These adages speak to the potential groups have to be more productive, creative, and motivated than individuals on their own. Ask students and they are going to say, “I hate group projects”. Teachers love them, students dread them.
5 Reasons Why Students Dread Group Projects
- There’s always a slacker in the group that hides behind the good students
- There’s usually one grade for the whole project
- Teachers usually assign the groups and it’s hard working with people you don’t know
- Coordinating time to work on the project is difficult
- Agreeing on ideas and content always causes conflict
5 Reasons Why Teachers Assign Group Projects
- Break complex tasks into parts and steps
- Plan and manage time
- Refine understanding through discussion and explanation
- Tackle more complex problems than they could on their own
- Develop new approaches to resolving differences.
While the potential learning benefits of group work are significant, group projects are no guarantee that these goals will be achieved. In fact, group projects can – and often do – backfire badly when they are not designed, supervised, and assessed in a way that promotes meaningful teamwork and deep collaboration.
No matter how much a student detests the group project, they will get them in college. Learning to handle them now, will alleviate a ton of heartache later down the road.
To do this, read Wendy’s post: 7 Ways to Get the Best Out of Group Projects
__________________________
Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Wendy and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!
The bonus is on the fourth Wednesday of each month when Wendy and I will host Twitter chat #CampusChat at 9pm ET/6pm PT. We will feature an expert on a topic of interest for parents of the college-bound.
Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from parentingforcollege to pocsmom.com and vice versa.