Diminishing group project stereotypes

The 8 types of people in a class group project:

1. The control freak
2. The lazy one
3. The brainiac
4. The cheerleader
5. The clueless
6. The bad idea generator
7. The procrastinator
8. The worry wart

And more.

We have all worked with these people. We all also are one of these people.

I am guilty of being the worry wart. Or the control freak.

Whereas these rolls exist no matter what group project you are working on, some projects bring them out, or diminish them more than others.

Working on a creative project, like editing a video on Premiere or altering a photo on Photoshop, diminishes these labels.

Being a Digital Media major, I have worked on many projects that involve creating. Creating in a way that is different than most group projects. For example, most group projects consist of an analysis, an essay, an argument, and/or a presentation (probably Power Point). Projects like this are where I see these labels defined in people.

These projects are no doubt creative. However, creative projects like creating a no dialogue short film are different.

Recently, one of my professors assigned a project doing just that: creating a 4-6 minute no dialogue short film with a group of 3–4 people.

Here is the final product:

Raft

Every one of us had our label. However, they were more difficult to see in a project like this.

One reason I think this is true is because everyone in that class is passionate about what they are doing. They are in Digital Media because they love to create or want to learn how. They want to be proud of their work, like this video. Everyone is a little bit of a control freak.

Lazy group members come out of their shell because they have to act, film, assemble a tripod, edit, etc. They do not really have a choice.

Every group member becomes a brainiac in some sense. Someone is the expert on camera operations, another on editing or acting or directing.

With every step, encouragement is needed. “Yes you can get that shot!” “Of course you can act out that scene!” “That is such a good idea for the edit!” We are all cheerleaders in projects like this.

If you are clueless on something, you won’t be for long. These projects are collaborations; you learn as you go. Not only will you learn on the spot but you can also ask your group members. We all go into part of the project being clueless.

Creative projects highlight amazing ideas. However, they don’t all start that way. So many bad ideas are thrown around until a few good ones are found. The entire group starts out as a bad idea generator.

Procrastination will never go away. We are college students — what else can people expect? However, we push each other to get things done, get them done well, and get them done ON TIME.

Finally, the worry wart. I know that I can only speak for myself on these things, but I relate to this one the most. I get so involved and so passionate about some of these projects that I become worried. I want them to be amazing.

I think students put more into creative group projects. They know they are walking away from the project with something that they created, that they can show off and be proud of. That motivation pushes group members to diminish the stereotypes behind group projects.

Work on a creative project if you can. Sometimes it’s fun to become the cheerleader.