You walk into class and see the desks rearranged. You realize you’re going to be working in groups. You hear your partner assignments, and you have no friends working with you. Now you have to figure out how to work with these new people, and gear up for a possibly uncomfortable experience.
Working in randomized groups is a universal experience for students. What do freshmen of NPHS think about group projects?
“I’m not really a fan of group projects,” said Alishba Syed. “I work better with people I actually know. I understand how to focus without being worried about the social aspects of the group.”
Studies show there are both positives and negatives to working in groups. For example, being in groups can be motivating. Humans have always been social in nature. However, student’s contributions can be imbalanced within groups, making it unfair for some individuals.
As Syed said, “Sometimes one person does all the work, which is just kind of irritating and unfair. It’s not right that diligent people who are actually doing the assignment get stuck with people who aren’t.”
Another student, Anaya Raimugia, said: “I don’t like group projects, especially in Mrs. Axt’s class who partners us up with people we don’t know. Sometimes being in groups like that is a little uncomfortable and can get awkward. Another negative is that some people may not participate as much as they should, or do as much work as other people.”
Raimugia sees the positives of group projects too, however. Studies have shown that students put in collaborative situations when doing school work have obtained and remembered more material than when working alone.
“Groups can help you get new perspectives and ideas, and working with new people might help you build your communication skills,” she said.
Freshman student Hannah Priolo, on the other hand, sees no benefits of working in randomized groups.
“Some people may say groups are good for you and help you stay on task since you don’t just talk to your friends,” Priolo said. “But I get off task because I’m not motivated to work with the new people like I would be if I was with people I knew.”
Not only are group projects unmotivating for Priolo, they are also anxiety inducing.
“I find group projects very nerve wracking because I feel like I don’t know how much effort other people in the group are going to put in,” said Priolo. “Sometimes people put in a bunch of effort, and I feel bad for not doing as much, or they put in no effort and I have to do all the work. When other people don’t do the work, the responsibility of the project starts to fall entirely on you.”
Another negative is having to navigate how to incorporate ideas of someone you don’t know.
“A lot of the time you’re not on the same wavelength as others because you’re not friends and don’t know each other as well. People tend to be on different trains of thought and judge other people’s ideas, so it’s easy to run into conflict,” Priolo said.