When parts of the group system do not function well, the success of the goal trying to be accomplished is not only put in jeopardy, but also, relationships are strained, stress increases, and negative feelings emerge. Additionally, if groups are too large, the number of interaction possible increases and could therefore lead to problems. When these groups grow too large, increased understanding is needed in order to manage all the ideas and people. Unfortunately, that does not always occur.
In my experience, group work has been both very negative, as well as a great experience. Last semester my class consisted of a paper that we worked the whole semester on. It was a 20 page paper that a team of 2 worked on. My partner was the best partner I have ever worked with. We were very understanding and open about each others ideas. We were in the same proximity so meeting was very easy and both of us were willing to do so. We depended on each other in that she worked on things that I knew I would be weak on, and therefore I took over aspects of the paper that she felt she was not confident working on. Ideas therefore were respected and welcomed. In the end, the paper was great and one of the best according to our teacher.
On the other hand, I worked in a group of 5 once for an online class, and this was a not only torturous, but also impossible. Our contact was purely online, there was no proximity. We were never meeting in person so accountability was not happening. Certain group members were not pulling their weight. Three weeks into the project, a group member suddenly wanted to change the whole topic and start from scratch, and ideas were just refuted constantly. If the ideas would to have been refuted but an idea given in its place, then there would have been no problem. Unfortunately though, that was not occurring. Two group members and I took the matter into our own hands, met in person, outlined the paper, and gave the other members the option of choosing their section and each was responsible. In the end, it worked out, but the stress and frustration that occurred should not have happened.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Mia, the blog was enjoyable to read, I have to say that when a small group does not function well we see chaos takes its full effect and we never want to be stuck with all the work on us. We then find it hard because if we pull most of the load we want to make sure we get most of the credit then the other group members. People who do not have previous experience working with a fellow classmate or even worker, have a hard time putting that person in their comfort zone because they do not know their tendencies. I have also to experience projects where my group members could not meet up and we was basically online chatting and it was horrible. We had to eventually come up with alternatives and other options or there was no possible way we could get it done. It just takes a structure to help coordinate the load to who will be doing which portion of the assignment and when it will be done. Once that's figured out the project is pretty much done.
ReplyDeleteMia,
ReplyDeleteThis is Kam and I want to post my comments to your disfunctional groups.
I fully agree with your post in the first paragraph. You say, "When parts of the group system do not function well, the success of the the goal trying to be accomplished is not only put in jeopardy, but also, relationships are strained, stress increases, and negative feelings emerge". You have enlighted all of us that the bad relationships and suffering between members depend on lacking of interdependence and interrelationships. I am very appreciated that you have a good partner in class. Literally, the good relationship with a parter based on the time, interaction and cooperation. Understandably, a good partner will save lots of time and energy to complete the project.
Mia,
ReplyDeleteAgreed that this was enjoyable to read. As your experience showed, I think usually two-person groups are better than several people being in a group. Because the more people you have the better chance there is of one of those people not contributing much or anything. I think your difference of experience also has a lot to do with one being f2f and the other being online. With the online class, I bet some people in the group though since it's an online class they don't need to work on it in person. And if everyone's able to work online and only online, then great - but obviously that wasn't the case there.
Glad you and the group member took control and everything worked out good in the end.
I understand you COMPLETELY. I absolutely despise group work, and even worse, online group work. It's really odd when I think about how in high school I loved group work. But in college it's a totally different experience. My theory is that in high school, mostly everyone knew each other and the work was easily spread out. But in college, everyone is brand new and haven't really acquainted well with each other.
ReplyDeleteIt's very true when you stated that when part of the group is not functioning well with each other, "relationships are strained, stress increases, and negative feelings emerge."