Reimagining the Group Project for the Business Law Classroom

• Published date: 01 July 2016
• Date: 01 July 2016
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jlse.12047
• Author: Patricia Sánchez Abril

Journal of Legal Studies Education

Volume 33, Issue 2, 235–262, Summer 2016

Reimagining the Group Project for

the Business Law Classroom

Patricia Sánchez Abril∗

I. INTRODUCTION

Students love to hate group projects. Not surprisingly, one of the most ubiq-

uitous complaints about college on social media often centers on group

projects.1One recent meme depicted a mean-looking Batman f‌igure stating

“Group Projects make me understand why Batman prefers to work alone.”

Another noted “There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’, but apparently there is one hidden

somewhere in ‘group project.’” A third showed a pie chart entitled “What

Group Projects Teach Me”: one sliver was “The Material,” another small piece

was “Group Skills,” and the other ninety percent was “How Much I Hate Other

People.”2

Despite the seemingly deep-rooted distaste for group projects, instruc-

tors and employers alike agree that students must be equipped with the

skills of communication, teamwork, and critical thinking. This reality is es-

pecially true in our increasingly digital world, which disfavors face-to-face

interaction. Group projects are an acknowledged vehicle to prepare students

for future collaborative work, communication, problem solving, and conf‌lict

management.3

The benef‌its of collaborative learning are well known. A robust body of

pedagogical research evidences that group projects can enhance academic

∗Associate Professor of Business Law, University of Miami School of Business Administration.

1See Molly Mulshine, Teens Are Flocking to Instagram and Tumblr to Vent about School Group Projects

and the Results Are Hilarious,B

US.INSIDER (May 14, 2015), available at http://www.businessinsider.

com/group-project-memes-take-over-tumblr-and-instagram-2015-5.

2Id.

3See Carol L. Colbeck et al., Grouping in the Dark: What College Students Learn from Group Projects,

71 J. HIGHER EDUC. 60 (2000); Praveen Aggarwal & Connie L. O’Brien, Social Loaf‌ing on Group

Projects: Structural Antecedents and Effect on Student Satisfaction,30J.M

KTG.EDUC. 255 (2008).

C2016 The Author

Journal of Legal Studies Education C2016 Academy of Legal Studies in Business

235

236 Vol. 33 / The Journal of Legal Studies Education

success, interpersonal relationships, attitudes about learning, and career-

specif‌ic skills.4Studies have also shown that group projects can motivate

students,5prepare students to work well in groups,6and hone deeper crit-

ical thinking skills.7The conventional wisdom suggests that students who

have worked in groups are better prepared to meet the challenges of the

collaborative, globalized, and diverse workplace.8

Group projects are widespread in business pedagogy.9And the same

is increasingly true for the business law classroom.10 Many legal studies

courses11 and law professors12 use collaborative and group projects to

teach law. In fact, legal analysis is well suited to be the subject of active,

collaborative, and experiential learning.13 Turning simple curiosity into a

4See, e.g., David W. Johnson et al., Cooperative Learning Returns to College: What Evidence Is There

That It Works? CHANGE, July–Aug. 1998, at 27–35; Colbeck, et al., supra note 3; Leonard Springer

et al., Effects of Small-Group Learning on Undergraduates in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and

Technology: A Meta-Analysis,69R

EV.EDUC.RES. 21 (1999).

5Howard Denton, Simulating Design in the World of Industry and Commerce: Observations from a Series

of Case Studies in the United Kingdom,6J.T

ECH.EDUC. 1045 (1994).

6Elizabeth Pfaff & Patricia Huddleson, Does It Matter if I Hate Teamwork? What Impacts Students

Attitudes TowardsTeamwork,25J.M

KTG.EDUC. 37 (2003).

7Dawn R. Deeter-Schmelz et al., Enriching Our Understanding of Student Team Effectiveness,24J.

MKTG.EDUC. 114 (2002).

8Aggarwal et al., supra note 3.

9Id.; Sigfredo A. Hernandez, Team Learning in a Marketing Principles Course: Cooperative Structures

That Facilitate Active Learning and Higher Level Thinking.24J.M

KTG.EDUC. 73 (2002).

10Debra D. Burke et al., The Twenty-First Century and Legal Studies in Business: Preparing Students

to Perform in a Globally Competitive Environment,27J.L

EGAL STUD.EDUC. 1, 9 (2010) (“An under-

standing of law is also a key to portable skills development, with the legal curricula in schools of

business incorporating twenty-f‌irst-century skills development such as team-based learning and

the use of group projects.”)

11In 2006, 37.5% of business law professors surveyed reported using online group projects as

part of a business law or legal studies course. Harvey M. Shrage, On-line Education and the Teaching

of Business Law: A Survey of ALSB Members,20M

IDWEST L.J. 78, 83 (2006).

12R. Michael Cassidy, Beyond Practical Skills: Nine Steps for Improving Legal Education Now,53B.C.

L. REV. 1515, 1518 (2012) (“Group projects and presentations should be routinely incorporated

into course requirements, just as they are so commonly utilized in business schools.”); Michael P.

Allen, Making Legal Education Relevant to Our Students One Step at a Time: Using the Group Project to

Teach Personal Jurisdiction in Civil Procedure,27H

AMLINE L. REV. 133 (2004); Geoffrey B. Shields,

Legal Pedagogy: What Can We Learn from Business Schools,39U.T

OL.L.REV. 369 (2008).

13See Anne Tucker Nees et al., Enhancing the Educational Value of Experiential Learning: The Business

Court Project,27J.L

EGAL STUD.EDUC. 171 (2010); George W. Spiro, Collaborative Learning and the