For some reason, professors love assigning group projects. It doesn't matter to them that students find it impossible to make time to meet outside of classes. In their defense, a lot of adulting requires working in groups and it can't hurt to get some practice in before we're out on our own.
With all of that being said, very few people enjoy group projects. So, people should work to make those projects less miserable. And yet, there's always that one person ruining it for everyone else. Here are just a handful of the many ways people make group projects more miserable than they have to be.
Never Showing Up
People are petty, especially when you screw over their grade in a class. They will definitely alert whoever is in charge. Just keep it in mind when you stay at home instead of meeting with your group for 45 minutes.
Not Doing Anything
If you're not going to do anything 1) why are you here? and 2) just tell your group ahead of time so they know and you don't disappoint them any further. Might as well be honest.
Being a Dictator
It is a group project. Not a dictatorship. Don't make everyone else more miserable than they have to be. Part of the responsibilities of groups in a group project is to make the experience suck less than it already does. Don't boss people around, they're your peers.
Half-Assing Your Parts
You're lucky you're working with a group.You only have to do a part of the project.You might as well make your part worth it.There's nothing worse than watching a group presentation with beautiful slides and then suddenly there's just white slides with a couple of words that you can't even explain.You're not slick.
Not Letting Anyone Else Do Work
Don't be that guy. Don't set everyone up for failure because you don't trust anyone and refuse to share the work. And if you're going to, don't throw your group under the bus for not doing anything when you didn't give them a chance.
Doing the Wrong Part
It's one thing if you do it by accident, but don't purposefully do something your group didn't ask you to do. Just communicate, I guess? If your group is reasonable, y'all can work something out.
Not Offering to Do Anything
C'mon now. It's a group project. You might as well just offer to do the easy stuff. You know your strengths, use them. Don't be dead weight.
Saying You'll Do Something, Not Doing It
Don't be a tease. Do your work, do your part, don't be an ass. If you can't handle something, just tell someone. Be honest, and don't let everyone down. It's a group project, you can share the work. Don't break promises when it's too late to fix them.
Not Caring
No one cares if you don't care about the project. That's a given. It doesn't make you cool. It's fine if you don't care about your grade, but understand that not caring just screws your group over.
Ignoring Your Group
You shouldn't ghost people in general, and you really shouldn't ghost your group project members. No one wants to be in a group project. No one wants to talk to their groups over their friends. No one wants to think about group projects outside of class. But that doesn't mean you can ghost your group. Teachers have group evaluations for a reason.
Letting Someone Else Do All the Work
Just because they don't say anything, doesn't mean it's okay. You might as well ask if there's anything you can do.It is possible to get lucky and be in a group with someone who wants to do all of the work, but that has yet to happen to me. So don't just sit back and relax.
Dropping Out of the Class
I understand if you need to protect your GPA, something personal came up, etc. and you need to drop the class. But if you're going to drop a class in the middle of a group project that makes up your entire class grade...you should let your group know. Especially if you're dropping out of the school entirely... just a thought.
