How to: Survive a Group Project
We’ve all been there, sitting in class when your professor assigns a week long group project. Everyone sighs sadly, rolls their eyes, or attempts to locate their friends in case you will be able to choose your groups. I’ve personally had good and bad experiences with groups, but here are some tips to navigating this system.
1. Be up front with expectations. Before you start any work, talk about expectations you have with your group members on how you expect everyone to act, who is responsible for what, and determine consequences for actions. Everyone knows the feeling of having to do all the work, so each member should choose the consequence of not participating, whether that is informing the instructor or another method.
2. Have clear roles. Define who is going to do what, and what their exact responsibilities are. This way there is no confusing who was supposed to research that topic.
3. Meet out of class. It is tempting to do all the work in class, but by having at one meeting in the library, or in a class, you can focus on bonding with members without a time constraint.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If your group is struggling, be sure to ask your professor for help, or clarification on a task.
5. Don’t stress! Working with people can actually be a fun process. Work is divided up, and you can meet some great people.