Action Research Project

Group Projects: Beneficial or Harmful to

students?
Shea Hunter
Vanessa VanGelder
Arizona State University- Fall 2014

Hypothesis:
Research Question:
Does group work prove to be successful when students are put into groups and are expected to collaborate in a team

setting?

Hypothesis:
When students are forced to work in groups, they are expected to take on responsibility of other team members that did not

complete their share of the work. Subsequently creating an unfair working atmosphere, tension, and disconnected
collaboration within the group. Therefore, groups are uninterested, stressed, and frustrated when having to work in groups
for assignments.
-

If students are forced to work in a group atmosphere, there is a probable chance that there could be an issue within
the group members, resulting in a disconnect within the group. Students become stressed and overwhelmed when
expected to complete a large sum of work that may not have been their responsibility. Subsequently, students will
rush and may not pay as much attention to the quality of work, resulting in a poor grade that may have been based
group collaboration.

Overview of Research:
After reviewing several mediums of literature, we have found both positive and negative feedback
regarding the benefits of group projects as a productive work study for students.
Harvard Universities executive organization professor, Richard Hackman explains that
teamwork has essentially proved to decrease quality of work due to the fact that many group
members are so focussed on their contribution, or lack thereof, to the project, that the overall
quality of the work is diluted.
Group work only seems to get worse in university, and I can safely say that the biggest
source of my school stress has come from working with my peers.
Our society does not always permit the option of working alone, and some situations do
require group collaboration. In these cases, students are encouraged, and expected to work
productively, and execute quality work through breakdown of ideas and work distribution.
When reviewing these sources, we have ultimately discovered that this topic is widely
debated, and that many sites offer several different sources as to "How to Survive" group
projects successfully.
This poses an interesting thought, if group projects do not cause stress and prove to be successful
for students, why are we so concerned with surviving them?

Overview of Survey Questions:

* This graph shows the division of class standing within the survey takers.

* This shows the division of Major Studies within ASU.

* This shows the diversity of gender within the survey takers, most are female.
* This graph shows that most of the survey takers were students at ASU.
*This graph shows that majority of survey takers identified with being Involved, Opinionated, and
describe themselves as a Go-Getter.
* This delineates the various hometowns of survey takers.
* This graph shows that a majority of survey takers DO NOT prefer to work in groups.
* This graph is pretty equal in terms of responses. 28% of survey takers noted that they feel that
they can not communicate well with their group.
* This graph shows that majority of survey takers prefer to speak up when there is a issue within
the group.
* This graph represents that a staggering 68% of survey takers are NOT enthusiastic about
working in groups. They feel as though they want to work alone, or they fear that they will get stuck
with majority of the work.
*This graph relates to professors reasoning for assigning group projects, the highest percent of
survey takers agreed that group work is given to students as a representation of real-world
teamwork.

Survey Cont.
* Majority of survey takers are more inclined to work in groups if they are NOT forced to work with
certain partners, and are granted the ability to choose their own partners.
*This graph discovers that 41% of survey takers feel that they complete most of the work, when
group projects are assigned.
*Majority of survey takers agreed that students should have the right to work independently if they
desire.
*This data shows that 0% of survey takers choose to work with a group, and that half prefer to
work individually, while the other half choose to work with a partner.
*This data shows that 90% of survey takers feel that group projects bring stress onto students.
* Majority of survey takers feel that each student/worker should be evaluated individually for their
contribution.
* This graph shows that scheduling, lack of time, contribution issues, and work distribution are the
top 4 factors in which students hesitate to work in groups.

Demographics:
Participants: 30 Survey Takers
Gender: Male- 28% (8)
Female- 69% (20)
Other- 3% (1)

Class Standing: Freshman 3% (1), Sophomore 24% (7), Junior 31% (9),
Senior 31% (9), Transfer 3% (1), Other 7% (2).

Education/Experience: Student 90% (26), Parent 3% (1), Professor 0%

(0), Teaching Assistant 0% (0), Other 7% (2).

Qualitative Data

#1. How do you feel when other group members take control of the work throughout the duration of
the project??
Positive
-Its their personality. I get it
-Sometimes its good to have a leader role, as long as the group work is divided equally. (8)
-Its easier from a graphic design standpoint to work in groups because we can each do different parts of the
project, but in my other classes its a real problem.
-I let them take on the responsibility because I do not want to handle all the work. (3)
Negative
-Annoyed. (6)
-It can make scheduling and workload easier but it can also be a bit draconian and unnecessary. (2)
-I feel as if I am not being respected or trusted with work. (5)
-It depends on the how the individual goes about it. If they come off as a "know it all", that drives me up the
wall.

Qualitative Data
#3. How does group work affect you personally?
Positive, if the group works together well
-a good way. I like bouncing of others ideas
It can affect my grade if the other person decides not to do their portion.
-I play in a lot of ensembles and it's required.
By getting the best of me, helping my group as much as I can.
-Depends on the members of the group. (3)

I- find that I am able to contribute in my own way. it allows my leadership and collaborative abilities to be
portrayed. (2)
Frustration
-Group work tends to be very time consuming and frustrating for me personally. (7)
-I just feel like teachers put group work on us because they want less to worry about, and they know they can
have certain students carry other students.
-I become very stressed out, and 9/10 times I am the one lashing out. (4)

Quantitative Data
Freshman

3%

Sophomore

24%

Junior

31%

Senior

31%

Transfer

3%

Other

7%

Please identify your class

standing below.
* This graph shows the division of class
standing
within the survey takers.

Quantitative Data

Do you feel that students should have the right to

choose whether or not they want to work in a
group or individually?
*Majority of survey takers agreed that students should
have the right to work independently if they desire.

Yes, students should have the right to work

independently if they so choose.

24

83
%

No, students should have to work in groups

in the benefit of others.

14
%

Neutral, I do not care either way.

7%

Other

7%

Quantitative Data
Would you agree with the statement that group
projects brings unnecessary stress if forced to work in a
group?

Yes, group projects bring unwanted stress on students who

prefer to work alone

26

90
%

*This data shows that 90% of survey takers feel that group
projects bring stress onto students.
No, group projects are great!

7%

Other

3%

Conclusion
Our initial research topic surrounded around the benefits of forced group
projects for students, and whether or not they prove to be successful as a
form of conductive study. By force, I mean the lack of option a student may
have to work on their own, but are required to work in a group for a particular
assignment. While conducting our study, we conclude that our information
swayed towards the opinion that group work does cause stress for students,
and that they would prefer to work individually, or at the very least, always be
given the option to work individually. Our qualitative data asked people to
explain how the group projects made them feel from their previous
experiences. We aimed to take common situations that happen with different
group projects and incorporate them within our study. Our research definitely
supported our assumption that students do not like to work in groups
because it causes unnecessary stress among students, and forces them to
take responsibility for work that is not theirs. We are surely supported by our
peers that forced group association is not healthy for students nor does it
create a safe space for students to work individually.

Recommendations

1. We would repeat this study using variation of audiences- teachers, students and business owners.

2. If we were to repeat this study, we would rearrange our questions to make sure we are avoiding
repetitive questions and circular reasoning.

3. We recommend that if students are presented group work that they should always have the option
to do work by themselves, with a partner or with a group.

4. Another recommendation we have, is that in the case that group work is required, professors give
their students the option to choose who they will be working with.

5. Our final recommendation is to introduce a way that may make group work more successful, and
more interesting to students!

Works Cited
Coutu, D. (2009, May 1). Why Teams Don't Work. Retrieved November 19, 2014, from https://hbr.org/2009/05/why-teams-dont-wor
Ritter, A. (2012, May 20). 7 tips for surviving a group project. Retrieved November 20, 2014, from
http://college.usatoday.com/2012/05/20/seven-tips-for-surviving-a-group-project/
Larson, J. (3 Jan. 2011) The Trouble with College Group Work. Retrieved 17 Nov. 2014 from

http://joewlarson.com/blog/2011/01/03/the-trouble-with-college-group-work/
Lawday, R. (2013, April 8). Why I hate group projects - Macleans.ca. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from
http://www.macleans.ca/education/uniandcollege/why-i-hate-group-projects/
Roslind, S. (2013, October 23). "Working in Groups: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."CBSLife. MyPassion. Retreived 18 Nov. 2014.

http://cbslife.dk/working-in-groups-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly

MacGregor, D. & Kaztenbach and Smith. "Characteristics of Ineffective Teams." Human Side of Enterprise and The Wisdom of
Teams.Retrieved from: http://web.stanford.edu/class/e140/e140a/ineffective.html

Knight, D. (2009). "Group Work Ineffective?" Try Pairing Students for Better Accountability, Learning." Faculty Focus. Retrieved
from: http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/group-work-ineffective-try-pairing-students-for-betteraccountability- learning/

Thank you!

QUESTIONS??