As the saying goes, two heads are better than one. Collaborating with others has many benefits in school projects. Working with others builds trust and improves leadership skills. Additionally, people can learn from each other in a group setting, which helps with brainstorming. All of these qualities make students attractive beyond the walls of their school, preparing them for success after high school.

Group projects can help build trust and respect between students. Often, working with another classmate can give insight into their personality and interests. Learning more about peers while working with them can help absolve prejudices and judgements. Collaborating on a project requires trust that the other group members will do their portion of the project. If everyone does their part, this can build respect between the members of the group.

Leadership skills can improve through participation in group projects. Most of the time, there needs to be at least one leader in the group that separates tasks and divides them between the other students. If there is a struggle on where to start, this can be a good opportunity for members of the group to practice their leadership skills, including delegating tasks, holding other students accountable, making sure everyone is on task, and keeping track of deadlines. The University of Birmingham states that there are many skills that can be improved through group projects, such as delegation, communication, and organization. All of these skills are important to leadership. Overall, being a part of a group can teach many leadership skills.

Lastly, group projects can facilitate learning and understanding of difficult topics. Students can build off each others’ ideas in order to create a final product. Cornell University states that  working with peers can help students see different perspectives on the same subject. This is especially true if a certain subject is controversial or largely opinion-based, in which discussion can be important in helping students see other views. Group projects can help students further understand a topic because of discussion with their peers.

All of these skills learnt in school can help students in the real world as well. Leadership skills are heavily sought after by colleges and employers. Additionally, communication skills gained through working with others on projects can be helpful in the workplace. Being able to see others’ perspectives and empathize with them is an incredibly important skill to have in general.

All in all, collaborating in school is important to the learning process and can be incredibly insightful. Students can learn and understand topics better through working together with others. They can also build many useful skills that can be helpful in leadership positions. Even just getting to know about others and learning others’ perspectives on topics can improve learning. Although group projects are often overlooked, they are advantageous in the classroom and the real world.