Working in Groups

Do children learn as much while doing group projects or independent projects? Recently I was involved in a group project for my astronomy class where we had to measure the distance of the moon. I had two other partners, both really good friends, and I kept wondering if I would have learned more if I were doing this project by myself, or feel more accomplished by completing it on my own. In this case I probably would have liked to work more by myself so I felt like I had learned something about measuring the moon, but it really depends on what the project is. For instance, in history class during high school, I felt I learned more when doing a project with a group because they either interpreted the material differently or had more knowledge than I did. Also when they didn't know something about the topic I was able to feel knowledgeable and give them the answer to their question. So in the end I think it is the teacher's job to be able to know when to give an individual project rather than a group project, even though the kids might like working with their friends on most projects.