DL Individual assignments vs. DL team work

Dear all,

I am currently trying to choose between two Project Management programs to study for.

The programs are more or less similar, still among obvious differences is that one is a mix of individual assignments and online discussions, while the second has a very strong emphasis on DL team work - obligatory team assignments, teleconferencing, team project being a capstone...

It seems to me that DL intensive, obligatory and extensive team work might turn to have a lot of pitfalls (free-riders, or, on the contrary, agressive know-alls for program deadlines are really tough), and being a DL it may be more of a disadvantage than an opportunity...or not?

Don't get me wrong - I AM a team player, have a productive real-life experience of team work and actually never feared it at my job.

Would appreciate any ideas/experiences about that.

Thanks in advance,
Natalya

 

I agree, I would rather not do the DL team work thing. Teleconferencing, team projects, and all that kind of stuff can turn into a big nightmare. I prefer the individual approach.


Take care,


Abner

 

Teams suck! It's like academic socialism or something.

 

Avoid teamwork programs at all costs. Nothing reveals and demonstrates the mediocrity of most college students faster than a group of them working together. If you're a better student than they are, believe me, they'll smell that blood fast and the only way quality work will get done is if you do it yourself... which they'll also figure out.

Trust me. No groups/teams. Ever.

 

Can be but shouldn't be. A team is a group of individuals and not a collective. But I've seen in the corporate environment forced collectivization in the name of teamwork. And, of course, that doesn't work.

 

I would say to avoid the teamwork at all costs except that it's Project Management. If all your experiences with teamwork have been good so far, you might need to learn to handle bad ones! Real-life project management can involve huge difficulties like being wholly "in charge" of people's output when you have zero authority over them, handling people who produce terrible work, or people who just tell you what you want to hear and don't ever follow through, or else don't bother to even pretend they're going to do the work, handling brilliant but flaky people who are so bored with the assignment they do something totally off-track, etcera etcetera....

On the other hand you will almost certainly learn more from the individual approach and be less stressed out while learning it. Personally, I hate hate hate group work. Academic teamwork is usually awful, and I think it's because it tends to be mandatory and randomly assigned. The best teamwork comes out of people who have complementary strengths and are really interested in working together, not people who are just thrown an assignment based on the letters of their last names that they could have done by themselves anyway. It's not really teamwork, it's teambusywork.

 

If you are TRULY considering a program that is heavy on the group projects, you might consider getting a load of these two threads:

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19340
http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18321

 

Thanks for all

Dear all,

Thank you for input provided - much appreciated. I guess, I have made up my choice.

BTW, I am not a PM seasoned pro, just understand PM knowledge/skills are very useful at my job... as for "handling the bad ones (team work experiences)", I guess I need to master one thing at a time... in addition to my job and my family!

Once again,
Thanks a lot!
Natalya

 

I'm not at all a fan of the team project in education, for many reasons. However, I'm currently teaching for two different schools that require a team project for each course, so I make the best of it.

One school allows me to assign whatever grading percentage I see fit to the team project for individual students, so I set it as low as I'm allowed. The other school sets it automatically, so I VERY carefully monitor each student's participation towards the project, and grade accordingly.

 

It seems most schools will require it at some point in a business education, of course my experience is really limited to my undergrad studies and my current MBA studies. I would say that you will learn quickly team dynamics, lol, your grade will depend on it. I am not a big fan of team projects, but they do provide an educational benefit, as you will learn to work with others that have varying strengths, weaknesses and motivational drives. In a way, being an active duty NCO gave me a background in dealing with group dynamics and team building, so I was better prepared to deal with others in this context than I had originally thought, so while I would rather deal with projects on my own, the reality is often that you are going to have to deal with team work sooner or later.

William

 

Yes, but you shouldn't have your grade depend upon it! Several years ago I took two classes (on location) at the University of Phoenix. For each class, we had to complete two group assignments (I had the same group of people for each class). I did my best to lead the group (as noone else wanted the job), however it was a nightmare. Two of the three group members were unable to complete a thought, let alone a group assignment. The other person was competent, but highly unmotivated. Of course, I'm not perfect either, but I was actually there to learn (and I was prepared to learn). I couldn't deal with this form of torture (which I learned would occur in just about every class at U of P), so I dropped out. I have no regrets!

Stay away from group courses at all costs!!!

- Tom

 

William, I agree with you. Group projects are hard, but with a good attitude you can learn a lot from them. Employers are quick to say that what universities teach is not grounded in the realities of business; however, teamwork and team dynamics are very important lessons to learn. Because team projects are so hard in a different sort of way (they required advanced social and managment skills not subject knowledge) some students are not prepared to change their mindset and how they approach the class.

I've had two courses that required group projects for the entire semester. I learned a lot from both of those courses but they are labor intensive. I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything, but on the other hand I don't look forward to my next class that requires a group project.

 

I trust Gregg has never taught at UoP.

Learning teams certainly have their downsides. Collaborating, coordinating, and dealing with non-performers are all hassles. But the upside is strong, too. Having built-in peer resources gives students an immediate source for support. Team assignments allow for more complex projects and assessments. Learning teams also simulate the working environment, where real business problems are seldom tackled by one person working alone.

Finally, be careful of the vocal minority. There are more than a quarter-million students attending UoP; something must be right.

(For the record, I could do without learning teams as an instructor. I'm not convinced the time lost to them--fewer class contact hours--is worth the benefits. But it isn't as cut-and-dried as some pose, and many students really benefit and thrive in the collaborative learning model.)

 

UoP, where I've taught for awhile, allows instructors flexibility in setting assignments and grades. Of course, every course syllabus must be approved by the Campus Chair of that department, so if an instructor strays too far off the farm he/she can be pulled back in.

 

Having taught more than 30 times for UoP, and having many military people in those classes, I can support William's self-observation. Fomer and active military people, as a group, are much better prepared for working on learning teams. Funny about that.

 

Your "grade" in the workplace is utterly dependent upon others as well. That's life.

In the UoP model, the instructor has the flexibility to award different grades to individual members on a learning team. I've done this on several occasions.

Also, learning teams are re-formed for each new class--bad performers can be rejected by the team and forced to find another team. Those types tend to shape up or drop.

 

Don'tcha just hate it when Rich is right? (Just kidding... about hating it, I mean, not about Rich being right.)

 

Oh, I wouldn't use an absolute term like "right" in this case. Let's just say I have an informed opinion, not unlike many others, present company included.

 

Individual work assignment almost wins the day. Team work is only practical if you can trust the minds of the other team mates.

And teams never cease to have "joy riders" who drag and bog everyone else down yet still expect a good grade.

You can only trust yourself and your judgement and especially if the project at hand is very critical to your final mark.