Professors assign group
work to help students
By Kurt Esposito
Assistant
Campus Editor
In order to prepare students to work in jobs that
use teams and group work, many instructors at Purdue require students
to work with others.
James Barany, professor of industrial engineering,
said most jobs require people to work in teams and that group projects
are a beneficial way to teach students how to work with other people.
"You're put into a situation where you have to
work with others on a common assignment and here in the University is
the best place to get that experience," he said.
Alex Knape, a senior in the Schools of Engineering,
said he has never had a problem working with other students on a project.
He said such assignments teach skills in dealing with other people,
motivating people and learning assigned roles.
Bo Hu, a graduate student who uses group projects,
said, "This is real life; if they cannot handle it right now then they
cannot handle it later on."
Marc Loudon, a professor in medicinal chemistry,
said group projects are beneficial because they teach students to work
together and it helps them become friends with other students.
Barany said it's also beneficial because recruiters
who come to campus are looking for employees with experience in working
in teams.
"It goes beyond what's in textbooks," said Alastair
Morrison, a professor of hotel and tourism management.
Morrison said one of the most common problems students
encounter when working in groups is scheduling conflicts. Students have
trouble trying to find a time for everyone to meet that fits into all
of their schedules.
Morrison also said there can be a problem when
one student in a group does not do their share of work.
After college, however, he said students will also
encounter fellow employees who fail to do their fair share of work.
Morrison said it does not occur too often.
Heidi Swinford, a junior in the School of Consumer
and Family Sciences, said it is stressful trying to manage everyone's
schedule and dealing with students who do not do their work, but it
is part of the learning process involved with working in groups.
Loudon said he uses group evaluations to ensure
each student does his or her work.
Loudon has students fill out a report assessing
their work and the work of the other students in the group.
Barany said that evaluations are the best way to
ensure that each member of a group does his or her work. He said students
feel peer pressure and are more likely to work because they know another
student will evaluate them.
Swinford said the evaluations also help make sure
students are not penalized for another student's failure to work.
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