Problem-Solution Research Essay
How to Improve
Students' Participation
in Group Projects
I. Introduction
Do you remember those late nights when you were browsing information, making slides, or discussing in meetings? Looking back on the efforts you put into your group projects, we often think of tough parts, while we can also find valuable parts that enhance your competence. Research by Stanford University found that people who work collaboratively on tasks tend to persist longer and produce higher-quality work than those who work alone. In addition, more and more companies emphasize the ability to collaborate when they are hiring new members nowadays. In spite of the trend of valuing teamwork, students show a low willingness to take part in the preparation of group projects. In this essay, we identify three major problems that affect students' participation in group projects and provide corresponding suggestions to help students get better involved in ones.
II. Overall Problem
Despite all the advantages of group projects mentioned above, the majority of students are not that willing to take courses including a group project as its requirement. To understand the condition of students preparing group projects more, we conducted a survey to investigate the students’ opinion about group projects at National Chung Cheng University. We received 42 responses in total, including 31 female respondents and 11 male ones. Most of the respondents are sophomores, and secondly juniors and seniors. Plus, they took part in a project group with different numbers of members. The majority of them work in a group of 4 or more than 5.
(Figure 1)
Figure 1: Respondents’ experiences about being involved in the group
According to our survey responses, no more than 10% of respondents show a high willingness to attend courses that have group projects. (Figure 2) Then, why are students so reluctant to do group projects? One article written by Amabile (1985) states that students’ level of participation will decrease if they don’t have adequate intrinsic motivation. Another research conducted by Afzal et al. (2022) proves that ineffective instructional practices will lower students’ participation. Johnson et al. (2009) mention that the lack of communication and cooperation will lead to low participation as well.
Figure 2: Respondents’ willingness toward courses that involve group projects
The responses to our surveys also strengthen the importance of these three factors deeply influencing students’ participation in group projects: teachers’ instruction, personal motivation, and work division. First, 26.2% of respondents report that some teachers’ instructions are not clear enough for them to attain certain directions to prepare their work. Second, 28.6% of respondents report that they are not able to find motivation on their own. Last but not least, over 45% of responses point out their problems with work division and communication in groups. (Figure 3) In the following paragraphs, we will discuss these three parts of the problem, personal motivation, teachers’ instructions, and work division respectively, and try to provide their corresponding solutions.
Figure 3: Biggest challenge when preparing group projects
III. One Part of Problem and
Its Corresponding Solutions
Students’ level of participation closely depends on their personal motivation. When students can find a way to connect their own interests to the topics of their group projects, they will be more motivated to get involved in the preparation of them. But according to our survey, unfortunately, less than 15% of the respondents share the experiences of having topics of group projects that match their interests. (Figure 4) That is to say, it is uncommon for students to work on topics they like. This condition may be the reason why students put group projects at a lower priority, which makes them passive and tend to put a minimum of effort into the preparation. In that case, how can we prevent students from this kind of vicious circle? Volet et al. (2006) claim that it can be maladaptive if students make group projects merely with the goal of high grades. Instead, they encourage students to set up personal and non-academic goals, which can bring out the value of social learning. In other words, building connections with topics besides academic credit points is helpful for students to find their personal motivation.
Figure 4: The frequency of group projects’ topics matching the interests of the respondents
Based on this aspect of the problem, we suggest two approaches for students. The first approach to fuel motivation is to link the topics with personal experience. By doing so, students can better resonate with their works. In our survey, we also collect experiences of respondents succeeding to connect the course objectives with their own interests. One response mentions that because of her concern about the “plights of pedestrians in Taiwan,” she proposed it as the topic of the group project in the hope of raising classmates’ awareness and stimulating public discussion. Another response shares her chosen topic in a course related to international crimes. In view of the restless war between Ukraine and Russia, she suggested “war crimes” as the topic of their group in order to echo the contemporary issue. These two examples demonstrate the consciousness of combining course requirements with their own concerns. Secondly, thinking about real-world applications can also be a way for students to find their motivations. Lima (2021) holds that applying knowledge to real-world contexts facilitates students to actually understand content topics. It also exemplifies how to generalize the techniques or theories we have learned, which makes taught knowledge more come in handy. Therefore, discovering the useful side of knowledge may activate students to explore the issues further. With both approaches mentioned above, students can come up with their connection to their topics and inspire motivation within them to get more involved in the preparation of group projects.
IV. Second Part of Problem and
Its Corresponding Solutions
Second, the lack of teacher's guidance and instructions during the production of a group project is also a common problem that can decrease students' participation in group work. According to Eva Hammar Chiriac and Kjell Granström (2012), if the students perceive a lack of interest by the teacher, or if the teacher leaves the students to sort out problems by themselves, they lose interest in the task (pp.12-13). When teachers maintain an ambiguous attitude toward group projects, students often struggle to collaborate effectively and create coherent and impactful presentations. What’s even worse, students may choose to slack off and do-nothing during group work. To address the issue, the best solution is for teachers to maintain a positive attitude towards group assignments and keep ongoing care for group work. According to Maryellen Weimer, Ph.D. (2014), teachers can adapt various strategies for improving students’ group work, including explaining the significance of report topics, setting expectations for group members, and providing feedback during the process of group work. By explaining the significance of the report topics, students understand the purpose of their work. Therefore, they are more likely to gain a clearer understanding of what they are working on, and comprehend the purpose and outcomes of their projects. Also, clear expectations empower students to take ownership of their roles and responsibilities, fostering a greater commitment and motivation to contribute effectively to the group work. In addition, timely and specific feedback from teachers demonstrates that teachers value students' efforts. This can foster a positive learning environment and further motivate students to actively participate and excel in their work. However, in our survey, some of the respondents argued that for individuals who tend to be careless or uncommitted, teachers’ guidance may not have any binding effect. (Figure 5) While it is true that students who inherently lack care towards their work may not be greatly influenced by teachers’ words, the instructions and expectations set by teachers still play significant roles in students' motivation and engagement in their group work. According to Anil Pathak and Hwee Hoon Lee (2005), if instructions regarding the task and the outcomes are not clear, students are likely to be at a loss as to what to do, and this could be a source of frustration to them. This assistance offered by teachers serves to boost their interest in the task and promote active involvement in group work. Thus, the guidance provided by teachers is crucial to enhance motivation and promote active participation in students’ group work.
Figure 5: Respondents’ opinions about our solutions to
the problem of lack of teachers’ guidance and instructions
V. Third Part of Problem and
Its Corresponding Solutions
Last but not least, one of the biggest problems of group projects is the inappropriate work divisions. In our respondents’ experience, the two most commonly used processes for work division are that members win by grabbing what they want based on their preferences and drawing lots, which are likely to cause inappropriate work division.(Figure 6) In our survey, we can see that when the work division is inappropriate, 12% of the respondents choose to give up, which would definitely lead to the failure of the group projects.(Figure 7) Here comes the question, what is the best process to delegate the work? According to Rebecca Knight(2016), there are some strategies to help divide the work. First, you need to have a plan. She recommends setting aside one or two hours per week for delegation strategy and review. This time should be used to consider goals, identify team members' strengths and areas for development, and determine the best way to allocate assignments. Second, when team members have a clear understanding of their roles, it becomes easier to assign and review work while expecting high performance. She recommends creating a list of all the work that needs to be done and then assigning tasks based on each team member's function, position, and strengths. Third, she emphasizes the importance of clearly articulating objectives, effort, and engagement expectations to focus the team. It suggests that there should be a repeated emphasis on the value of everyone contributing their talents, skills, and energy equally. She also advises against equating hours worked with productivity and encourages praising strong performance openly, regardless of hours worked. Therefore, by following these strategies of planning, clarifying roles, and emphasizing objectives and performance, managers can effectively divide the work among team members, fostering productivity, and creating a fair and high-performing work environment.
Figure 6: The basis of work division in respondents’ experience
Figure 7: The action respondents would take
when the work division assigned by the group leader is inappropriate.
What’s more, in our survey, most people think that the best process to divide work is for the group leaders to assign the work based on the member's abilities or interests (69%).(Figure 8) Therefore, selecting the qualified group leader to assign the work is also a significant factor influencing the effectiveness of a team. A study conducted by leadership development consultants Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman(2018) shows some traits for successful leadership. The first one is inspiring and motivating traits. The second one is integrity and honesty. The third one is problem-solving skills. In conclusion, by implementing effective strategies for work delegation, such as planning, clarifying roles, emphasizing objectives and performance, and selecting qualified group leaders, group projects can overcome the problem of inappropriate work divisions and foster a fair and high-performing work environment.
VI. Conclusion
In summary, the issue of improving students' participation in group presentations can be divided into three main problems, and we have come up with corresponding solutions for each of them. To address the issue of personal motivation, students should be encouraged to establish their personal goals related to the assigned topics, including discovering the useful side of knowledge and identifying the relevance of the assigned topics. Furthermore, to overcome the lack of guidance and instructions during the process of group presentation, teachers should maintain a caring attitude towards group assignments, and provide students with ongoing support. This can be achieved by explaining the significance of the report topics, setting clear expectations, and providing timely feedback. Lastly, inappropriate work divisions within groups can be solved by following these strategies: creating a plan, clarifying roles, and emphasizing objectives and performance. Also, group members should select a suitable group leader who possesses three key traits, namely the ability to inspire and motivate others, demonstrate high integrity and honesty, and effectively solve problems and analyze issues. By implementing these methods, students’ motivation and engagement in groups can be effectively enhanced. This will not only contribute to overall success in group work but also pave the way for further achievements in their academic pursuits.
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