quote: | Originally posted by Miss Pie
People weren't allowed to work independently if the syllabus clearly outlined group work. If they did, they got zero. I guess it depends on your program, and probably has a lot to do with class size. The only time I recall anyone getting away with independent work was last year when our Global Context of Nursing class only had 26 people in it. |
I've always managed to find a loophole in the system - for example, most of the time I picked up a topic much more difficult/vast than necessary (i.e. reviewing a book instead of an article, analysing one or more foreign languages rather than Portuguese and so on), so it wouldn't be desirable to be part of my group.
quote: | Originally posted by Miss Pie
There's definitely something to be said about a person/people who can collaborate effectively and produce quality results - especially with people you may have never worked with before. Team work, group dynamics, etc etc. |
I can work in a group... but, this is what usually happens, the way I see it:- People who know the subject properly become group leaders, and the odds of two knowledgeable people being in the same groups is inversely proportional to the amount of groups;
- "Free riders" are quite shy when it comes to choosing a group because they want to see where they can leech the most first (if you're not following the classes properly, it's natural to go for the easiest thing);
- In the end, most groups end up with 1 or 2 students who are serious about it and a bunch of people who are either waiting to be told what to do and/or will do the minimum possible amount of work.
I guess the only good experiences with group work I've ever had were back in Military School where I was part of an elite class... so we knew everyone else was serious about it.
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