#FEATURE: Group Requirements: A Blessing or a Bane?
by Andrei Clyde Arellano
Another group work
“Alright class, so this work will be a group project, and I’ll let you choose your groupmates,” the teacher announces to the class.
Immediately, the atmosphere begins to change in the classroom. A dash of joy, a twinge of dread, and a pinch of indifference mixes in the air like a cauldron of emotions. Each student has a different reaction to participating in a group project, but rest assured, they won’t finish it unaffected.
The Positive
If there is one thing that many people and studies repeatedly claim to be a benefit of group work, it is its ability to get students to interact with one another and learn various skills.
“Group projects help students learn group interaction, dynamics, [and] cooperation,” said Ma’am Leng Painaga, guidance counselor of grades 11 and 12.
On the forefront is the development of communication skills. Group projects force students to learn how to talk to one another, for various reasons. These reasons range from sharing their idea to the group, to clearing up a misunderstanding, and many more.
“It offers an opportunity to learn how to balance academic abilities and social skills, which could not be learned in a work-on-your-own context,” commented Ma’am Maybeline Pacia of the Guidance and Counseling Unit (GCU).
In this way, students learn to appreciate the benefits of healthy communication, and it allows them to be less reclusive and open themselves to others. By sharing ideas, they contribute to the group, and become less anxious around others as a consequence.
A student from Batch 2021 agreed with the sentiment saying, “[group works] helped me interact with different people and helped me learn how to approach them.”
Curt Tecson of 10-Gluon believes that, “the best group projects are always the ones where everyone helps in making the project and everyone communicates well.”
This, in turn, promotes camaraderie because by opening oneself to others, they develop a bond and appreciation of each other’s uniqueness and accept one another’s differences. Albriz Bagsic of 10-Tau cited it as his reason why he prefers working with a group.
“I prefer working with [a] group because I feel like if I work with a group, I can know people even better. Through group work, I can also have fun while doing them.”
Collaborating with other people for a requirement can also lead some students to understand others better, accept their imperfections, and help them improve while improving themselves.
Nikki Datlangin of 11-A claimed, “group projects have brought me closer to a lot of my classmates, and when you really empathize with their stress and mindsets, it’s easy to keep your cool and be understanding when your groupmates can’t show up to do the work.”
It can even pave the way to developing leadership skills, and helping students to overcome their personal barriers, and take the initiative and answer the call.
“I became more extroverted by working with other people,” Datlangin continued. “It was through group projects that I learned to take initiative and develop my leadership skills, which prepared me for the officer positions I have now.”
These benefits, along with the added skills of time management and project management, makes group projects a commonly used tool for educators to teach their students important skills that are useful in the long term.
On the downside
The harmful effects of group projects are just as significant as its benefits. They impact students just as greatly, and leave their own marks.
First and foremost, due to the different personalities and temperaments that comprise a group, infighting is not uncommon. When students with different work ethics and different beliefs join together, it becomes a breeding ground for misunderstanding.
Karl Bueser of 7-Garnet believes these conflicts of ideals to be the main sources of discord in a group. “The common reason for fighting or disagreements in a group is when two people have their own ways of doing a project,” he said.
These misunderstandings, if not addressed properly or responsibly, may lead to disagreements, and eventually, quarrelling. This does not only carry the risk of the project being impeded or otherwise slowed down, but also may have a long term negative effect on the disposition of the students.
For example, groupmates may become more irritable, less trusting, or even stricter with others for fear of a repeat of past events. A Batch 2020 student shared their story of how they became more strict after a group project with a difficult groupmate.
“I had to learn to be stricter (both with myself and my groupmates) the hard way. […] I had to tell myself that giving people credit even where it isn’t due will not and is not the best option oftentimes. This also made me more conscious of my own contributions to group projects, and I also made it a habit to admit and apologize to my groupmates where I know I have shortcomings.”
Even moreso, some students may feel they are lacking in capability or usefulness if other students take control of the project and leave others confused and unaware of the subject matter being taught.
When asked what traits of group members bothered them during group projects, a Batch 2021 student stated, “when a member tries to solo all the work to the point where your ideas can’t get through anymore.” When asked how they normally deal with such types of group members, the student concluded, “I try to conform to them as much as possible.”
Reina Benoza of 7-Sapphire also complained that, “[group projects are] really annoying. [It’s] either you do all the work or none at all because your groupmates take everything then blame you for ‘doing nothing.’”
Moreso, when some students control other students so much so that it begins to irk them, or worse, hurt them. Benoza, when asked what traits of group members bothers her during group projects, stated, “leaders who blame everything on their group mates.”
Karl Bueser also believes that “no one likes” a groupmate who is “bossy to the others.”
To add to this, when a member or members fail to do their part, others may have to take it upon themselves to do their work, thus having more workload than what is ideal. This may contribute to physical exhaustion on the part of the students, as well as irritability and other negative emotions, which can take a toll on the students’ psyche.
Albriz Bagsic said that, “group projects […] affected me negatively when the tasks are unequally divided and my tasks ended up being more difficult and exhausting.”
Aris Ocania of 7-Garnet believes that a large portion of disagreements in a group can be attributed to having lazy people onboard. In addition, Erin Clemente of 7-Diamond stated that freeloaders are one of the types of groupmates that bother him.
People who do not work as diligently as other students are one of the most frequent complaints of students in group projects, and it is a common reason for infighting that occurs in a group.
Dealing with group requirements
Realistically speaking, one cannot avoid having to work with others, and the skills learned from these sorts of activities are quite important when leaving the school environment. Group projects might be here to stay, but it fails to mean that the negative feelings have to linger with them.
“It is always best to have an honest and open communication in a group. If [a] problem arises, talk to each other. If it gets too much, ask for help. Moreover, make sure that every person has something to contribute. No one should be burdened to do all the work by [him]/herself. Teach each other to be responsible as well as to do one’s best in each task he/she is given,” says Ma’am Aiza Lagahit of the GCU.
Ma’am Pacia also shared her sentiment. “Bottomline, I still think that the best way to resolve conflicts like this is through constant and effective communication. This, if coupled with proper planning and collaboration, can increase the chances of such activities drawing out the best to the students.”
“Communication is key,” a statement said quite often, and for good reason. Truly, there is no better advice than to talk to the people that one is working with. Effective and healthy communication is crucial to maintaining a positive relationship with the group. With honesty, it can help prevent misunderstandings within the group, and leave everyone ready to continue working.
Patience with one’s groupmates is very important. Ma’am Maria Eleanor Painaga believes that “[the students] should be open minded about the shortcomings of one another, after all we are all humans and we make mistakes or mess up things. [What’s] important is we are willing to correct it and fix it if it happens.”
Truly, humans naturally have shortcomings, and while it may be frustrating to deal with such faults that one may not understand completely, it is important to hear one another’s side of the story. Reserve judgment after everything is over, because until it is, it may only prove detrimental to the group’s health and well-being, and subsequently, to the work’s output.
“Group work is essentially given towards a good cause,” believes Ma’am Aicha Valencia of the GCU. “If the students are taught effectively to learn cooperatively in a group, they will definitely achieve their goals with minimal issues.”
“Students need to learn to be flexible, be open to suggestions and feedback, be solution focused, acknowledge the uniqueness of each one [of] their individual differences, learn to bank on or capitalize each member’s strengths, and be goal oriented,” she thus concluded.
Final remarks
Group requirements are a blessing for some students, and a curse for others. Regardless of how a student may perceive them to be, they do not finish one without learning something about themselves and of those they work with.
The effect of these types of works to students vary greatly, and depends on each student’s unique mix of personality, ideals, beliefs, and outlooks.
It is imperative that teachers and educators understand how to support their students when they are having trouble with the work they assigned them, and to advise them on how to best handle the situation they are currently facing.
Some students really do need help when dealing with other people, and these authority figures should serve as their guide in doing so, seeing as they are people with invaluable experiences and wisdom to share.
Through this, students can learn to appreciate the experiences they have with their classmates and peers, and achieve the main goal of group work: to interact with your groupmates, and learn how to socialize with other people, in preparation for the challenge of taking on the world.
DISCLAIMER: This article was written last S.Y. (S.Y. 2018–2019)
Edited 28 August 2019, 8:53 PM: Grammar Errors
