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How to Survive the Dreaded Group Project

They suck. I know. We can do it, though.

By Cody DeitzPublished 6 years ago 5 min read
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Group projects are the worst—yes, the worst. They take a lot of time out of your daily routine, they are mentally exhausting, and they are universally disliked by college students, yet they are a common tool used by professors to develop communication and team building between students.

Though they may be the one thing at the bottom of your list, we are here to give you some tips on how to have an effective group project experience that will hopefully lead to a less taxing time together—and a higher grade.

Consider time management.

With a busy schedule between classes and extracurricular activities, it can become increasingly difficult to add more work into your schedule, let alone meeting with others. By keeping yourself more organized, you can better see all of the work that you have to do, so no assignment falls through the cracks.

A to-do list is optimal strategy for maximizing organization and creating a visual for all the work that has to be done. Look into purchasing some kind of planner, whether it is solely day by day, or if it is more extensive with week-by-week, monthly, etc.

One big problem is the device you may be reading this on as well. Try and keep your productivity up by turning off your phone. If you're like me and you like music in the background, try playing some soft music (the more lyrical it is, it could become increasingly distracting).

Another thing is other work getting in the way, which leads back to managing your workload and deciding when it is most appropriate to do each assignment. By getting the other work out of the way, it will open up some time for your group assignment.

When it comes to the group assignment itself, keep all other work out of the session. No one wants to hear about how you could be doing that other assignment in a different class, as it leads to a tangent and ultimately derails productivity for the group assignment. Try making a to-do list for you all to follow to keep everyone on task.

Have open communication.

It is important to keep yourself open communicatively to your group members as you all need to rely on each other for a successful assignment and high grade. These assignments may be easier with people you know, but sometimes professors assign random people into groups, which may lead to discomfort or awkwardness between members of the group. In order to overcome this, it is crucial to establish a solid method of communication, whether that is through messaging or email, in order to keep all members in the loop for work expectations and progress.

Some things that I have used are standard SMS messaging, Facebook Messenger, or GroupMe. The latter two options should be available for free in your respective app store.

Be respectful of others' opinions.

Throughout your communication with members of your group, it is also important to remember that your opinion is not the only one on the table. You may be used to just going with the flow for your own assignments, but group projects are not a one-man show. Be considerate of your group members’ contributions to the project and offer constructive criticism rather than destructive communicative actions that could lead to conflict within the group.

With that, also remember to accept constructive criticism for your own ideas, as there are many different ways to approach the same project, and some may be more effective than others.

Keep an open mind as well—the alternate perspectives that your group is offering may not be ones that you thought of yourself, and they may end up being point-worthy ideas.

Try coordinating schedules.

As college students, there are many more things on the average calendar than classes that affect our individual availability. With that being said, it can be difficult to find time that works for all members of the group to meet somewhere and crank out the assignment.

As soon as the assignment is given, find common availability between members ASAP to maximize the amount of time you have together to work on it. This strategy ensures that the closer it is to the deadline, it could be less hectic for you and your groupmates.

Try coordinating work load.

Sometimes it is inevitable to have the student that doesn’t give 100% in your group. In this case, it is important to be realistic in expectations and plan ahead accordingly. Divvy up the work equally that it doesn’t land more stress on any one person whether it is by point value or paper length.

Discuss the time that you plan on having your portion done by, so others can work around that with their own schedules. Finally, check yourself that you are giving your groupmates your 100% and you are not being “that person” that is dragging along.

Be upfront and honest.

Like I mentioned, you may end up with a slacker.

If you are the slacker, be honest with your group. If you have something going on that is eating up your time then you have to articulate that so the workload can be better dispersed. It is better to say something sooner rather than later, so if you know there is going to be an issue, say something. If you are just not completely into group projects, maybe you could ask your professor to do it alone or an alternate assignment (but let's be real, you really should work on your interpersonal skills since you'll be working with people for the rest of your life).

If you find the slacker in your group, maybe it would be appropriate to talk to them one-on-one instead of calling them out in your group. Not only is talking smack on them inappropriate and not solve the issue, the student may have major stressors on them (such as a death in the family or something). Talk to them one-on-one and see if you can help them, or maybe give them advice on how to do the assignment efficiently.

Going to the professor can be a good or a bad thing. If you are going to them and saying that no work is done before you talked to the student yourself, it could be in poor taste.

I know I would rather someone tell me there is an issue right to my face as compared to a third party, wouldn't you? That being said, if there have been discussions around the lack of work, then it would be appropriate to contact the professor. There is no reason your grade should reflect how others decided to work on the project, so make it known.

Group projects aren't the greatest thing, but they definitely are manageable. Good luck, and be the best group member you can be!

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About the Creator

Cody Deitz

I'm just a graduate student that loves music, reading, and too much Netflix.

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