September is a special month for students, because it marks the start of a new academic year. Many students feel excited as they enroll in new classes, meet new professors and make new friends. Such excitement, however, may soon be wiped off by a professor who requires them to work on a group project in class.

Group projects have several stigmas. Working in groups usually means somebody has to take extra time to coordinate with all team members. To ensure all work is completed in time, it is likely that one or two team members must devote more time and effort than others because not every task can be evenly distributed among all teammates. It would be even worse if the group had a few underperformers.

Since it is so negative to work in teams, then why do so many professors require students to complete at least one group project in class?

There are certainly many good reasons why group projects must be included in the curriculum. For example, universities and professors are now highly encouraged to create a collaborative environment and develop students' interpersonal skills, in addition to teaching students the technical knowledge.

A professor's role in higher education is no longer to "feed" students what is written in a textbook. Rather, a good professor will turn the process of learning into a self-discovery journey, where students will remain curious and find answers to their own questions.

Group projects can definitely help fulfill those needs. Additionally, some soft skills that are highly valued by industry professionals, such as leadership and teamwork, can be better developed through group projects.

Leadership

"Model the behaviors of effective, ethical leaders by demonstrating the fundamental principles of leadership in a hospitality business environment." — one of the student learning outcomes of hospitality management undergraduates at Cal Poly Pomona

Leadership potential is identified as one of the top attributes for a managerial candidate in the hospitality industry. Recruiters expect students to demonstrate their leadership potential with concrete evidence, such as taking a leadership role in student organizations, showing a progressive career path while still in college (e.g., moving up from a server to a dining room supervisor over the years) and taking initiatives in class projects.

Individual assignments, as compared to group projects, allow no leader-member interactions because students are not supposed to work with others. Therefore, individual assignments do not help students hone their leadership skills. On the contrary, if a student takes initiatives in a group project and learns how motivate other team members to complete the assignment together, then the student just exercises her/his leadership skills.

Teamwork

"Contribute to positive team performance in a hospitality business environment by appraising and managing one’s team-related competencies, in particular, the knowledge, skills and attitudes considered transportable from one team to another." one of the student learning outcomes of hospitality management undergraduates at Cal Poly Pomona

Likewise, teamwork can only be practiced in a group setting. The dynamics of human interactions in teams can change dramatically from one group to another, which mainly depends on the composition of the team.

Because every human being is unique, a group project provides a great opportunity for students to practice their interpersonal skills with different people, each of whom might have very distinguishable personalities and style. Over the years, when students work on a variety of group projects in different teams, they will become more prepared for the real world, where many jobs are also performed in teams.

Networks

"It is not what you know, but who you know that makes a difference." — a proverb

Students can build a good network while they are still in college. In some circumstances, a good network is what it really takes for career success. More than once, I have heard students having difficulty of getting an interview opportunity from their dream companies, but later they got a chance to meet with the hiring managers because of the connections they made in college.

Group projects provide a great opportunity for students to continuously build their network. By working closely together over a long period of time, students will get to know other team members well. Then, they can decide with whom they want to remain connected and who should be excluded from their networks. So, it will work out no matter whether one works with a group of achievers or a group of underperformers.

Are there other benefits of group projects? Please feel free to share with us.

Also, when was the last time you experienced difficulty of working with others in a group either for a class project or in the real world setting? How did you deal with that situation?