Poll: The Scourge of Group Work in the Scholastic Environment

[Koroviev]

I have been a student for a good fifteen years now. In that time, I have done my share of group work.

And that of everyone else.

Yet I have no choice. What is the alternative? To let the imbeciles wallow in their own incompetence, as they drag me down with them? I cannot speak for everyone, but this has always been my experience with group work. I have come to the conclusion that that average person cannot be entrusted with the simplest of tasks.

Case in point:

I am currently taking a psychology course in college. My peers and I were recently assigned a group-oriented project. The topic, anxiety disorders, is simple. And so it should follow that the research is simple, that no one could possible screw up. However, to assume something so logical would be terribly naive of me. Fearful of my grade's prospects, I immediately volunteered to lead and compile the project. Reflecting the simple nature of the whole thing, a power point, I merely asked that everyone write me a paragraph or two of research with in-text citations.

What did I get? Web pages copied and pasted, without quotations. At least they had the overwhelming courtesy to include bullshit citations.

To be honest, I was shocked. I mean, I didn't expect much, as evidenced by my directions, but this? Really? I mean, it's just pathetic. I had already planned to do most of the project myself, but now it looks like I seriously overestimated my peers. A fucking paragraph is beyond them. A lousy paragraph. Just...wtf.

[/rant]

For your discussing pleasure:

Has your experience with group work been positive or negative? Examples welcomed.
What is your general opinion of your peers? Why?
How would you describe your relationship with the general population?

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Man that sucks, you'd think if they're taking the course they'd at least make some effort.

There is a select group of 1-2 people I would trust in group work...

I have had some really stupid group work experiences... thankfully none of them were important.
I try to take lead so I can do the same as you and cut the lazy ones out completely.

I hate most people That is all...

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

I find that if I don't eventually take the lead, the group usually falls apart. I don't usually care for being a leader, but I will lead if I have to. And most of the time I do have to.

Perfect example is today in my baking class, where we were baking a pumpkin pie. Everyone in my group was messing around with the pie crust, while a friend and I were making the filling. By the time we finished, they should've been finished with the crust. They hadn't even made the dough, and instead were just standing around talking. Eventually I had to take charge and make it myself, and we got it in the oven right before the teacher came to chew us out for not doing the work.

 

[WolfThomas]

In Highschool, they sucked, I did the bulk of work and on one occaison I got a lesser mark than a team member, simply because the way they presented our my work looked prettier.

But in university, they're not too bad, in fact I've almost become the slacker in group assignments. This is because in my course (medicine) there's a lot of OC people who "must" handle everything. But yeah generally I find division of labour and compilation goes quite well and it feels like less work.

 

[Hader]

My groups always tend to suck in one way or another, usually its laziness or just that most are just plain shy. In group discussion I almost always have to lay down the simplest framework to get people to even open their mouth. For projects I am a bit luckier in that I often get at least one other group member who is willing to put some effort into it. But aside from that, it's always a lazy group who does close to nothing productive. Unless it's my close friends I am working with, strangers or mere acquaintances just decide they would rather not give some effort. Hell, they could start by introducing themselves...some cant even do that.

 

[Oyster_Boy]

I find it depends on many many things, the nature of the people in the group, their relations with each other, the subject matter, their interest in it etc.

To give an example, on my course there are elements of Philosophy, History and English. During group work for English, one person may take the lead and guide the rest of the group through, in Philosophy I might take the lead, in History it may be another person again. And this is all with the same group of 4-5 people.

I agree that your groups contribution was shoddy, but at the end of the day they're the ones who will fail the course whereas you will likely attain a high grade, and a piece of group work in a class is much more like a piece of work to prove you understand it rather than anything else. So you'll end up a winner regardless.

 

[Shockolate]

Only if it's people you know.

The entire reason I started alternative learning methods was to avoid being forced to do stuff with people younger then me.

I have a very small comfort zone, which I will admit, I'm a total fuckwad for leaving in the first place.

 

[Tartarga]

In grade school it wasn't that bad everyone contributed so we could get the work done sooner and go goof off. But in my early years of high school I would always get stuck with the laziest bastards in the class and be left to do everything myself, nowadays whenever i'm in a group I always seem to get shunned while the other people do everything and leave me to fail for not participating. I freaking hate working in groups.

 

[Koroviev]

Only if it's people you know.

The entire reason I started alternative learning methods was to avoid being forced to do stuff with people younger then me.

I have a very small comfort zone, which I will admit, I'm a total fuckwad for leaving in the first place.

Based on my experience with them on the discussion boards, I am under the impression that everyone in my psychology group is quite a bit older than me. I find it odd that they are sinking money into a course that they apparently can't be bothered with. Their discussion responses are atrocious. One of them said that she felt society would someday eradicate "racism against homosexuals." If only she were addressing a problem that actually existed.

 

[MasterOfWorlds]

I've run into the same problem numerous times. I don't mind working in a group if either A) they know what we're working on, or B) I know them and we work well together.

I'm hoping to do sociology research after I get my Ph. D. so working in a group is sort of required unless I want to do tons of number crunching by myself, which isn't xactly my idea of a fun weekend. Although I suppose that's what interns are for...


At any rate, it really depends on who you're working with and if they know even the smallest amount of the topic your working on.

I once had an anatomy project with a guy I didn't get long with very well. We had to explain what a period was and all the hormones and such that goes along with it. It didn't go over very well considering we didn't work well together and most of the class was female. My anatomy teacher had a sick sense of humor. I got him back by calling his lecture on reproduction "anticlimactic" so I suppose that made up for it.