It’s final season, which means plenty of group projects for everyone. Here are some of my overdramatized thoughts that may pop into your head during group projects.
1. Who are my group members?
As soon as the words “this will be a group project” come out of your professor's mouth, this is what comes to mind. The first thoughts that start to develop are "oh great another group project." I wonder: Who are my partners? Do I have to pick or will this be left up to the fate of my professor? Either option has pros and cons. The biggest concern is their character.
2. Will I be doing all the work?
After your partners have been assigned, now comes the point of evaluation. Who are these people ? Are they reliable? Are they easy to communicate with? The dreaded number one thought that comes to mind is will I have to take on the entire workload? Everyone plays their part, but are you going to have to take lead (I hope not)?
3. Am I being graded individually?
You may be the leader of this project, but you may also be the slacker. It’s ok, we all have been there. The real question to ask is does this professor want to see how you work in a group setting and grade you separately based on your performance? Or do they want to pull out the popcorn and watch and see if you sink or float together? It’s really a coin toss depending on the professor.
4. Do I have time to work on this project?
You have been assigned a group project, but what does this entail? Will this project keep me up all night? Do I have the time to actually put in effort? How much of this actually impacts my grade? Do I care?
5. Do we have to meet?
Does this require a presentation? Do I have to take extra time to meet up with these random people? Will they actually show up? It’s all a gamble.
6. What is the point of this project?
This project may just be ruining my life. I came up with an idea, I put in effort, and now my professor is adding more ? Why does this even matter ? Will I need to know about this 20 years from now? Is this a waste of my time (probably)!
7. Is this over yet?
I feel like this project has consumed my life for way too long. Do you know that I could have so many other meaningful things with my life? I just want to present this and get it over with. Then I can put this all behind me, well at least until I get assigned another one of these.
That group project is finally over, but remember this is a vicious cycle and all these thoughts will repeat themselves! At least know you aren’t the only one that hates groups projects
