Group Projects

The Dreaded the Group Project! Students tend to groan at the mention of group projects. It’s no wonder—group dynamics are complex! Most group projects wind up with groups that are too large, or 1-2 members do all the work. It’s quite common for groups to have a slacker or two in the group, or for someone in the group to go completely MIA until the end!
How can you turn this dreaded class assignment into a positive, value-added experience?

Instructors play a big role in making group projects become value-added learning experiences. Listed below are 7 suggestions for helping the group projects in your class become positive experiences for your students:

1. Keep the group size manageable. Group size should be between 3-5 students. Groups of 3 are best because there is little room for anyone to hide. Once the groups get larger they need to be managed more carefully using task specification, clearly defining outcome deliverables, group oversight and group status check-ins, a rubric for evaluating the final product, and a peer-evaluation for acknowledging each group member’s contributions.

2. Task specification: clearly explain what you want the group to accomplish and how you expect them to accomplish it.

3. Clearly defining outcome deliverables: define what the end product needs to be.

4. Group oversight and status check-ins: along the way, ask students to submit to a progress report. This could be done as a class mini-presentation as you ask each group to explain where they are in the process, and what’s holding them up. Treat status updates as a “grade-able assignment” and reward by giving points for progress.

5. Rubric: create a rubric for evaluating the final product. Share this rubric with the students at the beginning of the project so students will know what to aim for.

6. Peer evaluation: develop a peer evaluation form that asks members of the group to evaluate each other and support their evaluations with specific examples. Be sure to explain to students the importance of being honest in evaluating other members. This closely mimics the manager’s role in a working environment as managers have to evaluate and rank subordinates annually.

7. Self-evaluation: develop a self-evaluation form in which group members have to honestly evaluate themselves. Again, ask for supporting evidence through examples and specifics.

While there is no foolproof method for making group projects be successful, following the suggestions above will go a long way to helping ensure the project adds to learning instead of draining students’ energies!