Group Projects
Emily: I’ve been tearing my hair out for weeks trying to the other members to send me their work. The final report is due THIS Friday. Now I find out nobody except for me has done anything. The other group members skip classes and refuse to set a time for any meetings. I hate group work. Why is it even a thing?
Zoe: Oh my god! I’m having so many problems with my group. Two out of four members are writing complete rubbish, and another member who was supposed to be doing some calculations in a spreadsheet has done them all wrong. I’m baffled by what he was trying to do, especially since the lecturer released a video explaining it in depth. I gently tried making some suggestions, but they ignored me. This project is worth 25% of the final grade so I really want to do well on it.
Jessica: The other members of my group were so slack I had to take over the whole project! I tried talking to the lecturer but they rubbished my concerns and said "it was reflective of the real world".
Molly: I’m so sick of group projects. I was losing my mind trying to get everything done before the deadline while other members were just blissfully going along for the ride. Then to top it all off nobody turned up to class to give our presentation except for me. I had to do it all by myself. Yet everyone in the group gets the same grade which sucks. I hate this uni.
Kevin: I just got an email from my lecturer about the group project. It says 'the grade on your Assignment is currently 0%. This grade will remain until I have had a chance to talk with you. Please contact me as soon as possible so that we can discuss your participation in this group assignment'. Is that my teammates making allegations? Because I did just as much work as them.
The rise of the group project
Despite their lack of popularity with students, the dreaded group project has become ubiquitous across most universities and faculties. It’s usually justified by stating that is good preparation for the real business environment and will foster skills like teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. Yet it is questionable how similar university group projects really are to those in the workplace and how valuable they really are.
In the business environment, the manager or team leader will assign project components to individual members and follow up on non-delivery. Those who don’t deliver will face consequences such as getting reprimanded by the manager, or possibly receiving an unfavourable performance review and a smaller salary increase. In contrast, in the university environment, individual contributions are frequently not tracked that carefully, or even if they are, the differences in contribution may have little impact on the grades members receive. This leads to some students slacking off as they believe that others will do the work for them (the social loafing / free rider phenomenon). The lack of clearly defined roles such as a manager, means that nobody really has the authority to ensure the various group members complete their contributions on time and to a minimum standard.
In the corporate environment, the manager will be tracking the project using established tools and methodologies, and with most workers being present in the same office, they can easily follow up with team members who are falling behind. A common complaint at university is that team members have a habit of not showing up to meetings and not responding to communication.
A further distinction is that at university the group project members are thrown together haphazardly, sometimes including people with limited skills and abilities. Whereas in the corporate environment, the manager will have some understanding of the skills of different team members and can form a group of people with certain minimum skill levels. Those who are completely unskilled wouldn’t get hired in the first place or at least not get assigned to a group project for which they are unsuited.
For whatever reason, a certain proportion of international students are able to gain admission to degrees despite having poor English skills. This adds to communication difficulties. Moreover, some of those students may resort to generative AI for their contributions, leading to worries that the group as a whole will be accused of academic misconduct.
An additional complication comes down to the purpose of university education. A way of structuring a group that yields high quality output which is appropriate for the workplace may not be as useful in a university setting where the priority is learning. In the workplace, team members may take on roles according to their strengths with the goal of accomplishing the project as efficiently as possible. If this strategy is followed in the university environment, some students may avoid tasks that involve skills they are weak in and hence learn very little from the group project. Yet if every team member is assigned to their weak area, the group project will quickly descend into chaos.
Why are group projects so popular? One big benefit is a reduction in marking and administrative tasks. In a class of 200 students, assuming groups are made up of four students, now the instructor only has to mark 50 projects instead of 200. Although each group project may be slightly longer than an individual project, they aren’t four times as long, meaning less time to mark and give feedback. Other tasks like answering queries are also reduced.
Another benefit is that stronger students can carry the weaker or lazier students. This allows the university to maintain a pretense that academic standards are being maintained and not have to confront the difficult issue that some students aren’t really meeting minimum acceptable standards. Students that may have failed for certain now have a chance at passing because the course work components of their grade are inflated by the work of other students. If universities were forced to fail those weaker students, that could have large potential flow on effects on fee revenue.
For students that have difficulty with other team members, there is often little recourse with academic staff dismissing concerns and even resorting to unsympathetic explanations such as "welcome to the real world".
A recent research review by Michael Thom found little evidence of benefits from group assignments. He noted that many of the studies that supposedly showed advantages were limited by weak research design. He recommended that instructors reconsider assigning group projects [1]. This is consistent with earlier research which found that business students who did a group project actually learned less than students who did a shorter project individually. In addition, when given a choice, nearly three quarters of students chose individual projects over group ones [2]. It seems that the structure and dynamic of group projects at university means they end up neither emulating the real world nor facilitating the learning of course content.
|
Note
|
Despite being frustrating, unpopular, and of little value for most students, group projects are incredibly common due to benefits to the university such as less marking. |
How to get off to a good start
Since students are stuck with group projects, what steps can they take to prevent them going off the rails? Unfortunately, there are always going to be team members who will not complete their fair share of the work for a variety of reasons. Try the following tips in order to get off to a good start:
-
Establish clear responsibilities. Discuss who is going to take responsibility for each aspect of the project.
-
Set basic expectations. Discuss when you are going to meet and how you are going to communicate. Establish rules around how quickly messages need to be responded to. Make it clear that the use of tools such as generative AI aren’t acceptable to avoid the group being accused of academic misconduct.
-
Create a detailed timeline. Some students will be tempted to leave things to the last minute. It’s a good idea to break work down into small tasks with a series of realistic deadlines. This gives early warning when someone isn’t staying on track and hopefully avoids last minute stress.
-
Outline clear consequences. Have clear consequences for not contributing as planned. Some group projects will have members give each other ratings or some other mechanism for identifying individual contributions. Make it clear from the outset if a member doesn’t contribute as planned, then it is fair for the other team members to give them a negative evaluation.
What to do during the project
During the project, pay attention to the following points to try and keep things on track:
-
Have regular meetings. Have regular meetings, whether real or virtual, to keep track of progress. Address any concerns early on before they become bigger issues.
-
Be professional. For better or worse, usually nobody is the manager or the boss of other team members (although some group projects assign someone to a manager role). Always be polite in your communications with other team members. Try to work together constructively even if some team members aren’t contributing as much as they should. Some team members might be lazy, but others could be dealing with personal, financial, or other issues.
-
Communicate openly and offer constructive feedback when appropriate. Communicate regularly with other team members to ensure the project is moving forward. If necessary, make suggestions or give feedback, but be very careful how it is phrased. Don’t fire off instant messages when you are angry or that have an accusatory tone. Make suggestions rather than telling someone to do something. For example, "I read the introduction you wrote and it does a good job of covering most of the issues. I wonder if you should also mention XYZ and ABC?".
-
Be adaptable. Projects rarely go as planned. Often things will take longer than expected. Be ready to adjust timelines and reallocate work as appropriate. It’s almost inevitable that one person in the group will become sick or experience some misfortune that impacts their participation.
-
Keep records. Keep clear records that show agreed tasks, deadlines, and so on. Also retain e-mail chains and other communications. These records can be helpful if issues arise, and you need to prove to the lecturer who did what.
Dealing with slackers
One major problem is dealing with slackers (also referred to as social loafers or free riders). Realistically, it is a tough issue to deal with, and despite any efforts by you or other group members, the problem may persist. Every project and group is slightly different, so not every suggestion will be applicable, but some things you can try include:
-
Set Expectations. At the beginning of the project have a discussion around everybody doing their best to achieve the deadline associated with each subtask. Make it clear that if someone is going to have problems meeting a deadline to communicate it with the rest of the group.
-
Communicate directly. Avoid direct accusations of laziness or not pulling their weight, but highlight that some deadlines have been missed and explain that it is putting the overall project at risk. Focus on specific examples such as "We noticed that the charts you were going to do are still incomplete. This puts us a week behind schedule and means that Molly can’t create the presentation". Refer back to the original timeline, responsibilities and expectations.
-
Ask about any problems. As part of communicating with the person ask if there is any issue that is preventing progress. Sometimes the person may not understand their task or be struggling to complete it for some other reason such as personal problems. Being sympathetic can sometimes be more helpful than accusatory.
-
Provide support. Sometimes, but not always, a lack of contribution is due to a lack of understanding or ability. Frustrating though it may be, and depending on the project guidelines, other team members may need to assist in some tasks.
-
Approach the instructor. As a last resort, approach the instructor. This decision should be made by the group. The instructor may or may not be receptive, but it is worth trying. Explain the steps you have already taken to fix the issue and how the slack member hasn’t improved. Use records that show missed deadlines and attempts at communication to show how the team hasn’t been able to resolve the issue. Rather than one member meeting the instructor, it is helpful to approach as a group. The university may have specific rules regarding how to deal with group members that aren’t contributing.
Be realistic though, some students may not put in a huge effort as they aren’t that invested in their education. Also, there is a difference between only making a modest effort versus completely slacking off.
Working well with students who have poor English skills
Universities have boosted international enrolments in recent years due to the large revenue it provides. In some cases, English language requirements were lowered to increase enrolments. This means that not every international student is proficient in English. How can group members with differing English skills work together in a way that is productive and minimises frustration?
Many international students will be fully engaged in the project, but the risk of one becoming disengaged can be minimised by following some of the previous suggestions such as having a clear timeline and well-defined expectations. Some additional tips include:
-
Be patient and communicate clearly. For busy students, it can be frustrating having to deal with communication issues, accept that communication isn’t going to be as easy as with native English speakers. Be patient and communicate clearly. Offer feedback in a constructive manner. Ask questions and paraphrase their responses to make sure everyone understands each other.
-
Allocate tasks according to strengths. It may be possible to allocate tasks in such a way so that those with poor English skills can contribute while avoiding areas that they find especially challenging.
-
Adopt a buddy system. There may be students who are proficient in English, and also fluent in the native language of the international student, who are willing to work as a buddy and assist in certain areas. Use shared documents and other collaboration tools so the buddy can make suggestions and monitor progress.
-
Allocate extra time. Extra time may be needed to clarify tasks or for the editing of contributions.
What to do if you are accused of slacking?
While it is unlikely that you will be falsely accused, it could happen. For this reason, it is important to keep records of your contribution to any group project. If you are accused, try these steps:
-
Stay calm. Avoid sending angry e-mails to the lecturer or other members of the group.
-
Gather the evidence of your contribution. This can include notes, documents, electronic communications, and other evidence.
-
Meet with the lecturer. Consider confessing to some trivial issues that could account for the accusation, while avoiding anything that could negatively impact your grade. An example might be, "I feel like I made a fair contribution to the group project, but I admit I was slow responding to e-mails. This could be the reason some group members were annoyed".
The other possibility, and hopefully you aren’t in this situation, is that you really did slack off and didn’t make a fair contribution to the project. This is a difficult situation, but it probably makes sense to admit to it and hope the lecturer can offer some chance to salvage a passing grade for the assignment.
-
Meet with the lecturer and be prepared to confess and state that you take responsibility. Point out various problems in your life that contributed to the situation, but try to avoid blaming anyone else.
-
Look for a solution. This might involve writing an extra report on your part of the group project, or some other way to make up for your lack of contribution. Provided the final grade for the course hasn’t been submitted, lecturers may have some discretion in this regard. (Some universities may have strict processes, meaning the lecturer has little discretion though.)
Remember, it isn’t necessarily the case that you will get zero for the project even if you slacked off. Rather, the lecturer might just lower the grade so that it reflects your limited contribution. It might still be possible to pass the course provided you do well in the other components.