Group. Project. Two of the most terrifying words for college students; everyone knows that feeling of dread when either a subsection in a class syllabus or an announcement during class gets made that group work is inevitable. No one wants to be the person that does all the work and has to carry the rest of the group. working with a group of strangers might seems daunting, but being able to effectively communicate with your peers to do a class assignment makes everything run more smoothly. Here are three things all group projects need:
Communication:
Having communication with your group members is one of the most important things that can be done to ensure a smooth process. You have to talk about everyone’s ideas for the project, talk about who is going to do what, and about how you are going to work together to accomplish the task. The best form of communication is to create a group chat. Who doesn’t always have their phone on them? The group chat can be used to brainstorm ideas before class, ask your group members for help, show each other peices of the project, and just generally stay connected and updated with one another.
Accessibility:
A great way to have all the information for the project accessible to all of your group members is to create a google doc folder that is shared with every member, so that all the documents within can be viewed and edited by everyone. Having this folder is a great way to be able to read over other group members work and help them edit their writing. You will no longer need to send a text right before the assignment is due to ask your group members if they have completed their part as it will all already be in one place!
Organization:
By having the first two things done, you are already ahead of the game. Having communication among yourself and your group members, and by having all your project materials easily accessible to all your group members, you have already created a very organized group. Another huge part of being organized is to have a group deadline schedule. Every group should create their own deadlines, that are before the deadline of the actual due date. Doing this benefits everyone. It allows the other group members to reread and revise the work. It also creates less stress for everyone in the group. Doing the work ahead of time allows you to ask your professor if they would be willing to check over your work, this way you can edit it to perfection!
