to remedy the frustration. At some points in my life, I will have to collaborate with unhelpful people, yet there’s a glimmer of hope of working with a hardworking, respectful person, and I think that makes all the difference.
I’ve had partners who were sick the day our presentation was due and kindly asked the professor if we could present another day so I wouldn’t have to do it all by myself. I’ve had partners who made sure to find the time in their busy schedules to meet up and work on our projects to make sure we were on the same page. Those are the people I will always respect. While not everyone is like that, I think it’s important to go into a group project with an open mind, and I’m trying to work on that myself.
I don’t hate group work but there will always be room for improvement in communicating concerns or frustrations and ensuring that everyone’s work can be represented equally.
