The Cupped Hand and the Open Palm

The Roskelly article and the factors she lists about why group projects fail really says all the reasons I dislike group work.  The statement about the one student ending up doing all the work was sooo me.  I am the type of student who always aspires to get the “A” for any assignment.  This would always lead me to ensuring that all the work submitted for the project was up to par.  Most times it wasn’t and I seemed to be doing a lot more of the work than anyone else in the group.  I guess after analyzing myself I fall under the category of one who doesn’t trust the work other people are submitting.  I am the “untrusting chief.”  Also, group projects often required an oral presentation as well.  I would be mortified sometimes when the group members didn’t know what they were talking about, trying to bullshit their way through their part.  Or it would be that I would wind up doing a majority of the talking to avoid that occurring.  I really dislike the feeling of being accountable or someone else being accountable for the grade being given.  I understand that there are some good things to come out of them as Roskelly discusses.  Ideally, it alleviates the pressure of the student feeling like all the work is on them.  It also allows the students to hear different perspectives and alternatives ways of seeing things.  The idea of making sure the group project has focused tasks and benchmarks to hit is important for it to be successful.  Even though I have a strong dislike for group assignments, I will still include them into my classes