Teachers seem to assign group projects on a routine basis now vs. hardly ever when I was a student. Not everyone enjoys group work, including very reasonable parents and their children who don’t see the point. I particularly enjoy the observation of Scout Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird that “miles of construction paper and wax crayon were expended by the State of Alabama in its well-meaning but fruitless efforts to teach me Group Dynamics.”

My kids like group projects, especially my youngest son who is a near-constant socializer and collaborator. But not everyone likes group projects for reasons such as better focus working alone or frustration at having to do more than an appropriate share of work.

Here are ideas on coping with group activities:

• If you can, pick kids to be a part of your group who 1) get along with nearly everyone, 2) are hard workers and get good grades, 3) work well with you, and 4) you know well enough that arranging an afternoon or weekend session won’t be terribly difficult or traumatic.
   
• Choose a leader who isn’t too bossy but knows how to keep people focused enough to complete the project on time; nominate yourself as leader if nobody else volunteers or if you want to be the leader.
   
• Decide what you want to do for the project and how the solution and parts of the solution should work. Discuss/argue your point; consider others’ perspectives. If you disagree or get mad, get over it as quickly as possible and don’t hold grudges.
• Figure out the different aspects of the project and make specific assignments to each group member.
   
• Leverage individual strengths: that is, if someone is really good at Google-ing, then let that person do research; if another person is a great artist, let that person put together the visuals for the project (drawings, PowerPoint images, etc.).
• Follow up to make sure each person has done the assignment – do this follow-up well before the due date of the project.
   
• Make sure all the pieces of a project are completed and pulled together prior to due dates.

If group projects become overly burdensome, ask the teacher if 1) you can complete a group project alone or 2) more structure can be given to group projects such as individual assignments made by the teacher rather than students (helping to make students more accountable to the teacher rather than to peers).   Though a traditional classroom may (or may not) be an ideal place to learn to work with other people, at some point, teamwork and collaboration skills will be beneficial to getting things done at home and in the workplace.