During your time spent as an undergraduate student at the University of Guelph, it is inevitable that you will be confronted by a variety of problems and obstacles both on-and off-campus. What remains consistent, however, through your academic career is not the frequency of those problems, but rather the way you choose to deal with them and adapt accordingly.
Group projects are one of the most difficult tasks a professor can give to a first year class—or any class for that matter. While some people have the fortunate pleasure of knowing familiar faces in class, not everyone is that lucky. In your early years of university, finding partners for a group project can be a daunting task—especially when a portion of your grade is on the line.
This article will aim to alleviate some of the confusion and frustration that comes along with group projects through a few helpful tips and recommendations. While this article is emphasizing the problematic structure of group projects, it is also important to note that the ability to work with others (regardless of how difficult it can be) is a crucial skill to develop during your university stay.
Establish communication
One of the most common errors during group project assignments begins with a lack of communication. The inability or unwillingness of each individual group member to organize and manage contributions leads to all kinds of issues within the group dynamic. Right off the bat, it is important to establish the kind of communication that will be needed for the assignment. If you’re group is attempting to collaborate for a seminar presentation, setting up a time to meet in person would be optimal. If your assignment requires multiple levels of research, an in-person meeting may not be the best option during the hectic school year. Whatever the type of assignment may be, it is important for you (and your group) to assess the kind of work that would be most appropriate to complete the task. By explicitly stating and highlighting your willingness to communicate with the group, other group members may be encouraged to do the same in order to keep every person on the same page.
Know your role
Evidently, your experience with group projects will be heavily shaped by the characteristics and personalities of the people you are working with. People tend to believe that each member of the group should be doing an equal amount of work—I tend to generally disagree with this advice. Instead, I would suggest assessing the dynamics of your group to find out where people’s strengths lie. If you are paired with a group member who frequently skips class or disorganized, it may not be the best idea to give them a task that requires strong organizational skills. By knowing what you yourself can bring to the group, alongside the strengths put forward by others in the group, each member can have the opportunity to contribute to the assignment in a meaningful way.
Delegating Tasks
Now that you have assessed what work needs to be done and evaluated who can accomplish those tasks, the open communication between all group members can help encourage and motivate others by working towards an end goal. As previously mentioned, nurturing communication is vital towards the overall success of your group project—while some members may not be responding to emails as quickly as others, it is important that above all, each partner knows exactly what their task is for the assignment. By delegating tasks and playing to each others strengths and weaknesses, each group member is able to identify their own specific portion of work that needs to be completed.