GROUP PROJECTS ON STEROIDS!

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Even during a full 13-week (or five-month) term students find group projects among the most challenging, most frustrating of course requirements. Some courses that normally require group work in fall or winter drop the requirement for shorter terms because the challenges are compounded by the short time frame. It really is “group work on steroids” in order to get it done, to get it done well, to get it done well and on time.

 If you are enrolled in a course that has a group project component, you can review my earlier blogs on group work–wait, you might not have time for that! So here’s a short and dirty checklist of some of the challenges you are likely to run into that are especially waiting for the sprint session group project:

If you’re starting the project this week

  • Choose strong students to work with.
  • Get contact co-ordinates, meet immediately, connect daily.
  • Set the rules for meeting frequency, response to emails and group communication tools.
  • Set the goal for the project.
  • Set a group reward to celebrate the completion. (You also set your own personal reward for completing the project, regardless of how it turns out.)

Your group is a mix of 4.0 and Cs-get-degrees students. (This is the most common complaint any time of the year.)

  • Identify the keeners and the slackers–you know them by now.
  • Accept that life isn’t fair. Team with the keeners.
  • Map out the work and assign uncritical aspects to the slackers. You might have to be a bit political to do this.

You don’t have four days to plan the project.

  • Get the topic chosen. Choose the topic by lottery if you can’t agree.
  • Map the project on the timeline
  • Identify who is strong at what (research, presentation, statistics, etc.)
  • Chunk the project into tasks.
  • Assign tasks onto the timeline by name according to strengths.
  • Familiarize yourself with the project and communication tools the course expects you to use. All group members need to do this in the first couple of days.

People are behind after only one week.

  • Here’s a preventive: Update the project timeline checklist DAILY–email or update the job board daily. 
  • Use a collaborative checklist if one is available.

Choose your role carefully.

  • The key role is not the leader or the presenter–but go for that if that is your strength.
  • The key role is that of the documenter of the meetings, the one who connects everyone and summarizes meetings and progress by email or D2L group, or Job Board, the one who keeps the entire project backed up in case of ransomware or similar disaster. Be That Person! regardless of your other project roles.
  • Yes, you may have to carry more than your fair share. But also avoid getting guilted into overcommitment. This is a fine line that you balance by attending to daily checklists communicated to all group members.

You and your group are used to the pace of a standard term and find there is not enough time to complete the project.

  • Stop.
  • Reprioritize against the rubric.
  • Cut.
  • Reassign and reschedule.
  • Do this now, not the week of the deadline.

Resources that you need to complete the project are booked.

  • Meet or text the instructor and check for alternative access, resources or approach.
  • They are there to help you, and if you present your problems sooner rather than at the last minute, they will likely be more sympathetic come evaluation time.

The project is due and your key presenter drops the course. Or gets sick. Or something.

  • You don’t have catch-up time in a sprint course. The whole course is catching up on getting through as much material as a regular term. 
  • The preventive is to have a plan B for everything from each person’s contributions through to presentation to equipment failure.

It’s clear that despite your efforts, slackers are dragging you down AND YOU HAVE THE DOCUMENTATION TO SHOW THIS.

  • Depending on how many weeks are left, you can
    • (a) go as a group to the instructor for conflict resolution or
    • (b) individually take your concern to the instructor for suggestions. 
    • Do this while there is still time for remediation.

There. Does that get the adrenaline going? Good. It’s why group work in a sprint session is group work on steroids.

The bonus of group work, however–and the bonuses are more likely to happen if you are pre-emptive about the challenges I’ve mentioned here–are connections, maybe friendships, that will see you through your academic program and into your professional life. After each group project, you for sure know who to seek out in suceeding courses, and who to avoid!

Oh–if the anxiety gets too high, take the long view: The group project is not 100% of the grade or your overall GPA. Ten years from now, you are more likely to remember the people you worked with than the exact grade you got. So a little anxiety is not remiss, but keep it in perspective. And connect with me to brainstorm strategies for dealing with specific group work issues [email protected] 

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS PLEASE DIAL 911.