JenRiv Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 This is a group project for a college class. For me, it can be difficult to do group projects, because I'm an adult student who works and has a child, so I have limited times I can meet. Almost all the people in my class are traditional college students, who still live at home with their parents (it's a commuter college). In our morning class, a couple of the group members tell me that they're going to meet several hours later that evening. I already had something scheduled that afternoon, so I told them I couldn't meet at that time, but made suggestions for other days and times that I was available to meet. They met anyway, and put together most of the presentation besides one slide they left for me. We have to fill out a group member evaluation paper and turn it in to the professor. The evaluation includes how we feel the other group members did contributing and how well everyone worked together. There is also an open-ended comment section. I feel there is a good probability one of them could mark me down; she's very vocal, and I've heard her commenting negatively on people she's worked with in the past. I don't know how to fill out that form now with them doing most of the work on the presentation, but they did it on their own before I had a chance. What do you think is fair in this situation? And, how would you fill out the evaluation? Link to post Share on other sites
CarrieT Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 State exactly what you put here; that you have different restrictions in your life, gave alternate dates and times that were possible, and were effectively ignored or - I'm assuming? - not even acknowledged, and that your team moved forward without any input from you. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
amelia0607 Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I am a college instructor and rarely give group projects for this very reason. If I were you, I would put exactly what you said here. Did the other members of the group even offer to attempt to meet at a time convenient for you? See that would be strike against them in my book. There will be times in the work environment when they will need input from one person that can't make the initial meeting. They will have to reschedule because that person will be the only one with that input. They need to learn to start this sort of teamwork now. I would also look over the work that they have already done and see if you have suggestions for enhancements. Make sure that you keep your feedback positive but offer the feedback. This way you can include that you attempted to offer additional input. I can't speak for your professor but I do not place much weight (maybe 10 - 20%) on group member evaluations. Good luck! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author JenRiv Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 Thanks for the replies! After considering it, I agree with both you and think honesty is the best policy. I'm leaning towards stating the facts and leaving it up to the professor; but it does make me uneasy with the potential conflict it could create. They can just as easily counter me and say whatever the want even if it's not true. And, I may be paired with them in future classes for group projects. Link to post Share on other sites
Author JenRiv Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 Did the other members of the group even offer to attempt to meet at a time convenient for you? No, they didn't offer that. Two of them came up with a time they were going to meet on their own without the other group member's input, which was later that evening. They told the rest of us about their planned meeting that day during class. I told them I wasn't available at that time, and suggested a couple other days to see if they were available then. Instead of giving me an answer to other days and times, they said, if you can make it later, we'll be there for a while. Class was beginning, and I told them I couldn't meet later. The professor started class. After class, the two said they're still going to meet, but they'll email us the work they do, and we can email our research to them. Link to post Share on other sites
h57zf Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 We have to fill out a group member evaluation paper and turn it in to the professor. The evaluation includes how we feel the other group members did contributing and how well everyone worked together. There is also an open-ended comment section. I feel there is a good probability one of them could mark me down; she's very vocal, and I've heard her commenting negatively on people she's worked with in the past. I don't know how to fill out that form now with them doing most of the work on the presentation, but they did it on their own before I had a chance. What do you think is fair in this situation? And, how would you fill out the evaluation? If I were you I would have a meeting with the professor before it goes too far. I encountered the same experience in my college years, having partners who knew I had a conflicting class, yet who insisted on meeting - then would whine when I didn't turn up. I would make it known to my professor that I had class and worked. The professor should understand the situation and be a bit more lenient. Link to post Share on other sites
Popsicle Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Group projects and especially group exams are a joke in school. They don't teach anything the professors and administration intends. They just make the grading inaccurate. Link to post Share on other sites
CarrieT Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 OP, did you end up sending feedback to the instructor? Curious what happened.... Link to post Share on other sites
GunslingerRoland Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Group projects and especially group exams are a joke in school. They don't teach anything the professors and administration intends. They just make the grading inaccurate. Depends on the degree program. In Computer Science we had a lot, which makes sense because group assignments are the real world in this field. Every project is a group assignment and you're constantly trying to make sure people getting pulled by other commitments are able to complete their share. I agree that in other fields where individual work is the norm, that it may be forced and unnecessary though. Link to post Share on other sites
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