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Why Group Assignments Cause Stress and How to Navigate Them

Why Group Assignments Cause Stress and How to Navigate Them Like a ProI’m sharing about why group assignments can cause stress because I’m a bestselling personal development author and leading Behavioral Change Expert. I love to help people to live their best lives.

Any lecture brings students together in one classroom, and even if their only activity is listening to the lecturer, they can still discuss something before or after the class and exchange impressions and notes. However, in distance programs, the isolation is much greater – you can often take a course without interacting with other students, work according to your own schedule, and deal only with educational materials and a teacher.

For some, having group assignments is a plus; for others, it is a minus. One of the common reasons for having them is that often, the learning process lacks communication, mutual support, or the opportunity to discuss interesting issues together. Some do not need socialization and, on the contrary, consider communication in a group to be just a waste of time that could be spent more effectively.

Whether you have to do group assignments or tasks on your own, many of them are stressful. However, you can avoid unpleasant feelings by asking for help. For example, there is a pro essay writing service where you can ask professional writers to help you with this or that assignment. This way, you will free yourself from the obligation to do a task that you do not like.

Group assignments and stress

It is not surprising that group assignments are one of the most controversial types of work, causing polar emotions: some complain that there were few such assignments, while others are unhappy that they existed at all.

However, the reasons for such varied responses are not always limited to the students’ personalities and goals – after all, the group assignments themselves can be different. If the task is chosen poorly and its organization is not thought out, group work is unlikely to be useful and will not be liked, even by those who would like to do something together with classmates.

Tips to navigate group assignments like a pro

Choose situations for group work

Sometimes, teachers let their students decide whether to do an assignment (such as a project) on their own or in pairs. However, this often ends with students checking their answers with each other and no real collaborative work without proper supervision.

We recommend a simple way to avoid this: the teacher should decide where collaborative learning will be appropriate and, most importantly, what it will look like.

Forming pairs or groups

Students are often asked to independently choose their partners for pair work or to independently distribute themselves into groups. It seems that the more pleasant it is for students to work with friends, the better both the process and the result will be. However, choosing best friends as partners means missing out on opportunities to get the most out of communication.

We recommend choosing other classmates for group work. You can ask a teacher to help you with this or choose a pair independetly based on other principles: for example, academic interests, strengths and weaknesses, or, conversely, similar levels of subject proficiency.

Organizing groups of different sizes

Standard practice dictates that students be grouped into equal-sized groups. However, in tasks where flexibility is acceptable, this rule can be modified: for example, a large class can be divided into several groups of 4-5 students, several pairs, and a few individuals working independently. Variation in the task is also encouraged: depending on the structure, it can be simplified or complicated.

Assigning not only pairs but also roles in them

The effectiveness of group work depends on how the roles are distributed between the participants. If the teacher didn’t do this, take on this task yourself. For example, in pairs, you can assign who will be the listener, who will be the commentator, or who will be the first listener and commentator so that you can then switch roles. In this situation, the participants get involved in the work and really hear each other.

Avoiding administrative roles

Sometimes, teachers want to assign responsible people — those who will monitor the timing, compliance with the regulations, and the availability of the necessary tools for work. However, the role of “group secretary” or even “team captain” should not interfere with students’ work on the task itself, so it is better to avoid assigning individual people to it altogether.

We recommend distributing administrative functions: one monitors the time, another collects sheets with completed tasks, and a third writes down the answer options on the board. However, everyone should be actively involved in the central aspect, cognitive work.

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