STATE-OF-THE-UNION: GROUP PROJECT

(Every term, I blog about group work once, twice, even three times. That’s because every term group projects are  the biggest source of frustration for students, from frosh to grad school.)

Last month, I blogged about choosing your group, defining your own role as recorder regardless of any other role you serve, setting individual and group goals, and getting started. For most students, there are six or seven weeks left in the term, with three to five weeks left before the project deadline.

Assuming that you and your group have had your first meetings, set your goals, chosen your topic and approaches, and assigned tasks to group members on a timeline, by now all is going swimmingly in a timely fashion, with everyone doing their part and you’re all headed for an A+.

Well, probably not. Most likely you have some concerns and reservations. Perhaps your group hasn’t even started because some members haven’t responded to your emails. Or you can’t all agree on a topic or approach. Or the work of some group members is below your expectations. Or work commitments aren’t being met. Or needed resources are in short supply. Any or all of the above is very, very common — almost the rule, rather than the exception — whenever two or more people work on the same project.

If this is your group, you may be hoping that if you wait as the calendar moves forward, others will kick up their sense of urgency. 

In the meantime, you are left with growing anxiety, perhaps anger, and the risk that the project will be a combination of crushing overload at the end without the desired quality or grade.

You likely have time to pull the project together, whether your group is just starting or is part way along. With three or four weeks left, this is an excellent time to have a project status meeting where you chart how far the group has come, what yet needs to be done, and what contingencies to allow for. It’s the time to plan for the unplanned: Someone gets sick. Campus goes into lockdown.

You can get this rolling with an email or discord, or D2L or whatever connection you are using, to schedule this state-of-the-union meeting. Before this meeting, sketch out an agenda. Outline the project with steps taken and what remains to be done. Leave blanks and question marks for other people’s input. Call it a draft agenda and draft project outline, as this approach  invites input while keeping you from coming across like the group dictator.

This is also a good time for you to outline for your own information what you would have to do if you end up having to carry way more than your share. Sorry to say that sometimes that is exactly what might happen, with the only bonuses being the grade and the knowledge of who you will and won’t pick to work with in future projects. Planning for it doesn’t mean that you will actually end up carrying the whole load, but planning for it means that you won’t be caught short on the project and other courses if it does.

What happens next? If the project stays on track or gets back on track, great. Keep recording. If you get no response or slack performance, you may need to consult with the instructor. If you do, you always contact the individuals you are concerned about first; that’s courtesy and it is almost always the first thing the instructor asks you to do if you haven’t done it.

Again, let me know about your group challenges. There’s still time for us to strategize [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.