As I continue to catch up on my blog I did want to touch on what we spoke about in class: groups. Helpful or harmful? It usually depends on the person, but I have to say the overall structure of a group can lead to much better things than an individual person can produce. Someone can prefer to work alone, but the potential a group has can lead to more productivity and ultimately better results. This is of course dependent on who is in your group.
Based on my experience in Computer Science, if you know who is in their group, what they have done, and what they are capable of doing, the group context is perfect. For example a project I had just last week, our group knocked it out within a few hours. We laid it all out, what needed to be done, who should do what, and how we should do it. We knew each other's strengths and weaknesses and helped each other along the way.
Had I done that project alone, I would have not only had a huge workload, but been confused and had no one there to help me figure it out. I would have no one to bounce ideas off of, ask opinions, and give me advice. I probably would have gotten frustrated and just given up.
A group is a valuable asset, but given the group can work together efficiently and without confrontation. Debate is welcomed as that is how you can come to conclusions, but pure confrontation does nothing but hurt a group.
I agree that group work can either be a great help of a royal pain when it comes down to the due date if someone is not pulling their weight. I have definitely been on the wrong side of the tracks though when one group member doesnt ever show up and the rest of the group has to pick up more work to make it to the due date.
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