Should students be forced to work in groups?

By Emily Siemonsma

Group projects are a huge part of high school, college, and people’s careers. However, does group work really create a better individual learner? In the long run does group work in school create better members of society.

It cannot be denied that teams are a necessity to society. Think about a team of doctors. If someone calls 911, EMT’s will arrive, then the patient will meet nurses, doctors, and so many other people to help take care of them. If all the members of this team had not learned how to work with others leading up to them taking this job, that could be detrimental to the patient. Another example is a sports team. In basketball if one person hogs the ball and tries to play the game by themselves, the team probably will not win. The athletes must learn how to play with each other and be confident in each other.

When group projects function as they are supposed to, the outcome is wonderful. Students learn how to better interact with their peers. Students learn how to delegate tasks to one another. And students find ways to overcome social challenges with others. Specifically in the math classroom, students can gain knowledge from peers in group work and do not feel as much pressure to know the answer to every problem because of the help of their group members. Additionally, group work in the math classroom can inspire students to possibly dig a little deeper, because they are encouraged by their teammates. Most importantly they become better learners.

There are a few issues today however with group work. It does not work very well online. Whenever I try to host a meeting over zoom, it feels like less gets done than what normally would. Also, trying to come up with a project idea online takes way longer than it needs to. Even if groups can meet in person it can still be difficult. I remember dreading group projects in high school. I always felt like half of us ended up doing all the work, and the other half did nothing.

Thus, for groups to be effective, teachers must do their best to keep students accountable. Students will put effort into their group if they feel passionate about what they are learning, so whenever it is possible teachers should encourage students to pursue topics that excite them. If students excel in group work in school, they will likely perform well in groups throughout their lifetime. This is important because in the real world no one can learn alone or work alone.