{"id":27764,"date":"2025-04-03T09:36:27","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T01:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/?post_type=oasis-news&p=27764"},"modified":"2025-04-04T09:20:29","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T01:20:29","slug":"i-have-bad-groupmates-now-what","status":"publish","type":"oasis-news","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/oasis-news\/i-have-bad-groupmates-now-what\/","title":{"rendered":"I Have Bad Groupmates. Now What?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In the latest episode of I\u2019m at Curtin, Now What?<\/em>, Kristel and the crew dive into one of the most polarising realities of uni life: group assignments. And to make things worse, chances are you\u2019ve had (or are in) a project where the “group” feels more like a solo act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how do you know you’re paired with people who don’t pull their weight, and how can you make sure that you don’t become one?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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The Red Flags You Shouldn’t Ignore<\/h2>\n \n
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The ghost<\/h2><\/div>

For Kristel, it starts with attendance… or rather, the lack of it. One major red flag is the groupmate who never shows up to class or misses the collaborative sessions entirely. If they\u2019re not there to learn the content or join discussions, chances are they\u2019re not contributing much to the project either.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The silent scroller<\/h2><\/div>

Then there\u2019s the silent scroller. The one who reads the group chat but never replies. It\u2019s not just frustrating and it\u2019s damaging to the group\u2019s cohesion and morale.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The copy-pasters<\/h2><\/div>

And let\u2019s not forget the copy-pasters. Kristel warns about those who dump questionable AI-generated work into the shared doc without checking the sources or cleaning up placeholders like \u201cInsert reference here.\u201d One of her top tips? Always double-check sources. If something seems off, it probably is.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div> <\/div>\n\n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Doing the Bare Minimum Isn\u2019t Enough<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kristel flags is the \u201cI\u2019ve done my part, so I\u2019m done\u201d mindset.<\/strong> Just because someone submitted their section doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s the final version! Feedback and revisions<\/strong> are part of the process. A good groupmate doesn\u2019t check out after pasting their paragraph; they stay in the loop, open to edits and discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presentations are another pain point. Reading off slides<\/strong> or staring at your phone while delivering your part isn’t just lazy. It\u2019s disrespectful to the effort the rest of the team put in. For Kristel, it\u2019s about knowing your content and engaging with your audience<\/strong>. A presentation isn\u2019t a script read-through, it\u2019s a performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Group Work Becomes Group Chat Distraction<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also the groupmate who derails everything<\/strong>. Turning a working session into a social hour with, \u201cHey, what are your weekend plans?\u201d While it\u2019s nice to bond, Kristel stresses that time management is key. A good groupmate helps others stay on task,<\/strong> not spiral into procrastination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When someone consistently distracts or derails the group, it sets off a domino effect. The vibes get weird, communication breaks down, and soon everyone\u2019s too annoyed to collaborate properly. According to Kristel, the fix is simple: be a decent person for two weeks. That\u2019s all most group assignments take. Just show up, contribute, communicate, and stay engaged.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So What Should You Do With a Bad Groupmate?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kristel\u2019s advice? Don\u2019t wait. The moment you spot a red flag, call it out<\/strong>! Kindly but clearly. Giving people the benefit of the doubt is fine, but if it starts affecting the whole group, it\u2019s better to speak up than silently pick up the slack. You\u2019re not just saving your grade, you\u2019re setting a standard for what good teamwork looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, don’t be afraid to contact your tutors or unit coordinators for support! They’re there to help. Just ensure to provide to them with evidence when communicating the difficulties of a bad groupmate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, group work is preparation for the real world.<\/strong> No matter your future career, you\u2019ll need to collaborate with people, and sometimes that means navigating difficult personalities. Think of group assignments as practice for that. It\u2019s not just about getting the project done, it\u2019s about learning how to work with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n \n

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A Twist in the Tale\u2026<\/h2>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n\n
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Kristel was secretly tasked with being the bad groupmate on purpose on the latest episode! Will her castmates realise? Well, whether she nailed the role a little too well or not, you’ll have to watch the episode to decide.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n

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Watch more ‘I’m at Curtin, Now What’<\/h2>\n \n
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Have you ever thought to yourself… I\u2019m at Curtin, now what? <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n \n

Well, IACNW is devoted to busting the secrets of student life at Curtin, Perth and beyond! Watch the new season starring Aakanksha, Musa, Kristel and Ravish on YouTube!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n

\n Watch now<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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This article, alongside Season 2 of ‘I’m at Curtin, Now What’ is proudly powered by Medibank<\/em>. Check out what Medibank can do for students here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IACNW star Kristel shares some tips on how to spot a bad groupmate, and how to combat it! Plus, watch the newest episode of I’m at Curtin, Now What!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4452,"featured_media":27816,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"7683,5978,6052,8155,7037,5889","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_oasis-categories":0,"footnotes":""},"oasis-categories":[138,146,147],"class_list":["post-27764","oasis-news","type-oasis-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","oasis-categories-international","oasis-categories-student-life","oasis-categories-study-skills"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"","content":"","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"","qualification":"","link":"","description":"","faculty":""}],"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":false},"display_author":false,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled_1.100.2-1000x1080.jpg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Joaquin","last_name":"Atizado","display_name":"Joaquin Atizado"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-25 05:57:35","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"oasis-categories","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-news\/27764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/oasis-news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-news\/27764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"oasis-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-categories?post=27764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}