Pros & Cons of Group Work

Group Work. Ohhh group work. Every semester I expect to work (or partner) with people in terms of assignments or studying, and this semester was no exception. Having only three classes, each one had some sort of partner or group work component.

In assessment, we had to do a two-part assignment either by yourself, with a partner or with a group of three. I worked with my fantastic friend (and partner in crime) who I met this past year! We got pretty decent scores in our assessment assignments that it wasn't something major we stressed about--as we had each other to rely on.

During music, we had to do a group lesson about a topic from the POS (Program of Studies). I worked in a group of 4, and to be franc, it was a little bit of a headache. I felt that there were more hiccups than necessary but then again, it wasn't worth that much. I'm thinking in my head "only 10%, only 10%, only 10%." I did learn from this though, how group work you're forced to work with people who have different work ethics than you and how people voice their ideas differently. Sometimes, you don't even have control with whom you're with. You just have to deal with it, which exactly is what I did. Rather than just getting frustrated, all it takes is time. Time to adjust, time to explain and time to absorb the different learning styles people have. Will Smith says it best... I think.

Lastly, for science, we were presented the biggest group term assignment so far in my undergrad. Where with a group, you plan a lesson plan (ours was relating to Air & Aerodynamics!), deliver the lesson and answer a bunch of questions analyzing our experience and evidence. I worked in a group with 5 other people, where hands down was the best group I've worked with school wise. I think it's because we meshed well right at the beginning. Usually, I take a leadership role come group work but I didn't this time around. I felt that every person contributed to our term assignment equally. Did I mention that it was worth 35%!? Yes, 35%! We met multiple times and helped each other constantly as it lightened the load of the assignment itself.

If someone asked me what I learned from working with my science group, I would have to say how teachers are very supportive of one another. I always felt that way during this course and I look forward in the other teachers I'll be working with later in my career (or even during my practicum)! All in all, I really did luck out in working with an outstanding group of pre-service teachers. Even though this meme brings some truth and humor, it does not reflect my experiences of group work this past term. Or did it..?