herd mentality

And then, there's the slideshow -- that thing you can make in Google Slides that highlights the key points of your presentation.  One more fact: if you use Google Slides incorrectly, your presentations can end up more closely resembling exhibitions of torture. I'm talking the visual equivalent of a Chinese finger trap. No one wants to create those, let alone listen to them.  Sure, nobody gets hurt by a bad slideshow, but we can do better, right? 

What's the magical cure for presentations? My simple advice is to get smart. Keep those slides clean, concise, and brief. Prepare your presentation ahead of time by writing it really well, and then practice it with some clever techniques to get yourself familiar with it. If you do all that, what could go wrong?

READING: SURVIVING THE HERD

You probably know by now that groups tend to work in certain ways. Usually, everything starts out awkwardly and everybody avoids eye contact except for that one talkative kid who wants to know your opinion on Disney buying the rights to Indiana Jones. You glare at him with eyes of death, even though inside you're thinking "Harrison Ford forever, man!" but he keeps talking.

Then the deadline approaches and everybody gets steadily angrier until people resign themselves to their fates. In the end, you pull it all together in the last five minutes with varying degrees of success.

Well, there's a more scientific way of expressing that process, and it can be helpful to see it written out so that you're aware of it when it's happening to you.

Today, we're covering group dynamics like this and how they can apply to projects and study groups, as well as the all-important skill of giving feedback without risking bodily injury. Check out these guided notes; make a copy for yourself, follow along, and prepare for peace and harmony in that next group project, or at least a significantly lowered threat of bloodshed.

Sociology 101

Here's the actual sociological process of what's happening in those groups and when:

1. Forming: Everybody meets each other and is kind of nervous. A few tentative plans are made, but mostly you're getting to know each other.

2. Storming: People start to get dissatisfied with each other's ideas and plans and conflicts arise. Complaining ensues.

3. Norming: People either overcome their differences or just get used to them, and everybody settles into their roles in the group. Everybody starts to see a way forward.

4. Performing: The group comes together and each person contributes to the final goal.

Well, that kind of takes the edge off of group work, huh?

Completing a Project in a Group

In order to make that process as painless as possible, there are a few things you can do with your group. Here they are:

• Get to know each person. Seriously. Don't just get to know the talkative kid or the kid you already knew from biology class—take time to get to know each person in the group. Take turns introducing yourselves and sharing some initial ideas about the project. You might know everybody in your high school, but when you get to college, or even in the work place, you'll definitely need to do this step.

• Get yourselves some team spirit. I know, that sounds lame, but it can seriously make things go smoother to drum up some enthusiasm in your group. Try doing something social together, or playing an icebreaker game, or just give yourselves a dorky team name (The Brownie Eaters?). The more everybody feels like a team, the more likely they are to contribute.

• Make rules and a plan. This one is less fun, but it's super important. Early on in your little group's life, you've got to establish some ground rules, like: everybody does an equal amount of work, everybody gets to contribute ideas, and you all need to meet once a week. After rules, you need to agree on a plan of action that works for everybody. The plan should include who is responsible for what and a date when it's all due.

• Reflect and comment. As your project due date gets closer, it's a good idea to set aside time to reflect and comment on each other's progress. Look over each person's work thus far and offer feedback (more on that whole feedback problem in a second).

Studying in a Group

This is going to sound like a little bit of a downer, but study groups work best if they have just as much planning and work put into them as normal groups would. So, it's a pretty good idea to follow the same steps I listed above.

Get to know each other, and get enthusiastic about your study group. Make some clear goals for yourselves, and assign work to each member. Take it seriously. Otherwise your study group will turn into a fun club to hang out and pretend to study in. If only there were a show that described this process perfectly.

One last thing on study groups: I don't mean to be cynical (fine, I do), but it's a good idea to prepare yourself for the possibility that some group member won't be able to do his or her share of the work. So, you know, don't wait until the night before the big test to get the perfect flashcards that Michaela promised she'd make for everybody, because people (and transportation systems and immune systems and family members) aren't always reliable. Sometimes, the dog really does eat the flashcards.

Feedback For Friends and From Friends

Either as part of a group project, or as part of a peer review assignment, there will definitely be times when you need to give your peers feedback. There will also be times when you need to receive feedback. Neither of these things is terribly easy. If you're reviewing another student's work:

• Be descriptive. If there's a problem, describe it carefully and avoid big, sweeping statements. Don't say, "In general, it was pretty bad." Do say, "I think the section on manatees needs a little more editing to make it read smoothly."

• Be specific. Similarly, you should describe the problem specifically. The statement about manatees could be improved with some specifics, like so: "The section on manatees has some technical grammar problems—like verb/noun agreement—that prevent it from reading smoothly."

• Be honest, but not mean. You should never lie to somebody about his work, even if he's your BFF, but you should also be really, really careful not to be mean. Imagine how you'd like to hear criticism about your work. We all have off days. It's just a reality of life, so just hear the feedback and fix the problems. End of story. No tears or anger necessary.

• Be helpful. That means, offer constructive advice. If the paper is due in five days, it's probably not cool to tell your peer that you think her topic isn't that interesting. Offer the kind of advice somebody could do something about.

Now, let's flip the situation. Imagine you're the one getting feedback on your work. First—there's no way to make other people abide by the rules for giving good feedback (the horror!). They might be too harsh, or non-specific.

In general, unless they're tearing your paper into shreds and stamping on the remains while quoting Jack Nicholson lines, your best bet is to stay open-minded and receptive. Try really hard not to get defensive, and try to imagine some changes you could make to improve your paper.

READING: IT'S TIME TO RAISE THAT HAND

I need to confess something, young traveler. Most teachers hate discussion grades. They're easier to plan for, but getting students to engage in real discussions of the type the teacher envisions is often a painful, unsuccessful experience. Pages and pages of important education publications have been dedicated to finding the key to get students to actively and politely participate in class discussions online and in person. We hate it almost as much as you do, I promise.

On the other hand, class discussions can be a great way for a teacher to assess whether or not a class is "getting" the concepts. Think of it this way: if teachers wait on a sea of blank, disinterested faces, they have no choice but to assume that no one in class knows the answer to the question, and they should go back and re-teach all of the material over again.

That sounds like fun to exactly no one.

To avoid sitting through the same lecture another two or three times, why not just show that you understood it the first time with a few witty, well-placed discussion comments?

Yeah, I thought that sounded better.

Without further ado, behold! (Yes, take notes. Make a copy of my note-taking worksheet or make your own.)

The Guide to Acing Discussion Grades

1. Know the rubric.

Many teachers grade discussions using a rubric. It may also be a simple pass/fail scenario. Either way, know how you're being graded beforehand. If there is a rubric, the teacher should have no problem sharing it with you. Just ask me. I love sharing.

2. Be prepared.

Some class discussions are spur-of-the-moment, and there's not much you can do to prepare for those. In the event that you have a heads up, take the time to prepare for it like you would for an oral presentation. Review your notes on the topic and plan at least three different insightful questions or comments you can contribute.

3. Put quality over quantity.

Speaking of insightful, prioritize the quality of your comments over the quantity. Teachers rarely hand out high marks for merely opening one's mouth. Teachers hold discussions to see if students understand the concept, not to hear the luminous sound of your voice or enjoy the perfection of your typing skills, lovely though they may be. One good, analytical comment is worth more than two pointless ones.

4. Support your claims.

Spoken arguments are just like written arguments. All claims need evidence, including claims you make in discussion. Before offering your sparkling contribution, mentally ask yourself what the teacher is bound to ask: "Why do you say that?" If you can't find any evidence for that knowledge gold, guess what? It's pyrite.

5. Don't hog the mic.

Even if the discussion is dragging out painfully and only like four people are saying anything, don't cave to the silence. The only thing worse than a deadly silent room or discussion board is one being hogged by the same person who doesn't know when it's time to cool it. Don't be that guy. No one likes that guy. Also: Don't ramble. No one likes that guy either. Keep it short and sweet.

6. Listen to everyone else.

Discussion is a two-way street. The point of discussion is to have some debate and to build on what others say. If you're ignoring what that guy across the room is saying and just waiting for your next turn to talk, it's difficult to, you know, discuss anything.

7. Don't repeat what someone else says.

This goes back to quality over quantity. It occasionally happens that we run totally dry on brilliant insight and can't think of a single thing to say. At these times, avoid frantically rephrasing something someone else has just said in order to get those participation points in under the wire. If you're repeating or retyping someone else's comment, it means you weren't listening (participating) anyway, so it won't do you much good. Instead, take a few deep breaths and reflect a moment to find some of your own original insight.

8. Never interrupt.

This is Manners 101. If you can't contain it/won't contain it, write it down for when it is your turn.

9. Disagree politely.

There are times in the life of every discussion that someone (never you) says something completely and utterly wrong. It's just wrong. It's so wrong. You could count the ways it's wrong, but you won't. You don't have time to do that because it's wrong in so many ways. This is a good time to remember the numero uno Life Rule: Be kind to people. If you must disagree, do so politely. By that, I mean use "I disagree because…" instead of "You're so completely wrong that it's ridiculous and absurd." Tempted to include profanity? Probably best to keep that mouth shut or hand off of the keyboard until the steam dissipates.

10. Don't be a troll.

Everyone—everyone—hates internet trolls. You know, those people who hang out on every Comments board and do nothing but make rude, insulting comments over and over again as if he/she has nothing better to do with a day than be mean to strangers? Don't be that person either. It's totally cool to disagree respectfully and with evidence, but nobody invited Negative Nancy to this party. As Mama always said, "If you don't have anything nice to say, try harder."