Some advice on groups in class (Im worried!)

[Thedreamer]

Hey guys! If some of you recall my situation with certain students in class, there is a clique of a few girls that treat me very badly. They are the same girls that refuse to give bed baths to patients, always come late to class, talk rudely to the instructors and other students.

Our teacher for next term, (fourth term) came in today to tell us about her class and what we could expect. She also stated that the entire class was to be broken up into groups to which we will do everything with. (Projects, presentations, clinical, ect) Now it is almost certain that I will be placed with one or more of these students which makes me very nervous. I understand being professional and trying to get along with people, even these girls who loathe me.

I of course have no problem grouping with them, because in life you cant always choose your co workers, so this will be a learning experience. I am however concerned about the clinical aspect, and projects. In clinical they are known for treating thier patients coldly, and often refusing basic care saying it is beneath them. I am the exact opposite, I am a patients advocate. Also a few of them completely ignore me. (i.e. one of them needed a pencil for her test in clinical, so trying to do the right thing I handed her my extra pencil and told her "good luck" on the test. Not only did she not thank me, but she threw the pencil out and I had to find out from my instructor)

My question is how should I deal with this potential issue? I am trying to think positive. I know that I have no problem talking to them, its just very one sided, theres no communication because they simply hate me. Unfortunately, some students have come to me saying they overheard these girls simply dont like me because I am a white male, which really scares me. I tried to talk to the teacher about this issue but she didnt want to hear anything of it. Im very worried and scared about this. I understand in a working environment you cant choose your co workers. But in a learning environment if I am put with these girls, I am afraid it will hinder my learning experience.

What can I do? :uhoh21:

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

ok, my little cherubs, a new member over on the nursing student assistance forum was looking for help with a paper on team building and in doing a little surfing some very interesting links on student group projects came up that just so happen to fit in with this subject which comes up a good deal on this forum. so, here's the links i found. most of them were put together for students to help them in accomplishing a group project. some contain the answer to the always asked question, "why do we have to work in groups?" read on. i suggest you might want to copy and paste some of this stuff into a word document so you have the information just in case the web page gets pulled off the internet, the data lost forever and you get stuck doing another group project next year. enjoy (as best you are able). . .i absolutely love the title of the first one.

http://www.csc.calpoly.edu/~sludi/semanual/tableofcontents.html - student survival guide to managing group projects. click on the links to get into the text.

http://lowery.tamu.edu/teaming/morgan1/tsld001.htm - use of teams in classes. a slide show presentation on teamwork, how to create teams and how to work on team projects.

http://www.usq.edu.au/course/material/mkt2001/teamwork.htm - teamwork. site specifically for students to help you in working together in a team.

http://www.academictutorials.com/teamwork/ - team tutorial

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cog%27s_ladder - cog's ladder. the five steps necessary for a group of people to work together efficiently.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/forming-storming-norming-performing - tuckman's stages of team development: forming, storming, norming and performing.

http://apu.gcal.ac.uk/ciced/ch33.html - working as part of an academic team. a bit scholarly and probably written more for instructors, buy, hey! might as well get some insight as to what their thinking process is, don't you think?

[Thedreamer]

Dear god that is extremely helpful and informative. I just read a full section on group dynamics and behaviors and now i feel ALOT more prepared for this up coming term then I did before. Thanks so much!

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

also wanted to point out that the book, the team handbook by peter r. scholtes, brian l. joiner, barbara j. streibel, was referenced in one of the above weblinks. this book is kind of an industry bible on teams. it's in its third edition and if anyone feels like they would like to see what these experts have to say, the book should be on the shelves of many libraries.

also, i've noticed that at least one of the links includes a list of behaviors that team members should demonstrate. if you have team members who absolutely just continue to be disruptive and non-productive, use this list to articulate to your instructors the kinds of difficulties you are having with them. it makes you sound more professional and knowledgeable about what you are doing. it also gives your instructors some direction in how to go about helping you solve these problems (hopefully!). at least you'll have done your part toward working on the problem.

[bookworm1]

The instructors may seem to be ignoring the problem students, but they are probably well aware of the issues. I was in several such group projects last few semesters and found that the instructors were able to clearly identify who did most of the work and graded accordingly. I used the difficult students as learning opportunities to improve my own behavior. On the other hand, I've had some excellent group partners and I focused on them rather than the problems.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

thedreamer. . .i've been looking at information on time management and career advice this morning and ran across this little article. i thought it might be interesting to post here since there is no doubt we all fit into one of these three categories and we know others who do as well.

http://www.workingworld.com/magazine/viewarticle.asp?articleno=199&wn= - the zebra and its stripes. if you think you are (or know someone who is) a perfectionist, rebel or people pleaser--read on about some insight.