Nobody likes group projects because something always goes wrong. It is difficult to work with others as everyone has very different ideas on how things should be. No one likes being forced to do something they don’t want to, even if it is for a good grade. However, Rebecca Ingalls is correct in highlighting how important group work in school can be. All different types of jobs require working with others. It doesn’t have to be getting assigned a project to work on with peers. You will need to learn how to communicate ideas with your boss, other work sites within the company, coworkers who work on different tasks than you do, and much more. Later in life, you might need to work with way more than your peers, thus it is important to learn how to work with people. Even if you pick a job with less human interaction, you still have to interact with peers or family members to get certain tasks done. It is important to know how to communicate with others efficiently to get the job done. It doesn’t have to be a big project, it could be something like a birthday party. There are many situations where good communication comes in handy.
I always saw group projects as something done in school. I never really thought about how often people use those skills. I never considered how often you need to work with others for a common goal. Happens all the time without you realizing it because it wasn’t some big project talked about for an entire semester. Some of the things Rebecca Ingalls mentioned were really good tips, like keeping an open mind. You might have to work with difficult people who don’t see things the way you do. It is important to remain flexible and try to work as a team to get the job done. It is easier to do this when you realize that they are feeling the same way as you, that they aren’t being understood by their peer. So have patience and explain why you want to do things a certain way. I also loved the tip about having deadlines and meeting them. So many times group projects wait till the last minute because everyone is giving each other space to do their own work. Or schedules don’t work well so people wait till the last minute to actually do their part. Nothing stresses me out more than when group projects go like that. I think everyone who has to do a group project later in the semester should read this article. I think it helps with seeing things from different perspectives and helps demonstrate how to accomplish the task.
While working with others can be very difficult, I see how important it is. Sometimes it is easier to work with others rather than doing all the work yourself. It isn’t that bad to trust others to do things, as how others think or do certain things can inspire you. Everyone thinks differently and working together highlights that. You get to see firsthand how certain people handle things, and it might give you an idea of how to do things. They might have certain tips or tricks you would have never thought of doing. It is also nice to make new friends, that is if you have a group project that requires you to work with people you haven’t before. All things considered, group projects aren’t the worst thing ever. If it does go bad, it is easier to blame it on having to do a group project versus all the blame being on you. There is also always more you can do than just having one meeting deciding who does what. Rebecca Ingalls’ article does a great job at showing all the different things that could be done to help group projects go smoother while also explaining their importance.
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