May 5, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR EMILY AGAN IN CA
Alexis, I hate to break it to you, but not only will you be put in work groups in college, but also in graduate programs and in real work situations. Unfortunately, there will always be those group members who are unmotivated, slackers, who have nothing to bring to the table. Your challenge in these situations is to concern yourself with how this will affect your performance. These situations are good personal tests of our patience, diligence, and diplomacy. The real challenge is to find a way for your group and most importantly, yourself, to succeed despite the sour apple. Instead of running to the teacher to try and get someone kicked out of a group, resolve your own problem. It may be that you and your other group members end up doing all the work and the sour apple gets credit for a job well done. I know this isn't fair, but neither is life. The most important lesson is that we learn to work in difficult situations to achieve positive results. In your profession!
al careers you will have to work with difficult people and the early preparation during this years will help you to better deal with these future situations with integrity and professionalism. As for the teachers purposely placing sour apples in your work group, this is because they know that you will prove to be a strong role model, mentor, and your positive attitude could be influential and contagious, it is not because they are trying to make your life a living nightmare, or because they don't want to teach. You should feel proud that they see you as one of the strong, bright students that can influence, guide and help the struggling students. School isn't just about teachers teaching students its about students teaching students and about learning to work together toward a common goal.
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A: FROM MENTOR JOAN LUSK IN RI
Wow! Working in some uncooperative, unequal groups has certainly
raised _your_ crabbiness quotient! And apparently with good reason.
While there are energetic and lazy, smarter and dumber people in all
areas of life, I don't think you'll find the problem as bad as you
get further into science. After students have done the minimum
requirements, those who are left are more interested, more motivated,
and better at science. When you are looking for a research group to
join, you can scout it out for its level of cooperativeness and
fraction of freeloaders. In the working world people who don't
contribute to a project are likely to lose their jobs, so that acts
as a spur to the naturally lazy.

One of the biggest challenges for leaders of scientific groups (and
you could become one) is how to get everyone contributing and
cooperating. The successful leaders manage to do that, not all in
the same way; some emphasize competition, some emphasize cooperation.
The competent ones all recognize individual achievement in some way.
Big projects just can't be done by one person - cooperation is
essential. It's too bad that your teachers' efforts to teach
cooperation haven't worked well. So far. You might talk with your
teacher about the problem and think of constructive ways to address
it. Keeping track of individual contributions to a group effort
might be a first step.

It can be difficult to assign credit absolutely correctly. After a
discussion, more than one person may believe s/he had the best ideas.
As time passes it becomes even more difficult to remember accurately.
I used to keep a notebook of ideas for research, consulting it when
it was time to write a renewal of my grant. I found that often I'd
recorded the same brilliant idea several times, months apart,
obviously believing each time it was the first time I'd thought of it
(or I wouldn't have written it down each time). Who's to say that
someone else hadn't given me the idea in the first place; if I could
forget that I'd thought it before, surely I could have forgotten that
I'd heard it before. For patent purposes, signed and dated notebooks
are essential for proving priority of an invention. Similar records
of individuals' contributions to a group effort could be part of the
grading process.

The new trend toward grading whole schools on their test scores is
the ultimate collective grading of teachers - so they too are subject
to the same frustrations as you are. What about the teacher whose
students do well in a school where most scores are low?

In the end we just each have to do the best we can. Those who don't
are the losers - learning less, earning less, having less satisfying
lives - and it's not worth much emotional energy resenting that they
get the few freebies they do. Not to say that it's _easy_ to let
resentment go! But good luck.
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A: FROM MENTOR KRISTIN TAGHON IN IL
I'm sorry to hear you have had such bad experiences in group projects.

Well, I'm sorry to tell you that most classes, whether it's science or another
subject, often require group projects. It's a good thing to learn to figure out
what everyone's strong points are and get them to participate and contribute.
As the "smart/motivated" peron on your teams, perhaps this is the skill you are
to learn. Learn how to find out what each person is good at. Learn to delegate
work to various people on the team and hold them to that responsibility. In
group projects, you are here to learn, not only the subject, but how to work in
a team. Learn to be the team lead. Learn how NOT to do all the work. Give due
dates for each part of the project. Expect it to be done. People usually try
to meet expectations. But, the rest of the team has to believe in each other.

I, myself, LOVE team work. Once I graduated, and found a job, team work is
common, a must. No one can do ALL the work because there is SO much work! Most
people are motivated and smart and can pull their weight. There are often
people who are less so than I am. But, I'm also not at the same level as MY
team lead. I am slower than others. Others are slower than I. We learn to
find our strong points and volunteer to help with that responsibility in the
team work. In group projects in the work environment, it becomes the FUN part
of working. You have fun, laughing and joking as you get your work done. There
is usually a team lead. There are people who are VERY motivated and get alot
done, without even being asked. There are those who need more direction. It's
the whole team's responsibility to do the best they can with the skills that
they have. Respect each other. Expect the best from each person. They will
come through.

Good luck!
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A: FROM MENTOR ELEANORA ROBBINS IN CA
Welcome to the real world, woman. You have clearly identified human behaviors you will see throughout your life. Having done this, the next objective in acquiring wisdom is to (slowly) figure out how to get the best out of each member on the team despite these behaviors. The Army has perfected this, because sergeants have no option but to get each member of the team to perform. Sports teams of guys have perfected this also; I think fear is part of their success, because failure is so public. Psychologists are a help in this regard too; my aunt the psychologist says that each person is in reality working through some problem they have left over from childhood. She says you have to figure out what their problem is (guys too short, girls or guys who didn’t have stable bonds with fathers, guys who didn’t have stable bonds with their mothers, etc etc etc.) and try to figure out ways to address that hole so they can work at a higher level (ie, get out of their limbic system and into their neocortex). I’m not a psychologist, so don’t ask me how you do that, other than muddle. However, as a scientist who has been stuck right in the middle of the exact problem you have identified, I think every scientist should take a psychology course in college. Personally, I think that each family is a micro-culture and therefore we are all raised in different micro-cultures. Maybe you have to visit each person’s family to see how each person is treated, and then treat them that way or the opposite? I don’t really have a clue. My sister the teacher says that a lot of the behaviors come from birth order—the oldest kid is raised by adults (mom and dad); after that, all the rest of the children are essentially raised by kids (the older siblings). So first borns are usually organized, focused, and can solve problems by themselves. After that, the next kids are used to being told what to do. My 70 year old friend, who is the youngest of 8 children, said he never had to do anything. There was always someone older around to do whatever had to be done. He leaves EVERYTHING off till the last second, driving first born me crazy. Humor, that’s one secret to getting things done; chocolate, that’s another; turning the team into a family that cares about each other is another.

I have worked on several teams, both wildly successful and wildly unsuccessful. The best had different leaders over the years; the first team leader got things moving smoothly with daily choclate chip cookies, the next with humor, and the next by visiting everyone’s office every day for a chit chat. The so-so team had a leader who never asked for anything except a report once a year; I loved the work, but there was no pushing, no show of interest by the team leader. The worst team had a leader who made us all hate each other by saying awful things about each of us to each other. His idea was that more creative science would come out if there was tension between the members. It was so bad that it took some of us until 6 years after his death until we could stand to talk to each other.

I was also in charge of a team. I didn’t do particularly well. I have a bunch of excuses such as I was the second choice, but I think the underlying problem was that I didn’t want to be the leader, I just wanted to do the work.

When I work with students, I use my teacher-sister’s insight and try to get teams put together that look like this: a working science team needs 5 or 6 people: chief scientist (skills: loves to talk, show off, usually a first born), materials manager (loves tools, loves to be organized), scientific illustrator (loves art, drawing), data manager (loves the computer, hates people), technician (has patience to collect accurate data), and science writer (loves to write). If your team has only 5 people, then the chief scientist usually collects the data, primarily because the main idea usually comes from this person).
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A: FROM MENTOR MOLLY WILLIAMS IN MI
Team projects are becoming more prevalent in education because they
reflect real life. Much of what we do, whether in a job, a family,
or any other organization, requires that a group of people work
together to accomplish a goal. And in all of those situations, you
will find that some people carry their share of the load, while
others don't . We all need to learn how to work in team situations,
and to work with team members whose skills and attitudes cover the
range from superb to awful.

You might want to suggest to your teacher that the grade for your
group project include two components, the quality of the project
itself and a separate grade for how each of you worked as a team
member. If someone in each project team is appointed or elected to
be manager, then that person can list the tasks to be finished
(gather background information, write the first draft of a report,
etc.) and lead a discussion as to who is going to do which tasks by
what deadline. Then at the end of the project, the team members can
rate how well they and other team members did their assigned jobs.
You might also include a general rating on communication within the
team, listening skills, and respect for each other. If the teacher
would consider that suggestion, you might feel better about how the
final grade is determined, and the team members might learn to pay
attention to their own responsibility for the group's efforts.
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A: FROM MENTOR KATHERINE DRENNON IN KY
If team work is so important in SET stuff, when you have a project to do with other people, does everyone really do what they are supposed to do?

High school doesn't really prepare you well for the working world in this aspect, because "careers" are filled mostly with people who want to be working there. They enjoy doing what they do, and thus they are willing and eager to approach an assignment and put their best effort into it. I say mostly, because some people get into jobs just for monetary purposes, and those persons don't necessarily like their work, but make sure to do enough to get paid. These persons usually don't last long in any particular field.

Do people try to take credit for your ideas or your work?

Unfortunately, competition in the work place makes this a prevelant problem, especially in research positions like mine. You have to communicate your ideas with others that you trust, and in such a way as to not let the cat out of the bag if you are working on a special project. You will learn discrestion as you go along in your chosen career.

Do people not do what they are supposed to but then try to say that they did do their work?

Most persons who try to pull this tactic get caught right away, so this really isn't something you need to worry about.

There are some classes you will have to work in groups for in college, but most of that work will entail separate reports to be turned in by individual members of the group. Also, there are some classes where group presentations are peer graded, and your fellow students can usually spot the slacker in the group and lessen his/her grade. In the workplace, teams can be important, and team performance can effect promotion and raise opportunities, depending on the field. Personally, I do research in biology, where I work with a number of graduate students, undergraduates, post-doctoral students, and technicians. In my work, I interact with these individuals concerning the experiment I am running on a daily basis, but my personal promotion and raise capability is based on my productivity and attitude, not the productivity of the other members of my work group. This is also the way is works in many of the SET feilds. Don't lose hope, things will get better outside of high school.

One thing I can say for working with a group of people, even ones who do not understand what is going on, or don't want to put the effort in, you do learn a lot. You get a chance to edify for yourself your understanding of the topic when you have to explain the process to those who don't understand, and you can take pride in your good work when the others don't pull their share. The rest of the semester grades will reflect the other person's non-effort, while yours will shown the effort you put in. Take pride in your work, and ignore the others. You will come out on top when you get to the real working world, and they will be left wondering why they got left out.
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A: FROM MENTOR LYNN FRASER IN NV
: I know in these days when acceptance to colleges is getting harder and harder its difficult not to focus on grades. What your teacher is trying to do here is two-fold: 1) To teach you a valuable skill that you will need through college and in the real world - teamwork will be a part of your every day life in both of these places, and learning to work productively even with people you differ with will make life much easier for you; 2) By pairing mis-matched groups not only do those who are struggling have an opportunity to learn through you, but by teaching other people you obtain a much more solid understanding of the concept - if you can explain a concept to someone else you know you really understand what is going on. While it is frustrating to see other people riding on your work or having your own grades dragged down, the likelihood is that your teacher sees who is doing the hard work (if nothing else your scores on tests and homework demonstrate who understands the m!
aterial and who doesn't). In the real world you can be assured that this is the case - your manager will be involved with the team and it will be evident who is excelling and who is not carrying their load, and hopefully you will be rewarded accordingly through promotions and raises. If you are really worried about your grades have a discussion with your teacher - find out how she weighs individual work vs team work in your final grade, if your teacher has a fair grading policy it is likely that your individual work will carry a higher weight.
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A: FROM MENTOR DESIREE BUTTER IN PA
Alexis,
As a physician and someone who works on a team every day, I see teamwork and
group projects as something very high on the evolutionary ladder of learning
and functioning. It requires incredible skill and ability to see things
from multiple viewpoints for all of the reasons that you mention and many
more. It requires us to work and depend on others with different skill
sets, motivation, ability, emotions, "bad days", work ethic and so much
more. Someone who has developed the skills to work in a group, has the
ability to empathize with other group members and work with both their
strengths and weaknesses. A true group leader is not only able to work
wtihin a group, but is able bring out the best in that group. I think that
you will find that to truly be able to work in a group and get the most out
of it, you have to let go of yourself a little, be open to new ways of doing
things and be creative in finding ways to get things done. Group activities
can be a very fun and rewarding experience.
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A: FROM MENTOR SHEILA ENGLAND IN PA
What you describe all happens to varying degrees in the world of business
and work projects. What I dislike the most
is working with an unmotivated team. What I love about my work are times
when I am privileged to work on a well-oiled team that is committed to
produce a quality product. I endure the times when this is not the case
until I am offered or I pursue to opportunity to work on a quality team
again. Learn what you can about team work. Given your clear description
of the problems, it sounds as though you may be a future manager! :)
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A: FROM MENTOR SUZANNE FRANKS IN KS
One of the major problems with team work in school is that most
teachers really don't understand how to make sure groups can function well to do a true team project. Unfortunately this is true for a lot of professors in college, but not so much so in industry and the working world.
If you put a bunch of people together in a group and tell them "you have
to get this project done" that is not a true team work situation. That is a recipe for chaos and
some people slacking off while others do all the work. True team work requires both
interdependence and collaboration.
By that I mean, that the group as a whole cannot get the project done
without everyone contributing their own unique piece, so that each person has to rely on all the others.
Each person should have something that they alone are responsible for, and no one person should be able to do all the work on their own - each should have to rely on all the others. In classes, students should get graded both on their individual contribution, and then a group grade on the whole group's effort. This kind of arrangement builds in incentive for group members to work together. In real life, this kind of arrangement is
usually the default. For example, suppose you are part of a team that is
working to gain approval from the FDA for a new drug. You have to do trials in which you test the drug for safety and to see how well it works. You need doctors and nurses and patients to run the trial. You need someone to go out to each site and monitor the data from each patient to make sure it is recorded accurately and completely. You need someone to set up the database to collect all the data, and someone else to enter it in. You need someone to write and run the computer programs that will analyze the data.
You need someone to take the results of those analyses and write them up
in documents for FDA officials to read. And that does not even begin to cover all the pieces
of work that have to be done.
Clearly no one person could do all this work by herself, and no one would
be foolish enough to try!
You have to do your piece of it successfully and trust others to do
theirs, or else the whole project fails and the company is in trouble and doesn't make as much money, and you might ultimately lose your job if
the company fails. So there is a lot of incentive to work hard!

So what can you do if you are in a situation where you don't have true
team work? You can try to function as a leader and assign parts of the work to team members and explain to each other how each person has to do their share to make sure the team succeeds. You could talk to your teacher and explain your frustrations and ask if there are some changes that could be made to insure that each group member has a responsibility and an incentive to work hard. Otherwise, try to remember this.
You are not being hurt by someone else benefiting from your hard work in
school right now. They are not helping themselves, in the long run, by accepting a grade for something they never learned how to do.
So it is their problem, not yours. Try to content yourself with learning
as much as you can for your own sake.
You think they are getting a good deal now by benefitting from your work,
but in the long run, you will be the one who is better off.
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May 1, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR BARB KONTOGIANNIS IN CO
Ah, group work. It is a reality in industry. However, unlike in
school, it becomes very clear who is not completing their part of the
effort, and not everyone receives the same "grade." It does take everyone's
piece of the puzzle to complete the project, but the group dynamics will be
a little different than the assigned groups in schoolwork. I can't say you
will never encounter "slackers" in your college days or professional career,
but I would venture that it gets better. By the time you are in college,
the students there want to be there, and like you, want to succeed. You
will run into people that try to take credit for your ideas or work, but not
very often. You'll have to stand up for yourself, and diplomatically handle
the situation. Believe it or not, the experiences you have now will help
you learn how to handle situations later in your studies and career. Hang
it there - it'll never be perfect, but it should get better.
And discuss your dilemma with your teachers - they may have some insights
for you, and would also appreciate your perspective on the team situations.
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A: FROM MENTOR CAROL TOMAN IN IL
We didn't do as much group work when I was in school as I see my
daughter doing now. She would agree totally with your frustration
about unfairly carrying the load. In the work world, most jobs must
be done in teams. Sometimes the teams are tightly tied together and
on a short deadline similar to your school experiences. Other times
the day-to-day tasks are more independent but eventually your bigger
success is dependent on other people getting their work done. Here
are the key differences I see between your experiences and the working
world: 1) You don't get a "grade" for each project you do.
Performance is evaluated over a longer period and multiple aspects of
your work so a truer, fairer picture of your contributions stands out
over time. 2) Because you get to know the abilities of the other
people you work with, assignments do not get divided evenly. The most
able people willingly take a disproportionate share of the work. They
earn their good reputations. But let's also be realistic. Politics
and emotions do drive some behavior in the workplace. Some people
will try to take credit when it is not due. Others will maneuver into
high visibility jobs whether they can do the work or not. People like
this still get under my skin, but I'm much better now at getting over
it pretty quickly and I have faith that most of the people around me
also recognize the fakers. I always try to apply two axioms in my
work: 1) readily admit when I don't know something and immediately
offer to find out or learn about it, and 2) "take the blame and share
the credit". People appreciate these behaviors very much and respect
the people that can live by them. Sometimes these feel bad in the
short term, but one's reputation is built over the long term.

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A: FROM MENTOR NATALIE GIVANS IN VA
I have worked in a consulting firm for 19 years and have always
participated as sometimes leader of, sometimes follower within, and
sometimes peer of many other staff in work groups. There is almost no
project where you work by yourself in our field because most projects
need many staff with many skills to do the job right and to provide the
absolute best value and outcome to the clients. I would agree that
there is always an initial concern staff have about whether they will be
recognized for their own skills and ideas, whether the team will achieve
the goals on time, and whether everyone will pull their weight. In our
business, it is the job of the staff to contribute and make a difference
while it is the job of the team leader to ensure everyone gets air time
for their ideas, everyone gets appropriate credit, the team succeeds,
and that everyone carries their weight. the team leader counsels staff
who are not being team players and will reassign them if they don't do
their job to support the team.

It's harder in school where work groups don't usually have a designated
leader whom everyone will listen to and take direction from. However,
you can try having a "kick-off" meeting within a work group to identify
roles and responsibilities, expectations, schedules and deadlines, and
how to solve problems if some arise (which they always do). Having a
set of expectations and rules ahead of time, that everyone buys into
(maybe even "signs" a contract with each other) can help when the
inevitable 11th hour efforts kick in and emotions can be high.
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A: FROM MENTOR LEE PELLEGRINO-GENSEY IN NJ
One of the things I like about working in science is that the intelligence
and motivation level of the people I work with is much higher than the
average of the general public that you would meet in a retail job or
interact with in school. As in every job, you will probably run into people
who just want to coast and participate minimally, but with good management
their lack of contribution will not pull down your rewards (salary, bonuses,
and publications rather than grades). Overall, the people who are in these
SET jobs are here because they really wanted to be, so they have the
motivation. Hang in there - you will find that college is an improvement on
your current situation, grad school weeds out slackers even more, and by the
time you get into your SET job you will find the high level of motivation
and work ethic in your coworkers that you yourself already possess. Don't
lose that!