“In this project, you will have to work by yourself, or with a partner.” Emily walked over and asked Stacey, “Wanna work with me?” “Sure!”. Betty was a bit disappointed as she wanted to work with Stacey as well as the company, but she knew that if she would work alone, her project would be done quicker and better. Her other option was to work with Tom, but she would much rather complete the project by herself. When it came to starting the project, Emily and Stacey were always talking off-topic, but on the other side, Betty was always focused on her project and had no distractions. This is a reason why many classrooms are in rows, since students focus more independently, and are expedient to control, which is opposite to the majority of students’ preference - working in collaborative groups.

Studies have proven that "When an individual instead of a team manages a project, less coordination, feedback, work distribution and general organization are necessary. Working alone can mean that you can perform your task in a less restrictive and formal environment” (Indeed-Benefits). An investigation was further conducted at Brooklawn Middle School, where  the outcome proved that the students who were in a classroom setting with row seating focused more than those who were in a group setting arrangement. This evidence shows  an increase of 10% in classroom productivity.(Observation). Although the work of students’ was being completed, students exactly prefer their rows; they wanted to work in groups, since they felt it was “... a better social and collaborative environment”(Poondla). Furthermore, the investigator observed that almost all the students that were obstreperous had one thing in common - assignments to complete on their chromebook. Is the usage of chromebooks being taken advantage of, or is it really advancing a student’s learning activity?

As observed, students have been misusing their privilege and ability to use devices while working in a classroom. Upon the investigation that was carried out at Brooklawn Middle School, students that were observed were additionally noted to be playing games, watching videos, when instead they should be working on their assignments.- “Ever since the transition from virtual to in-person learning, school devices have added a layer of distraction, above everything else… There have been serious concerns about the productivity and effectiveness of students’ learning progress' '(O’Scanaill). While the usage of technology is greatly impacting distractions in a class, is it also helping students learn their material better and more efficiently? “Studies have shown that students who used the internet more had higher test scores on standardized reading tests after 6 months''(Packard). Even though we perform better with technology, with the newer innovations of AI, students are cheating more than ever on assignments.  Many students tend to work alone, or in groups, and deter until the last moment, when they take advantage of AI to do their work as if it was them, to show that they were productive in class time, whereas they are actually plagiarizing. AI chatbots such as Quillbot, ChatGPT, and even GrammarlyAI that are credible sources are misused, and students can get auto-generated answers from them. “Aside from the ethical issues involved in such cheating, students who use AI to do their work for them may not be learning the content and skills they need'' (Bailey). Luckily, there are many websites and extensions that can identify the amount of artificially generated work on class/home-work including ZeroGPT, Crossplug, and originalityAI.

At the end of the period, Emily and Stacey realize that they didn’t finish their project. When they look over at Betty’s project, they see that if they had worked separately, they would’ve gotten a better grade. Additionally, there would’ve been fewer distractions and an enhanced amount of focus and productivity. The teacher observed this, and she noted that she will have individual projects next time. Even though the next project wouldn’t be in groups, as preferred by the students, the work will be done efficiently, and there won’t be any dilemmas in choosing partners/groups.