Two days to go
One person in your group has done nothing. You are annoyed and have not said anything to them about it.
What do you do first?
Step 1: What Would You Do?
There is often more than one good answer. Pick one and see what happens.
The first ten minutes
A new group project has just been set. Everybody is enthusiastic and nobody has written anything down.
What is worth doing right now?
Step 2: What That Was
The name for what you just worked out.
Group work goes wrong at the start, not at the end. If nobody agreed who does what, everybody assumes somebody else is on it.
Named parts and dates
"You do the diagram by Thursday" is a plan. "We will all work on it" is not, and it always produces one person doing everything at midnight.
Ask before you conclude
People who look like they are not bothering are sometimes lost, ill, or dealing with something. Ask first; it costs one message.
When to involve the teacher
After you have raised it directly and it has not changed. Going first to the teacher usually makes the group worse.
Step 3: Try It
These ones do have right answers.
In What Order?
Tap the steps in the order that gives the best chance of fixing it.
One person has not done their part and the deadline is Friday.
- 1Offer to split their part or help
- 2Raise it with the whole group, calmly
- 3Tell the teacher what has happened
- 4Ask them privately how it is going
Step 4: Quick Check
Two questions, then you are done.
Question 1 of 1
When does group work usually go wrong?
Step 5: Your Life Mission
Something to do away from the screen. Nobody is checking.
Name and date it
- Next time you work with other people, write the split down.
- Put a name and a day against every part.
- Post it where everybody can see it.
Why: Written and dated is the difference between a plan and a hope.
Step 6: What You Learned
- Split the work into named parts with dates, at the start.
- Ask how it is going before deciding somebody is not bothering.
- Raise it directly before you raise it with a teacher.
For the grown-up
The instinct to just do it all yourself is strong and understandable, and it teaches everybody involved the wrong lesson. Being asked "what did you agree at the start?" is usually more useful than sympathy.
Group work is where students first meet a problem that is common in adult work: the person who cares most absorbing the shortfall. Naming that pattern early is worth doing.
The escalation ladder is transferable well beyond school. Going straight to the top is a habit that is hard to unlearn later.