The ability to work together marks one of the biggest good points to group projects. Students can form relationships with one another, learn leadership and conflict management skills and explore how to work as a team. Students can learn from one another since each member will bring a different background and skill set to the group. Not all students will enjoy collaborating. Just half of the students who participated in a college freshman group project analyzed by scholars at the University of Minnesota said they enjoyed collaborating (see Reference 1). However, students can learn from what they don't like as well as from what they do like.
Students working in group projects may complain that all members aren't taking on an equal amount of work. When any group of people works together, it's almost inevitable that one or two people will take charge and complete much more work than anyone else. Many times, another member or two will completely slack off and hardly do any work at all. To mitigate this possibility and also to appease students who worry, teachers can assign a group grade and also evaluate students independently.
Students working together can complete larger and more comprehensive projects than if they were working alone. Teachers can assign projects that last the whole semester and incorporate several assignments, such as a term paper, slide show presentation and lesson plan to teach other students in the class about the group's findings. Students can focus on one facet of the project, such as the term paper, while learning about the ins and outs of slide show presentations through talking with other students. Meanwhile, students still gain the in-depth knowledge of a topic that comes from working on it for a long period of time.
Teachers who assign group projects should allow at least some class time to complete them. When groups of students work together, finding time to collaborate outside of school can prove challenging since members may have conflicting schedules. For big projects it might be beneficial for students, especially those who are still in high school, to have periodic check-ins with the teacher to make sure students are staying on track with both the quality and quantity of work that's being completed.