One student wants “good enough,” another wants perfection.
Give up
Split the work
Agree on what the assignment requires and aim for that
Make fun of them
The project is due tomorrow and things aren’t done.
Yell at everyone
Decide what must be finished first and start there
Email for an extension
Panic
One student thinks others aren’t good enough.
Let them redo everything
Insult them
Separate completely
Divide work based on strengths
The group leader is stressed and snapping at people.
Let them melt down
Take over quietly
Step in and offer support or help
Criticize them
A student presents someone else’s idea as their own.
Ignore it
Bring it up later
Call them out in front of everyone
Mention it privately and clear it up
One member refuses to let anyone else help.
Ask the teacher to assign jobs
Tell them they're bossy
Reassign tasks so everyone has a role
Let them do everything
A group member says, “I don’t care anymore.”
Check in and find out what's wrong
Let them stop
Replace them
Shame them
Two group members clearly don’t like each other and won’t talk.
Avoid pairing them together
Tell them to grow up
Say, “Can we just focus on the assignment so we can finish?”
Let the leader handle everything
A student says, “This is your fault.”
Redirect the group toward fixing the problem
Stay quiet
Blame them back
Walk away
One student contributes very little but expects credit.
Say, “Can you finish this part before we turn it in?”
Say nothing
Call them lazy
Document it for later
The group can’t agree and time is almost up.
Force a decision
Freeze
Make a quick decision and commit
Flip a coin
Right before presenting, two students argue about content.
Let it go and present anyway
Quickly agree on one version so the group doesn’t fall apart
Say, "Too late, deal with it."
Ask the teacher to decide
Two students thought they were doing the same part.
Pick the better one
Blame each other
Drop one version
Decide who is doing what moving forward
The group can’t meet outside of school.
Meet without everyone
Adjust plans to meet briefly or work asynchronously
Insist someone cancel something and make time
Give up
One student takes over and complains no one helps.
Thank them and move on
Let them do it
Tell them to stop being bossy
Ask to split the tasks so everyone has a part.
One group member misses the deadline for the second time.
Tell the teacher immediately
Say, “You always do this. You’re ruining the project.”
Ignore it and finish their part yourself
Ask what’s going on and make a clear plan so it doesn’t happen again
Someone starts getting sarcastic during planning.
Be sarcastic back
Take a pause and steer the group back to the task
Change the subject
Ignore it
A student shuts down after their idea isn’t picked.
Find a way to include part of their idea
Tell them to get over it
Move on
Let them check out
A student says, “We’re doing my idea. I’m not changing it.”
Argue until they give in
Stop sharing ideas
Say, “What if we try yours first and then mine if it doesn’t work?”
Vote and move on
A member hasn’t responded to messages in days.
Send an angry message calling them out
Message them directly and ask if they’re confused or stuck
Remove them from the chat
Do nothing and hope they show up