The Benefits and Drawbacks of Small Group Work

Some Benefits:

When working in small groups all the members are able to contribute their ideas to the group project this would speed up the brainstorming process. The work load is also decreased because the members can split up the tasks or work collectively to complete the assignment. Also having more people work on the assignment allows for the assignment to be bigger and for it to be completed fast than if one person were working on it.

Some Drawbacks:

Students tend to get off topic when working with a group of peers, for example, weekend plans become more talked about then the assignment. Students that are in the same group may not always get along or may have conflicting views, ideas, or opinions on the assignment and how it should be completed. In small groups there are always a couple of students who do not contribute to the assignment and leave all the work on someone else.