Group Success

Dear Group Work Guru,

I don't think I have anything to contribute to my group. The three other students in my group are a million times smarter and more accomplished than I am. They understand what's happening in class more than I do. Isn't it best to just let them do the work?

Sincerely,
Struggling Student

Dear Struggling Student,

No! You should never let your teammates do all the work while you do nothing. It's great that you're in a group with talented students.

Group projects are designed for students to learn how to work with a variety of different types of people and negotiate different types of situations.

While it's good to find teammates that have different skills and experiences, it's also very important to make sure that you are able to work with those people.

It's challenging to work with a diverse group of people. That's for sure.

An adviser here at Drexel told me this story about a group of students who had to figure out how to work together. Names and identifying attributes have been changed.

Stephen, Rashida, Ellen, and Jens were assigned to work together for a project that would take two full terms. They decided to meet each week at 7pm on Wednesdays to check in with each other to make sure that their project was on track and moving through the timeline.

Stephen, Rashida, and Jens found Ellen exceedingly difficult to work with.

Before you start with your group project, it is important to for you and your team members to  complete some tasks necessary for the completion of your group project.

Think about your project. Plan what you want to accomplish.