Group projects suck. I hate them. Don’t get me wrong, I think interaction between students is an important part of the educational process, but forcing them to write a paper together is almost always a bad idea.
Now, there have been a few instances where group projects are acceptable or even enjoyable. Usually these assignments have been for my Spanish classes. In high school we always had to form small groups and perform random skits. They were fun, they were a chance to be creative, and for the most part we were graded on our individual speaking ability.
However, a group project that does not take the form of a presentation or a skit, but rather an essay, is usually a recipe for disaster. And if you’ve ever had to do this, you know what I mean. The work load doesn’t get split up evenly, someone doesn’t do what they’re supposed to, the group doesn’t agree on some key point, and even when the thing finally gets handed in no one is completely satisfied.
Teachers: listen up. If you must insist upon inflicting some sort of group project on you pupils, here is how it should be done:
1. It should not be an essay in any way, shape, or form. It should be a public presentation or skit, where the amount of work each member does is obvious and everyone has a chance to play on their strengths.
2. When grading, there should be an easy way to separate the individual members of the group. Students should never be assigned a “group grade.” This usually involves good students getting worse grades than they should, and bad students getting better grades than they should.
3. The project should not count for a large part of the grade. Like I mentioned in #2, group projects tend to have a neutralizing effect on grades, and it’s unfair if it counts for a huge portion of the overall grade.
4. The project should involve some sort of creative element. Students are more likely to take creative risks in groups. A student might not be willing to make a video presentation by himself because of the social fears of failure involved, but he might if the risk was diffused amongst a group. Use the opportunity to find out what the students can create without social inhibitions.
So that’s my advice to teachers. And it’s not just the complaining of one introverted student who doesn’t play well with others, I’m almost positive most of us feel this way. Take it for what it’s worth.
