Working in a group can be a struggle when specific goals and expectations are not set. My first group presentation was not as smooth sailing as I thought it would be. I ended up being disappointed in fellow group members for not doing their part. Looking back, I can see that this might have been fixed by explaining what everyone’s responsibilities were. The powerpoint we made lacked consistency and our actual presentation was quite bumpy. During peer evaluations, I was honest and tried not to be harsh. After that project, I decided that group projects would be something I could conquer. Here is a link to the first presentation I did for Biology 120. While we did not fail the presentation, it was not up to par with the rest of the work that I had completed prior and that was disappointing.
My most recent group project was for my biology 488 course, where I had to work with a partner to discuss a paper and host a class discussion. It did not have a time minimum but it did need to go rather in depth. Erin and I worked hard to make a presentation that was interactive and cohesive. We discussed what we expected of each other and when it needed to be done. We also got to practice it before class which helped a lot. Our presentation earned us a 96% and I could not be more proud of it! Here is a link to it. I really like working in cooperative groups because it allows me to see how other people think. Group projects can sometimes still be pretty overwhelming, but after a lot of practice I have been able to find a pretty good formula as to how to ace them. Sometimes this means doing extra work, and that is okay. In the end I can be proud of my work, either way.