Team projects have various positives and negatives. As a previous student and current educator, I have experienced team projects in multiple ways.
As a teacher, I enjoy giving assessments as team projects so that students learn teamwork, delegation, and cooperation. While working in teams, students are exposed to new viewpoints and get the chance to meet new people. For example, at the beginning of the school year, I created an easy team project for my class to help them get to know each other better on a personal level. It also provides an opportunity to learn how to work with different types of people and collaborate to produce creative projects.
However, there are negatives to working in team projects. In some cases, a couple of people do not do any work throughout the project and still end up getting credit. This is not only stressful but also puts more burden and work on group member's shoulders. For example, many times in my high school career I would stay up until one or two in the morning in order to finish a team project in which one person did not do any work. However, a good solution to this problem is to have the team perform self and peer assessments after the project so everyone gets a grade they deserve. If your team is not able to meet in person throughout the project due to differing schedules, it can also be tough to communicate ideas or instructions over email or online chat.
Overall, I think that team projects are a positive experience for students and coworkers that will help them learn new ways of thinking, learn to collaborate, and learn be creative.
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