The Downfalls of Group Work

When I first started teaching at a local college, I made it a priority to assign group projects.  The administration highly encouraged it as a way of preparing students for work in the real world where you often need to play well with others in order to get things done.

I ditched group projects after a couple semesters.

Those still able to recall their own educational experiences already know why.  One or two highly motivated students do most of the work.  Another one or two students put in just enough effort to be offended at the other one to two students who do nothing, but really didn't give the project their 'all'.  Theoretically, everyone receives the same grade which is a boon for the freeloaders but a startling disappointment to the achievers.

Every time I assigned a group project, I'd get the same result.  Almost every group had someone not show up on the day of the presentations.  The presentation suffered.  If the group was pitching a business plan, the person who was missing was supposed to provide the marketing plan.  Quite the whole in the project!  The achievers would then hang around after class and tattle- who did what, who didn't, etc.  And this was college.

There's a place for group work.  There's a place for rewarding the whole (a class, a group, a team, etc) when the whole is collectively working together to achieve something.

But if that isn't the case, if there's some part of the whole who's decided not to pursue the agreed upon objective (an unruly student who continually gets detention, which costs the entire class some corporate incentive or a lazy athlete or musician who costs the entire team or band a prize or a win, etc), then we shouldn't do it.  Better to reward the individual (and send positive reinforcement signals to everyone) then to penalize the group because of an individual (and send negative reinforcement signals to those who desire to achieve more).