Group projects are a common part of student learning, but many students have mixed opinions on whether they are helpful or unfair. 

     Many students believe group projects can become unbalanced when not everyone contributes equally. Junior Eva Helms said she prefers group work only when everyone does their part. 

     “I prefer working in a group as long as the group contributes equally, because it’s easier to be able to talk to other people and get their kind of opinion and stuff and get everyone to do it,” Helms said, “Usually, who ends up doing most of the work is the ‘smart kid’, and it’s the ones that have the highest grades, because they just want to get it done with.” 

     Some students have experienced this unfairness firsthand. Helms described a time when she had to complete an entire project on her own. 

     “I thought it was unfair. There was one time when I did all the work for one of my projects, and my other person didn’t do anything, so it was unfair,” Helms said. Even so, she believes group work can still be useful, saying it “helps you learn better because I’m able to interact with other people and get multiple perspectives.” 

     Other students have had more positive experiences with group work.

     “[I prefer working] in a group because it helps with collaboration,” junior Mekhi  Thelwell said. “Mostly everyone does their equal share, so there’s usually no problems.” He believes students should choose their own groups, “so they have better team chemistry and get the project done…It definitely helps me learn better, but it can also be stressful.” 

     Teachers also see value in group projects and try to make them fair.

     “With weightlifting, it allows people to assess and see others do the exercises. Not only can they see it and see how it’s done, it allows them to critique and fix mistakes,” weightlifting Coach Jermaine Wilson said. “With our group projects, everybody has the same amount of work to do. Everybody has to assess. Everybody has to do the workout. Everybody has to do safety checks, so it’s all even in our weightlifting class.” 

     Group projects can be good for students because they help build teamwork and communication skills. Even though they can be frustrating when one person does most of the work, they still help students learn how to work with others and hear different ideas. If everyone does their part, group projects can help prepare students for real life and future jobs.