Those Dreaded Group Assignments
- ashleighdwan
- May 6, 2016
- 3 min read
So it’s the start of the Uni semester and your going through your assessment calendar. If you’re anything like me this is kind of fun (yeah I am super lame and look forward to seeing what is going to stress me out months before it actually happens). You’re looking into the upcoming assignments and you see the words “GROUP ASSIGNMENT”. They stick out in bold as to scream their importance and you start hyperventilating, considering dropping the subject there and then.
It gets worse when you realise it’s worth half of your grade and if you fail will have to repeat the subject, paying even more on your HECS debt (something that is now going to be paid back sooner with the income threshold based on a collective household income that includes your parents earnings, a massive shout out to Scott Morrison and his 2016-17 budget for that one).
In my experience group assignments are hated amongst the majority of students. None of us want to be paired with people we barely know and forced to create immaculate pieces of writing only half the group will actively contribute to. They cause far more stress than doing it yourself, becoming one big headache for everyone involved.
There was this one time I got caught in nine hours traffic after filming a group assignment. It’s like the gods (even though I’m not too sure I believe in the whole religion thing) decided that my day hadn’t been bad enough. I mean I had already made the slippery travel into Brisbane (it was one of those pouring rain, stay in bed and watch movies kind of days) and spent a considerable amount of time yelling at my GPS (I generally leave the directions to the train driver).
So after managing to get myself there and filming for hours to create a documentary that barely passed, I sat in my car by myself for a solid nine hours straight. The highway had been shut down after the road flooded at Caboolture (yet another reason not to live on the Sunshine Coast and go to Uni in Brisbane). There was no food, no toilet breaks, and no music, as I couldn’t leave the radio on for fear I would run out of petrol. Above all I was already in a pretty crap mood and did have a little breakdown at one point. The first six hours were pretty fine but it got to the point that I really just wanted a shower and my bed, preferably with a toilet stop beforehand. I think that will have to go down in history as one of the worst experiences ever and could have been avoided without that group assignment.
Traffic aside that assignment was one of the worst I have experienced and since then have been granted with fantastic group members. It’s at this point that I must make an honorable mention to my beautiful Creative Industries girls as they helped conquer my fear of group assignments. The four of us actually had fun and I know I have formed solid friendships with those girlies.
The truth is it’s the people that make the group assignment a good or a bad one, so here are my top tips when you see the dreaded “GROUP ASSIGNMENT” pop up.
Look into your assessment calendar early to determine what subjects involve group work – be like me and get excited with your fancy highlighters and crisp new diary.
Make a special effort to get to know people in the subject with the said group assignment – not only can you start networking with people in your degree but you will actually make friends.
Work out the kinds of people you are compatible with in the class and make your intentions in the subject clear – the last thing you want is to be paired with people that only want to pass and your aiming for that HD.
Talk about the assignment with those compatible people before you need to start working on it and suggest working together – this means even if you are away the day they pick the groups you will already have a few options.
Once you have your group, communicate - create a Facebook group and continually talk through each step so that everyone knows what everyone else is up to.
Lastly, try and have fun. Group assignments are a great opportunity to meet new people and learn about different ways of doing things. I know that’s definitely something your tutor would say but it might just be true.
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