Local Issues #2 - Group Projects At Boston College

As the end of the semester comes to a close, the libraries suddenly become more populated, with students rushing to finish those long-term and last-minute assignments.  Clearly, finishing 15+ page papers are difficult enough when operating solo.  Thus, the difficulty of completing the dreaded group projects is exacerbated.  The understanding is that group projects are generally beneficial to students – but the question remains that if students groan and resent these projects so, are they really generating the intended effect?  Are they really beneficial to student learning?  Do they result in better products?  Do they involve a better learning process?  Do they really represent adult working life?  Despite the professors’ good intentions, all research points to worse results, inhibited processes, and diffused responsibility.

            Conclusively, the research says that for groups’ performance to equal the sum of its parts, the group must be aware of the pitfalls of group work – something that most groups are not aware of.  Evidence shows that when a group brainstorms independently, many more and better ideas result.  When brainstorming occurs in a group a combination of production blocking, free riding, evaluation apprehension, and performance matching reduce the effectiveness.  Production blocking is when people have to wait for others to finish speaking to share their idea, and in that time, they forget their new idea.  Free riding is the tendency of some members of a group to feel less pressure to contribute when others are.  I think evaluation apprehension is especially relevant to group projects in undergraduate courses – the hesitance to share one’s ideas out of fear of being judged by peers.  And the last block, performance matching, is when members work only as hard as the other members of their group.  Furthermore, research has shown that unless each member is evaluated independently and their personal contributions are obvious, social loafing is likely to occur.  This means that some students will and usually do work less hard, leaving the remaining group members to complete the work.

            So, the evidence shows that not only is the product of lower quality, but unless students are being evaluated independently, some are likely to not put in much effort.  Therefore, regardless of professors’ high hopes, students are likely to disappoint them and ultimately, produce an inferior project, which means that they learn less in the process.  All of this research is relevant because it sheds light on how to improve group projects.  The research also lends itself to advising professors how to design an efficient and effective group project such that all students are held accountable and in the end gain more from the experience.