group work | Beyond the Elms

As the semester drags on, many students like myself are faced with a grim reality. We’ve ignored it, pushed it to the back burner since the beginning of the semester, and hoped that it would simply go away. Group projects, papers, and presentations plague many a classmate and many with whom I’ve spoken believe that they are a creative and cruel ploy by professors to draw us out of our collective shells. Now, for the sake of transparency, as a science student, my classes often come with a additional laboratory component where I am “forced” to work with others. Recently, I’ve been blessed with a tremendous lab group (shout out to my peeps!), though I haven’t been spared of my fair share of challenging pairings in the past. As such, I’ve learned a few things about working effectively and stress-free with your peers.

Try your hardest to synthesize everyone’s POV, including your own. No one can complete everything at once, so learning to be flexible in group scheduling and time management is key. On the other hand, jeopardizing your schedule, or your sanity, doesn’t help anyone either and, if you respect your group members, you should be able to believe that they respect you and your needs. Finding the perfect balance between compromise and firmness may be your greatest asset in group communication. Though it may be hard when one of your group members loses a file or misses a meeting, try to stay calm and understand that every one of your classmates is only human. If needed, set earlier time windows for you and your group members to account for unexpected issue in a calm, collected way. If you find it becoming increasingly difficult to get anything done face-to-face…

Effectively employ social media and alternate forms of communication. When those early birds and night owls get paired together, frustration is bound to rear its ugly head. Use tools like Facebook Chat, texting, and Google Docs to complete your assignments on your own terms and avoid compromises.

Let your voice shine through in the right ways. Often, one of the most difficult parts of group experiences is the synthesizing of individual ideas and styles. It is the individual responsibility of every group member to make sure they are an active part of the project or paper. Using individualized language or verbiage is a subtle way to insert your voice into a cohesive paper, though it is sometimes important to step back and let others shine as well. If possible, compile the ideas of your group members into a cohesive argument that covers all bases. If, like lab groups, you work together on a weekly or monthly basis, this same concept can apply to the contributions you bring to the group. Some weeks you may be able to command the project, while some weeks you may have nothing important to say. While it is important to be always be actively engaged, don’t be afraid to contribute varying amounts. Hopefully, you can take over when someone else is feeling down, and they can support you when you need it. Speaking of,…

Don’t be hesitant to spread the work around. While I know this is not always instinct for some, including myself, you can rely on your group. Though you may want to get work done quickly or ignore assignments completely, know that your group members may be feeling the same. Discuss with them before hand how you believe you will be able to contribute, so you can all understand from the start how your group style may eventually develop. Your group members may be happy to pick up the slack occasionally, and maybe you can pick up some of theirs every now and again.

The number one rule in group assignments is communicate and address problems should they arise. Do not let group problems fester and built up. From my experience, many in-class groups tend to stay together multiple times over the course of a semester, so if you have a problem that is not fixed, it may likely plague you for many projects to come.

On the first day of Fullbridge, two other students and I met up at Scripps to carpool with Vicki Klopsch, Executive Director of Scripps’ CP&R. After arriving at Occidental, we settled into one of the on-campus residence halls, where we took turns lugging our suitcases up three flights of stairs (there was no elevator). I was really glad I hadn’t packed too much!

After a quick tour of Oxy’s campus, we convened at the school’s main dining hall for lunch. I enjoyed the food, and got the chance to try out a different kind of dining hall experience. Unlike Scripps, Oxy charges per item or dish. I only spent about $10 a day, on average. It was fun living on another campus for a short while, to notice the differences and similarities over the next two weeks.

After lunch, we moved to the work room and found out who our teammates would be for the remainder of the course. There were about 20 students total, six from Scripps. We were divided up into four teams of five in order to ensure diversity– that is, co-ed, multi-ethnic/racial students of varying grade levels and majors. My group, Team Podemos, included Arikai, Jon, Tsering, Bianca, and myself. Here’s a pic of us below:

We worked on various activities that day, both individually and within our groups. The most memorable was a group activity called the Marshmallow Challenge. Our goal was to build the tallest standing structure, using 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of masking tape, one marshmallow, and one yard of string. The catch? The marshmallow has to be balanced on top of the entire structure. Of the five of us, only Arikai had prior experience with this challenge. It’s funny to think about how much time we spent planning, given that Arikai told us the point was to take action right away and experiment with test trials. This was shown to yield the most success. In other words, try, try, and try again. We ended up coming in at third place, at somewhere around 11-15 inches tall. It was a pretty fun game, even if we didn’t win. And if anything– I realize now how heavy one marshmallow weighs! Looks can be deceiving:

The first day’s introduction affirmed my expectations for the program’s goals, in terms of structure and learning material. I was glad to be working with other people my age, because I think it’s pretty likely I’ll have to do so in whatever field I choose. Yet Fullbridge offers the unique opportunity to receive feedback from experienced business professionals, without the pressure that would accompany a real job.

That being said, the first day was not without its surprises. After eight hours of work, I found myself surprised at how glad I was to change into casual clothes. I actually quite enjoy dressing up, and had not realized until then how stiff and uncomfortable business attire can be. And this is coming from someone who wore flats, not heels. This experience, over the course of the program, made me realize the importance of considering the attire when it comes to different career paths. It’s unexpected occurrences like these that make one pause and think about the future.

So, what kind of job are you pursuing, and how important is attire to you? Are you someone who enjoys formal business wear or are you more on the casual side? Comment away. I’d love to hear your questions, so I can answer them in my next post.