11 Lessons Learned (Student Quotes)

When asked to reflect on lessons learned, specifically how they might improve on this project were they to create it again (or what others might consider in future projects),  their responses include:

“I could’ve been more attentive during this project. In the very beginning, it felt like we had a lot of time to work with but things moved much quicker than I anticipated. Staying entirely up-to-date with the group’s progress was something that would’ve improved my performance significantly because it was difficult to move forward without knowing what had already been completed.”

“I would have to say that this has to be the best group work I have ever done. We were so consistent in everything we did. We communicated really well through texting and video chats if we needed to do so. This group really helped each other whenever someone was struggling and we never left anyone behind. Even though there were some problems with the communication since some of the group members couldn’t make it to both class and our meetings, we still managed to get through the hardships because we would tell each other what we did, what was accomplished, and what needed to be done. Once we finished with our project, I can remember how happy we were; From not having barely anything done to a finished product, we were able to work together until we got it done and the best part was no one got left behind. Extremely pleased.”

“The lessons that I learned from this project would have to be the importance of communication, collaboration, time management, and just being able to see the others’ perspectives on things. We really did these three aspects and for me, it made the group and working on the project so much more effective and productive than my past projects with other groups. I learned to just speak up if I have ideas and just speak my mind to my group members because I feel like everyone’s ideas are important so sharing them will be beneficial to yourself and to the other group members.”

“For future projects, I will definitely speak out on the ideas that I have. It taught me how to manage my time well instead of doing everything last minute and on the day it is due. It helped me to create a time management plan on when to work on it. In the future, I will definitely be using group chats much more so we can communicate without having to talk but also text. It also challenged me to try new things to add and made me think more about different viewpoints from my group members since they had different opinions and I totally can see where they are coming from. Overall, I am really happy with what we did and what I learned from this project.”

“I think one of the biggest lessons I learned through the creation of the project is that the creative process takes time. For example, I thought we would meet for the first time, then more or less agree on what the final version of the project would be. However, this was not the case. As we researched more and continued to work on the project, it continually changed form and was different from what I had in mind at the start. I think that if I am ever working on a collaborative art or creative piece, I will take more time to do research and be less eager to jump to a finished project at the start”

“I believe we could have reduced some stress and awkward silence moments during our festival if we had been more prepared time-wise. I understand it’s hard to collaborate in groups with different schedules so spreading the word of what’s going at the final event should be prioritized. By sending out reminders and trying to communicate to get as much participation will only be beneficial in the end.”

“Our group could’ve checked in with other groups during the planning of the actual festival, instead of waiting until the very end. I think that we were very lost in the beginning, as we didn’t know exactly what we contributed to the festival. We could’ve opened a line of communication earlier with Pravah’s documentation group to guide us on our tasks.”

“I think that the group was very shy and no one really stepped up to the plate of opening up until our second meeting. We didn’t know how to talk to one another/ reach out when we needed help. We should’ve set goals for the next meeting when we met so that we’re able to jump right in to work on the festival.”

“I thought our arts festival was empowering and inspiring! It brings me joy that I had the opportunity to participate and help with such an inspirational arts festival! I thought all of our socially engaged art projects were very meaningful, as I learned so much and feel empowered. Knowing UWB students have a voice and the power to impact the future of the world for the better!”

“Ways we could have been more successful in collaborating with the other groups could have been to have more direct contact with one another. Other than the discussion boards, not much communication was going on between our groups and more communication between our groups had occurred through email or social media than a lot of the issues we faced could have been resolved.”

“Based on this experience, how I could personally improve my performance in future group work collaboration, is by voicing out my ideas and being able to speak out more. I’m a very shy person so I just tend to go with ideas that the whole group agrees with, but I also have Ideas that I would like to share, so for the future I need to break that barrier and make my voice heard.”

“In the future I hope to improve my performance by improving my communication more within my own group and taking up more of a leadership role. I believe that I was a little passive on lots of things for this project and I wish I took up a bigger role.”

“Upon reflection, because our group’s tasks were pretty manageable and simple we did not have much of a workload so in retrospect we could’ve assisted other groups with their tasks or responsibilities that might’ve wanted our help in other areas.”

“I think our group could have been more successful in collaborating with other groups by scheduling Zoom conferences with them. While the online nature of the festival isn’t something we could control, communicating through message boards and emails are not as effective as meeting either in-person or through Zoom, where we can see and easily talk to the other group members. Another way we could have been more successful is by dividing up tasks into smaller components. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work that needs to be done, so I think dividing tasks could have made that easier.”

“I learned that I need to put myself out there so that others can reciprocate and match the energy. In the beginning, we were all just waiting for someone to start talking and starting the conversation. In the future, I need to stop being so shy and allow myself to work freely with my classmates. Not being able to see their faces and never meeting them before made me really nervous!”

“I really enjoyed participating with our organizational group of Pravah. It taught me a whole lot as well as helped boost my group skills which I know will be beneficial in the near future…… Pravah is an interesting and amazing group of people which I enjoyed greatly working with, and hope to work with in the near future.”

“Ways we could improve with collaboration with the other groups would be to try to find a time for everyone to meet. It was difficult to try to get the different groups to meet and just try to find a time that would work for everyone instead of just one individual going. We wanted to divide the work evenly as opposed to someone doing more work than the other so that was why it was a problem. Another thing would have to be talking. When we did have a chance to talk, it was filled with silence and slight awkwardness (for me, that is). I didn’t like how there wasn’t much talking when there should have been since it is a whole festival that we are doing. We knew what we were doing but talking about what we were doing was something that needed improving. “

“What I do think would have made the festival noticeably more successful is if all of us had our cameras on. This is pretty demanding, especially in our individualistic culture. I do believe though, that if we did have our cameras turned on and showed appreciation and enthusiasm for performances and presentations, our guests would have had a better experience. We are supposed to motivate our audience to take interest and even if they were already interested, showing them that we collectively were proud of the festival could have initiated a more enthusiastic response.”

“I think this collaboration gave me experience in what I needed to improve upon. This was an interesting learning experience for me and I felt like I was able to expand upon my social and teambuilding skills.”

“I learned that its always good to check in on our group mates, it’s especially difficult with our circumstances right now. Another thing I learned was how powerful the message that Pravah is trying to put out to the world. Overall my experience with this project will help me in future projects because I was able to learn how to communicate with my classmates strictly online and not in person.”

“In this project I learned that communication is key, and that although meetings are helpful they aren’t always necessary nor do they need to be long in order to achieve the goal.”
“This also taught me a lot about covid and also made me meet new people, which is something that is interesting and excites me. I feel like more collaborations with one another makes you understand others and build more confidence in teamwork.”

“In the future, I will be more direct with my questions. I feel that by not addressing the confusion, it hindered our ability to efficiently create a cohesive project. Checking in along the way and making sure everyone is on the same page should be a priority in these types of collaborations.”

“I understand that there will always be people who don’t do much in the project because everyone else does more than what they intended to, something comes up (in our case), or they simply do nothing, but that’s just the natural order of things and you have to communicate with the group and you have to be able to pick up the slack and I think this could help me become a better group member in future group projects.”

“Even though our group performed really well with the contributions of one another, there could have been specific ways that we could have been way more successful in collaborating with other groups and the festival as a whole. In my own opinion, I feel like engaging more in constructive conversations with other groups would have most definitely helped lead us to explore more open ideas and create early group goals in order to have a specific part done before continuing through other major sections. I understand that everyone is busy from time to time and no one has the same schedule, but being able to engage more with each other and gather different ideas from everyone will help shape what we truly want our audience to reflect once the festival is over. However, overall our groups did a thorough job on the project as a whole.”

“ Some lessons I have learned is that communication is key in group project as well as time management which will help lead a productive collaboration in future groups by having a more cohesive project.”

“ A lesson that I’ve learned is that if you take charge in any group project, the other group members will automatically look to you as the point person for the whole project, meaning a lot of the group responsibility and guidance will fall onto you. This lesson might lead to a more productive collaboration on future projects because I know where I stand in a group dynamic which can help with the team collaboration and communication factor of a project.”

“I have learned that there are many different people and trying to connect with each one of them is difficult, also time management is difficult when there are numerous people in the group all with a different work schedule so planning will help.”
“I learned some groups don’t work well together and end up being a bunch of followers with no leaders.”

“I believe that communication is a crucial part of teamwork and without it, the project would fall apart. I also believe that it is important to hold everyone in the group accountable and make sure that no one falls behind and is aligned with our group work progress so that they are actively always engaged throughout the project.”

“ I learned that group work is easy if everyone works together. Luckily I had a hardworking group.”